Young People's Experience of Intolerance, Antisocial Behaviour and Keeping Safe in Disadvantaged Areas of Glasgow

The view that intolerance towards young people is rife in the UK has been widely advanced. UK surveys show that a substantial minority of adults describe teenagers as a serious problem in their local area.1,2 The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recently singled out the UK for its ‘general climate of intolerance and negative public attitudes towards children, especially adolescents’. 3 In this paper, we explore young people’s own perspectives on intolerance and antisocial behaviour (ASB) using interviews and focus groups involving young residents of disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Glasgow.<p></p> We found evidence that young people believed they were the object of conscious and unconscious stereotyping by adults. In addition, young people held negative perceptions of other young people in their neighbourhood and used similar stereotypes to the adults in the neighbourhood. We also found evidence of young people experiencing ASB and taking steps to secure their own safety within the neighbourhood. We conclude that while young people may be the object of adult intolerance, they are also actively developing their own social attitudes about their peers and community that at times appear unsafe to them.<p></p> Therefore, policy and practice in this area need to reflect two broad interpretations of young people’s ASB: one that emphasises the involvement of young people in such behaviour and another that focuses on negative attitudes towards young people.<p></p&gt

Intolerance and Adult Perceptions of Antisocial Behaviour: Focus Group Evidence from Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods of Glasgow

No abstract available

'Now I care': a qualitative study of how overweight adolescents managed their weight in the transition to adulthood

Objectives: A qualitative study of recalled experiences of early adolescent overweight/obesity revealed low levels of weight-related concern. This further analysis aimed to explore weight-related concern and weight-loss efforts as participants transitioned into adulthood. Design, participants and methods: Participants were 35 young adults from a population-based cohort study who had body mass index (BMI) >95th centile between ages 11 and 15 and participated in semistructured interviews aged 24. At age 24, they were categorised as: ‘slimmers’ (N=13) who had lower BMI Z-scores at 24 than their adolescent peak and were not obese (BMI<30 kg/m2); ‘relapsers’ (N=8, of whom 2 were morbidly obese (BMI>35 kg/m2) at age 24); ‘stable’ (N=3, of whom 1 morbidly obese); and ‘gainers’ (N=11, of whom 5 morbidly obese). Themes were identified and coded using NVivo qualitative data analysis software, blind to participants’ current weight status. Results: Contrasting with the lack of concern recalled in respect of earlier adolescence, weight-related concerns and/or desire to lose weight generally increased around the time of school leaving and almost all participants described some form of exercise (formal/informal) and dietary weight-control strategies. Among ‘slimmers’, there was some (subtle) evidence of more consistent use of exercise, self-monitoring of diet and exercise and of lifestyle changes becoming habitual and/or part of identity. Few participants had accessed professional support. Diet clubs seemed to have been used most by ‘gainers’, some only recently. Labour-market and housing transitions were strong influences, described as facilitating weight losses by some, but increases by others. For some participants, it appeared that weight loss was simply a by-product of these transitions. Conclusions: In contrast to earlier adolescence, even the heaviest participants tended to show actual weight loss action or preparation for action. The transition to adulthood could thus be a key life stage for interventions

Young People's Experience of Intolerance, Antisocial Behaviour and Keeping Safe in Disadvantaged Areas of Glasgow

The view that intolerance towards young people is rife in the UK has been widely advanced. UK surveys show that a substantial minority of adults describe teenagers as a serious problem in their local area.1,2 The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recently singled out the UK for its ‘general climate of intolerance and negative public attitudes towards children, especially adolescents’. 3 In this paper, we explore young people’s own perspectives on intolerance and antisocial behaviour (ASB) using interviews and focus groups involving young residents of disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Glasgow.<p></p> We found evidence that young people believed they were the object of conscious and unconscious stereotyping by adults. In addition, young people held negative perceptions of other young people in their neighbourhood and used similar stereotypes to the adults in the neighbourhood. We also found evidence of young people experiencing ASB and taking steps to secure their own safety within the neighbourhood. We conclude that while young people may be the object of adult intolerance, they are also actively developing their own social attitudes about their peers and community that at times appear unsafe to them.<p></p> Therefore, policy and practice in this area need to reflect two broad interpretations of young people’s ASB: one that emphasises the involvement of young people in such behaviour and another that focuses on negative attitudes towards young people.<p></p&gt

