Troubling meanings of "family" for young people who have been in care: from policy to lived experience

This article seeks to trouble the concept of “family” for young people who have been in out-of-home care, by reflecting on the continuing significance (and troubles) of family relationships beyond childhood. The analysis draws on two cross-national studies in Europe: Beyond Contact, which examined policies and systems for work with families of children in care, and Against All Odds?, a qualitative longitudinal study of young adults who have been in care. Policy discourses that reify and instrumentalize the concept of family—for example, through the language of “contact,” “reunification,” and “permanence”—neglect the complex temporality of “family” for young people who have been in care, negotiated and practiced across time and in multiple (and changing) care contexts, and forming part of complex, dynamic and relational identities, and understandings of “belonging” for young adults who have been in care

Academic performance of opposite-sex and same-sex twins in adolescence:A Danish national cohort study

Testosterone is an important hormone in the sexual differentiation of the brain, contributing to differences in cognitive abilities between males and females. For instance, studies in clinical populations such as females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) who are exposed to high levels of androgens in utero support arguments for prenatal testosterone effects on characteristics such as visuospatial cognition and behaviour. The comparison of opposite-sex (OS) and same-sex (SS) twin pairs can be used to help establish the role of prenatal testosterone. However, although some twin studies confirm a masculinizing effect of a male co-twin regarding for instance perception and cognition it remains unclear whether intra-uterine hormone transfer exists in humans. Our aim was to test the potential influences of testosterone on academic performance in OS twins. We compared ninth-grade test scores and teacher ratings of OS (n = 1812) and SS (n = 4054) twins as well as of twins and singletons (n = 13,900) in mathematics, physics/chemistry, Danish, and English. We found that males had significantly higher test scores in mathematics than females (.06–.15 SD), whereas females performed better in Danish (.33–.49 SD), English (.20 SD), and neatness (.45–.64 SD). However, we did not find that OS females performed better in mathematics than SS and singleton females, nor did they perform worse either in Danish or English. Scores for OS and SS males were similar in all topics. In conclusion, this study did not provide evidence for a masculinization of female twins with male co-twins with regard to academic performance in adolescence

Transforming experiences: Re-conceptualising identities and 'non-normative' childhoods

The research aims to contribute to current research and theoretical understandings of how family lives and childhood experiences help to constitute adult lives and to illuminate transnational family practices in ways that will help policy development. The first two parts of the programme consist of reviews of literature on transnational and multi-ethnic families and on 'experience'. The third part is research on three sets of adults (3 strands) - those who: (1) came from the Caribbean to Britain to re-join their parents in the process of serial migration(N=53); (2) grew up in families of mixed ethnicity(N=41); and (3) sometimes took responsibility for their parents as translators(N=40). The data are predominantly qualitative and psycho-social, in treating psychological and social issues as inextricably linked. The Transforming Experiences Research project explored the relationships between adults’ childhood experiences and their current and future identities. It aimed to examine the ways in which these childhood experiences have impacted on their identities, and how any such impact is transformed over time. This is done by examining different paths in which adults from different family backgrounds negotiate their identities as they re-evaluate earlier 'non-normative' experiences. It aims to advance knowledge of the factors that produce adult citizens who are 'unremarkable' in not requiring social work intervention despite having childhood experiences often viewed as non-ideal. </p

Teenage pregnancy policy in England

This article provides an account of the development and early stages of the implementation of the teenage pregnancy policy introduced in England in 1999 (Social Exclusion Unit). The historical background of the policy is briefly outlined, followed by summaries of the processes involved, some of the key data that were drawn upon in its development, the content of the policy, evaluation data, critiques, and concluding comments. The policy is shown to have been based within a wider framework of attempts to reduce the number of young people who were thought to become socially excluded from society as a result of early childbearing. Emphasis in the policy was placed on both improved prevention of early conceptions through comprehensive sex and relationships education, improved services, and more open communication between parents and children and through improved support for those women who choose to have children in their teenage years

Family lives and the environment: Negotiating meanings and practices in India and the UK, 2011-2015

