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How children from disadvantaged areas keep safe

Katrina M. Turner (Academic Unit of Primary Health Care, Department of Community Based Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK)
Malcolm Hill (Glasgow Centre for the Child & Society, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK)
Anne Stafford (The Centre for Research in Education Inclusion and Diversity (CREID), The Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK)
Moira Walker (Social Work Research Centre, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK)

Health Education

ISSN: 0965-4283

Article publication date: 1 November 2006

2901

Abstract

Purpose

The paper sets out to describe how children from disadvantaged areas perceive their communities and actively negotiate threats in their lives.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 60 interviews and 16 discussions groups were held with 8 to 14‐year‐olds sampled from four deprived communities located in the West of Scotland. Participants were asked about their local area and how they kept safe. Data were coded thematically and area, age and gender differences examined.

Findings

Children mentioned both positive and negative aspects of their local area. Positive elements primarily related to being near friends and important adults. The negatives were linked to local youth gangs, adults, litter and graffiti, traffic, and drug and alcohol misuse. Participants used both preventive and reactive strategies to keep safe.

Research limitations/implications

Owing to the strategies used to sample areas and participants, the extent to which findings can be generalised is limited. Thus, the study should be repeated on a larger scale, with areas and participants being randomly sampled.

Practical implications

The article will enable practitioners and policy makers concerned with the wellbeing and safety of young people in deprived areas to frame interventions that are in line with children's own concerns and preferred means for dealing with challenges.

Originality/value

The paper provides fresh insights into how children from deprived areas perceive their communities and deal with the risks and tensions they face. It highlights the subtle balancing involved in peer relationships that are central to both support and threats in children's everyday lives.

Keywords

Citation

Turner, K.M., Hill, M., Stafford, A. and Walker, M. (2006), "How children from disadvantaged areas keep safe", Health Education, Vol. 106 No. 6, pp. 450-464. https://doi.org/10.1108/09654280610711406

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2006, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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