ABSTRACT
The research is based on the twenty-eight semi-structured interviews with young volunteers from Romania and on four focus groups. Although the chapter is grounded in a context that is very specifi c, it advances several suggestions that may be of wider relevance, besides the regional background. In the main, the chapter argues against considering the institutional settings where young people volunteer, as homogenous units, because adults may indeed hold complex and, at times, very diff erent positions on youth participation. The research indicates that the assumption of invariable positive relationships may not always be accurate and may be theoretically hazardous.
