Parenting and children's resilience in disadvantaged communities, published for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation by the National Children's Bureau, challenges the view that youth peer group activity is antisocial. It found that young people often keep safe by going around in groups, pooling local knowledge, and looking out for each other using mobile phones.
The study, which looked at four deprived areas in Glasgow, found that despite high levels of deprivation, low income and high unemployment, young people still felt good about their neighbourhoods. Poorer parents, often stereotyped as uncaring, also showed strong commitment to keeping their children safe by restricting their movements, said Peter Seaman, research fellow at Glasgow University's Centre for Child and Society, and report co-author.
"Around 60 per cent of the parents had the same high aspirations for their children as the middle-class parents, despite more difficult circumstances," he said. "They wanted their young people to go to university but had no experience of applying themselves. We believe there is a need for more input to come from schools and agencies to recognize that young people from deprived communities do have aspirations."
The report also calls for the provision of low-cost leisure facilities in disadvantaged communities to enhance children's social resilience.
www.jrf.org.uk.
