Empirical, qualitative studies in Danish and Norwegian RJ-sessions show, that young men (offenders and victims) are characterised by passive acquiescence, by not expressing opinions, by getting out of their ‘turn to talk’ as quickly as possible and by silence. The way this type of ‘non-acting’ has been understood is that youth are subject to adult conceptions and interpretations of the mediation situation, and that the youth have not yet developed empathy and moral reasoning. In other words the young men are seen as taking a kind of ‘underdog’ position in the RJ-settings.

The interpretation of the “non-attitude” is changing, when applying Goffman’s notion of people performing a preferred identity, rather than an inherent or fixed self. That means that the words and actions of the participants in the mediation sessions are largely considered to be embedded in the context. In combination with Foucault and the neo-liberal conception of power as productive - meaning that power does not only repress and limit but shapes and forms the subject - the youngsters´ “non-attitude” could be seen as a resignation or refusal of being dictated by the meeting´s RJ-script. Such a script expects self-reflection and articulation of personal feelings, which does not correspond to traditional ideals of masculinity as strength, authority and control. From this point of view the young men are not trying to fit in, but actually the opposite: to make a revolt by not entering the “scene” - doing an “offstage” performance. This issue is especially relevant because of the fact that young men are often part of a RJ-setting.