Neighbourhood demolition, relocation and health: a qualitative longitudinal study of housing-led urban regeneration in Glasgow, UK

We conducted a qualitative longitudinal study to explore how adult residents of disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods (Glasgow, UK) experienced neighbourhood demolition and relocation. Data from 23 households was collected in 2011 and 2012. Some participants described moves to new or improved homes in different neighbourhoods as beneficial to their and their families’ wellbeing. Others suggested that longstanding illnesses and problems with the new home and/or neighbourhood led to more negative experiences. Individual-level contextual differences, home and neighbourhood-level factors and variations in intervention implementation influence the experiences of residents involved in relocation programmes

Changing contexts: young people's experiences of growing up in regeneration areas of Glasgow

Background and rationale: Urban regeneration is an example of an intervention that seeks to address social and spatial inequalities that negatively affect the health and wellbeing of residents living in inner-city neighbourhoods (Thomson et al., 2006, Kearns, 2012). Although urban regeneration takes many forms, this thesis focuses on the policy of relocation. This policy is practiced across different countries including US, UK, and in Western Europe, and involves moving residents out of sub-standard housing. Post-relocation of resident population, the substandard housing is demolished and the neighbourhood is redeveloped. While previous studies regarding young people and relocation have focused on outcomes (Leventhal and Brooks-Gunn, 2005, Deluca and Rosenblatt, 2010, Zuberi, 2012) or young people’s feelings of empowerment within the decision making process (Fitzpatrick et al., 2000); little is known about how young people experience the process of moving, or how they perceive and negotiate neighbourhood change. Therefore the aim of the thesis is to address this gap in knowledge. Methods: Using qualitative, longitudinal, mixed-method (semi-structured home interviews, go-along, and photo-elicitation) interviews, 15 participants between the ages of 11-18 were interviewed in 2011, with a subsample re-interviewed in 2012. Participants were recruited from two deprived neighbourhoods (in Glasgow, Scotland) that were undergoing similar programmes of regeneration and relocation. At wave one, all participants lived in a high-rise flat due for demolition, and were awaiting relocation. Results: Pre-relocation, most participants described witnessing change in the neighbourhood although, given the slow process of regeneration, it was unsurprising that the participants’ everyday experiences of neighbourhood were inexplicably tied to their experience of regeneration. It was therefore difficult to separate the two, as one appeared to influence the other. For some, the slow progress of regeneration meant experiencing continuing (or worsening) physical and social problems in the neighbourhood. For example, participants who were aware or concerned about antisocial behaviour (ASB) in the neighbourhood were also more likely to feel that regeneration had made their neighbourhood a more dangerous place to walk in. Post-relocation, participants described their new neighbourhoods as comparatively more quiet and clean, although they also suggested that there were still problems of ASB. While relocation provided some challenges for the participants, in general they found the experience non-stressful and at times found that their new neighbourhood was closer to friends and family. At the same time as experiencing urban change, all of the participants experienced biographical change. These changes often occurred independently of the regeneration, and were often described as more stressful. For the participants, these changes included changing or leaving school, relationship breakdowns, and parental separation. In these instances, regeneration and relocation were seen as the most manageable change occurring in their life. Conclusions: The thesis highlights the importance of examining the entire process of regeneration and relocation rather than focusing on the outcomes associated with it. Given the slow process of regeneration, many of the young people interviewed in the study were growing up within, through, and alongside these neighbourhood changes, with changes in their personal lives being more influential or stressful than change at the neighbourhood-level. However, they were not victims of circumstance, but rather, were active in maintaining a ‘normal’ everyday life by utilising social and spatial resources

Neighbourhood demolition, relocation and health. A qualitative longitudinal study of housing-led urban regeneration in Glasgow, UK.

