Research projects
Home » Research » Projects » Poverty
Poverty
Family Poverty: The impact on teenagers who live at home
(completed)
Although the detrimental effects of growing up in difficult financial circumstances have been well documented for children, very little is known about the impact on teenagers who live at home. Indeed, much of the research in this area has concentrated on those who are homeless or estranged from their families. During 1995-1997 the Trust undertook a project called ‘Teenagers Growing Up in Family Poverty’.
The Project
This study aimed to better understand the effects on adolescents of growing up in family poverty. It focused on young people aged 13-18, who were living in families which are totally dependent on state benefits, with a number also in temporary and Bed and Breakfast accommodation.
Individual interviews were undertaken with sixty young people during 1996/97. The aim of the interviews was to explore the effects of a limited family income on young people’s physical and psychological health, friends and social life, leisure, family responsibilities and relationships, illegal activities, education and future prospects. The analyses focused on differences by age, gender, ethnicity, family structure, and locality.
The interviews were undertaken in three different parts of the country, twenty each in southern Scotland, the west of England/Wales, and on the south coast of England. The aim of the interviews was to hear young people's voices, and to get their subjective experiences of living in poverty.
The results of the study have now been written up, and have been published by The Children’s Society as a book called “Worth More Than This: Young People Growing Up in Family Poverty”. The book is available from the Trust's publications department.The project was funded by a consortium of The Children’s Society, The Esmée Fairbairn Trust, and The Royal Philanthropic Society.
Project Leaders
Debi Roker and John Coleman were responsible for this project.
Trust for the Study of Adolescence (TSA)
23 New Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1WZ, UK.
Tel: 01273 693311 Fax: 01273 67990