This article suggests that a practice of critical and reflexive research with adolescents can contribute to the transformation of dominant representations of “youth at risk". A concrete example of research conducted with Quebec male adolescents of French Canadian origin in a context of major concern about "boys who go wrong" shows the transformative effects of ethical and methodological vigilance on the production of knowledge. The methodology of research with young people presented recognizes them as subjects of knowledge that can fully participate in the understanding of their realities. By promoting the researcher’s move into the teen world the approach with creates a safe space to really listen and understand from within.