We conducted a qualitative longitudinal study to explore how adult residents of disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods (Glasgow, UK) experienced neighbourhood demolition and relocation. Data from 23 households was collected in 2011 and 2012. Some participants described moves to new or improved homes in different neighbourhoods as beneficial to their and their families' wellbeing. Others suggested that longstanding illnesses and problems with the new home and/or neighbourhood led to more negative experiences. Individual-level contextual differences, home and neighbourhood-level factors and variations in intervention implementation influence the experiences of residents involved in relocation programmes

Role of age and health in perceptions of returning to work: a qualitative study

Background: People aged over 50 years form a growing proportion of the working age population, but are at increased risk of unemployment compared to other age groups. It is often difficult to return to work after unemployment, particularly for those with health issues. In this paper, we explored the perceptions, attitudes, and experiences of returning to work after a period of unemployment (hereafter RTW) barriers among unemployed adults aged over 50 years. Method: In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with a diverse sample of 26 unemployed individuals aged 50–64 years who were engaged with the UK Government’s Work Programme. Data were thematically analysed. Results: Age alone was not discussed by participants as a barrier to work; rather their discussions of barriers to work focused on the ways in which age influenced other issues in their lives. For participants reporting chronic health conditions, or disabilities, there was a concern about being unfit to return to their previous employment area, and therefore having to “start again” in a new career, with associated concerns about their health status and managing their treatment burden. Some participants also reported experiencing either direct or indirect ageism (including related to their health status or need to access healthcare) when looking for work. Other issues facing older people included wider socio-political changes, such as the increased pension age, were felt to be unfair in many ways and contradicted existing expectations of social roles (such as acting as a carer for other family members). Conclusion: Over-50s experienced multiple and interacting issues, at both the individual and societal level, that created RTW barriers. There is a need for employability interventions that focus on supporting the over-50s who have fallen out of the labour market to take a holistic approach, working across healthcare, employability and the local labour market, providing treatment and skills training for both those out of work and for employers, in order to create an intervention that that helps achieve RTW and its associated health benefit

A causeway to impact: a proposed new integrated framework for intergenerational community-based participatory action research

Over recent decades there has been growing interest in amplifying children and young people's views (CYP) within policy debates. Despite this, they are rarely invited to participate in key policy-making discussions, and when they are, this tends to be tokenistic. This paper presents an intergenerational methodological framework ‘The Causeway Approach’, inspired by the mythology of the Giant's Causeway, which addresses the challenge of CYP's voices being drowned out by adult stakeholders. This contextualised approach has significant potential to benefit CYP and communities through capacity building, strengthening of social capital and fostering intergenerational connections

Damned if they do, damned if they don't: negotiating the tricky context of anti-social behaviour and keeping safe in disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods

Young people's relationship with anti-social behaviour (ASB) is complicated. While their behaviours are often stereotyped as anti-social (e.g. ‘hanging about’), they also experience ASB in their neighbourhood. In this study, we explore young people's own perspectives on ASB, comparing results from ‘go-along’ interviews and focus groups conducted in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Glasgow, Scotland. This article discusses how young people's everyday experience of ASB was contextualised by social factors such as cultural stereotyping of marginalised groups, poor social connectivity and spatial marginalisation within their neighbourhood. Furthermore, we found that these social factors were mutually reinforcing and interacted in a way that appeared to leave young people in a ‘no-win’ situation regarding their association with ASB. Participation in ASB and attempts to avoid such involvement were seen to involve negative consequences: participation could entail violence and spatial restrictions linked to territoriality, but avoidance could lead to being ostracised from their peer group. Regardless of involvement, young people felt that adults stereotyped them as anti-social. Our findings therefore provide support for policies and interventions aimed at reducing ASB (perpetrated by residents of all ages); in part by better ensuring that young people have a clear incentive for avoiding such behaviours