The Family Lives and the Environment project was funded as part of the National Centre for Research Methods NOVELLA Node (www.novella.ac.uk) (PI: Ann Phoenix) and included a linked PhD studentship (Catherine Walker). The overall aim of the study was to improve understanding of the diversity and negotiated complexity of families’ lives in relationship with their environments, with regard to the meanings of ‘environment’ in everyday family lives and family practices. After a first stage of secondary analysis of eight family case studies drawn from the qualitative subsample of the Young Lives study in Andhra Pradesh/Telangana (www.younglives.org.uk), the second stage of the research involved new data collection with 24 families with diverse economic, social, cultural and demographic profiles in India (Andhra Pradesh/Telangana) and in the UK (southern England). The research involved a volunteer sample of families, recruited through school Years 7 and 8 (children aged 11-14), selecting schools in urban and rural locations and on the basis of school characteristics (including state/government and fee-paying schools in both countries). We visited each family three times over a period of approximately two weeks (although timing varied depending on families’ availability): Visit 1 involved a family group interview with all household members who wished to participate, and incorporated a cognitive mapping exercise to explore meanings of environment in families’ lives. Families were given disposable cameras (one each for the main caregiver and the focal young person, and a third camera for the rest of the family) and took photos over seven days to show what was important in their everyday lives and environments. Visit 2 involved individual interviews with the caregiver and young person, and a walking or driving interview in their local area involving the caregiver, young person, and anyone else in the family who wanted to come. Visit 3 involved photo elicitation interviews. The main caregiver and young person were interviewed individually, and each selected five of their pictures to discuss with the rest of the family, while other family members separately chose three photos from the third camera. Afterwards, the family group were interviewed together, discussing the photos selected and choosing three which they agreed best conveyed what was important in their everyday lives. Interviews were transcribed and, where necessary, translated into English. Overall, eighteen sets of family transcripts have been archived. These transcripts are of research activities carried out with families in urban India (6), rural India (3), rural UK (4) and urban UK (5). The ‘overview of research activities’ document provides a list of research activities carried out with each family. To protect confidentiality, visual materials (maps, photographs) and audio recordings have not been archived. Where data have not been archived (e.g., some school group activities, and family transcripts for cases not listed here) this is because of risk of identifiability.The Family Lives and the Environment project (PI: Janet Boddy) was funded as part of the National Centre for Research Methods NOVELLA Node (www.novella.ac.uk) (PI: Ann Phoenix) and included a linked PhD studentship (Catherine Walker). The overall aim of the study was to improve understanding of the diversity and negotiated complexity of families’ lives in relationship with their environments, with regard to the meanings of ‘environment’ in everyday family lives and family practices. After a first stage of secondary analysis of eight family case studies drawn from the qualitative subsample of the Young Lives study in Andhra Pradesh/Telangana (www.younglives.org.uk), the second stage of the research involved new data collection with 24 families with diverse economic, social, cultural and demographic profiles in India (Andhra Pradesh/Telangana) and in the UK (southern England). The research involved a volunteer sample of families, recruited through school Years 7 and 8 (children aged 11-14), selecting schools in urban and rural locations and on the basis of school characteristics (including state/government and fee-paying schools in both countries). The NOVELLA NCRM research node as a whole was concerned with the everyday habitual practices of families. These are frequently taken for granted. Since people’s understanding of what they do (their everyday practices) is not necessarily what they actually do, it might seem that what they say is of little interest to policymakers and practitioners. Yet, 'disconnections' between people's understanding and action tells us about their identities, values and possible future actions. Family practices are of particular interest since orientation to the social world and what people do are negotiated within families.</p

Young Consumers Study, 2002-2004

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.This is a qualitative data collection. The project fell into three stages: based in schools, households and related to young people’s specific cultural practices around consumption. Stage 1 provided information on young people’s consumption patterns and practices, sources of income and meanings of consumption in relation to specific products and practices. It involved two elements: the completion of semi-structured self-completion questionnaires by pupils in Year 8 (aged 12-13) and Year 12 (aged 16-17); and a series of focus group discussions with young people in all participating schools. The quantitative data is not available from the UK Data Archive. Stage 2 involved individual and joint interviews with young people and their parents, from urban areas (Birmingham and Milton Keynes) and semi-rural locations. The family interviews focused on different accounts of negotiations over money and other household resources, pocket money, payment for housework and so on. The study also considered family involvement in particular consumption practices (e.g. 'shopping with mum') from the perspectives of young people and their parents. Building on initial analyses of material from stages 1 and 2, stage 3 involved ethnographic observational case studies of young people in specific contexts involved in a range of cultural practices related to consumption. These were selected to include both young women and men in urban and semi-rural areas from a range of social class and ethnic backgrounds, and from both age groups. Further information about the project, including publications, may be found on the ESRC award grant web page. Main Topics:The main topics include: personal style; identity; 'fitting in' and social exclusion; shopping habits and spending, negotiation with parents, local area and leisure time.<br