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A Qualitative Exploration of Teenage Leisure Time in
Socially Deprived Areas of Belfast:
Leanne McCarroll
Abstract
This paper explores the effect of neighbourhood and leisure time on adolescent behaviour.
The research focuses on young people living in two areas of social deprivation in post
conflict Belfast, Northern Ireland. The aim of the research was to explore free time activities
of young people living in these areas with an emphasis upon community risk factors of anti
social behaviour. The sample consisted of 45 young people living in two areas of Belfast,
aged between 14 and 17 years. These young people were sourced through youth centres with
access to these centres negotiated with the Belfast Education and Library Board. Data
collection employed a triangulation of mixed methods including the use of disposable
cameras and focus groups. All young people invited to take part in the research were issued
with a disposable camera with guidelines for use. The photographs formed the basis for
discussion during the focus group stage of the research. Themes emerging from the results
include drug use, leisure time, neighbourhood factors and social control. Findings suggest
that intervention strategies in these communities should be targeted around relations between
young people and mechanisms of formal and informal social control in the area and the
provision of services during recreation time in their neighbourhood.
A Qualitative Exploration of Teenage Leisure Time In Socially Deprived Areas Of
Belfast
Adolescence is a time when young people begin to spend less time at home and more time
socialising out of the home with peers (Hendry, Shucksmith, Love and Glendinning, 1996).
Young people learn cultural leisure behaviours mainly from the family but also through
community and neighbourhood groups in which they participate (MacDonald, McGuire &
Havighurst, 1949). The literature suggests that young people of different social classes will
belong to different groups, clubs and participate in a variety of free time activities.
MacDonald and colleagues noted that middle class young people were more likely to
participate in structured activities such as Scouts (a youth movement with the aim of
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supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, so that they may
play constructive roles in society employing informal education with an emphasis on
practical outdoor activity) or YMCA (Church based organisation for young people) where
young people from traditional working class backgrounds took part in centres or clubs for the
underprivileged (MacDonald et al, 1949). Issues may arise when these underprivileged clubs
involve low levels of adult supervision or structured activity frequently referred to as ‘dropin’ centres. Leisure activities rated as low in structure with little or no adult supervision often
provide few opportunities for skill building and the participants are in some instances
composed of antisocial elements (Agnew & Peterson, 1989; Hirschi 1969; McCord, 1978;
Mahoney, Stattin & Magnusson, 2001) which may promote, rather than decrease adjustment
problems and antisocial behaviour (Osgood, O’Malley, Bachman & Johnston, 1996). Young
people living in areas of social deprivation and low socio economic class therefore may be
more likely to participate in low level structured activity and therefore more likely to interact
with deviant peers in their leisure time which increases the likelihood of engaging in anti
social behaviour and drug use.
In the context of this research it is not only the socio-economic status of the communities
that may affect the types of leisure activities that young people participate in within the
community. The paramilitary ceasefires of 1994 marked the transition of Northern Ireland
from violence and terrorism towards peace (Higgins & McElrath, 2000). Young people in
Belfast are now living through a transition period and are unlikely to have been directly
effected by the political violence that epitomised the troubles. However, they may have been
indirectly affected through the experiences, reactions and adjustments of their parents and
families (Muldoon, Trew & Kilpatrick, 2000). Young people living in parts of Belfast since
the peace agreement of 1998 (Northern Ireland Office, 2008) may have experienced ongoing
conflict between the members of opposing communities during this transition period and on a
number of occasions either become directly aware of violent activities or actively participated
in certain instances during their free time. Limited leisure resources for young people allied
to the ongoing politically motivated violence may have had an effect on the types of leisure
young people will have participated in during their free time. Through the identification of
the types of leisure activities young people participate as well as the locations where they
spend their free time we will be a position to explore activities in areas that Farrington
referred to as ‘risky places’ which can further guide intervention initiatives (Farrington,
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2002).
Areas of social deprivation tend to characterise high levels of social disorganisation. In
general terms this refers to the inability of a community structure to realise common value of
its residents and maintain effective social control mechanisms (Shaw & McKay, 1969;
Sampson & Groves, 1989; McCulloch, 2003). On a neighbourhood level, the inability of
both formal and informal mechanisms of social control to act together as a means of
promoting and solving common problems will have an effect on the types of behaviours in
which young people will participate. High levels of neighbourhood disoganisation has been
said to have a positive impact on adolescent delinquency, drug use and gang activity
(Sampson et al, 1989). Informal social control mechanisms such as parents, teachers, peers
and residents can decrease levels of social disorganisation when the density, quantity and
quality of relationships between these mechanisms are strong (Cantillon, 2006). When the
ability of these relationships to promote and maintain supportive neighbourhood
environments are in place they will act as a protective factor to adolescent delinquency and
substance use behaviours.
The stability of this supportive network is reinforced when
mechanisms of informal control work well and alongside formal mechanisms of social
control such as the police. This research aims to examine levels of disorganisation within the
community both physical and social, and the effect on teenage leisure time in two socially
deprived areas of Belfast.
Methodology
Research Design
This research utilised a qualitative research design. The participants were young people
attending youth centres in their neighbourhood aged between 14 and 17 years at the time of
data collection. These neighbourhoods were the two locations ranked highest in social
deprivation by the Northern Ireland social deprivation model (NIMDM, 2005) possessing
neighbourhood characteristics of deprivation such as high number of income support
claimants (NINIS, 2005), and also characterising high levels of drug related crime
(EMCDDA, 2006). The youth clubs visited were funded and accessed via the Belfast
Education and Library Board of Northern Ireland. Field visits to these facilities enabled
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observation of the young people in the social setting without any necessary control for the
environment which would undermine the value of the qualitative research.
The Sample
The sample consisted of a cohort of 45 young people. These young people were attending
Belfast Education and Library Board (BELB) youth centres in the two neighbourhoods at the
data collection stage of the research. Young people were aged between 14 and 17 years at the
time of data collection and were selected to represent the gender ratio of those attending the
facilities.
Accessing the sample
The sample was accessed through negotiation with management of youth services in the
Belfast area through the Belfast Education and Library Board and youth leaders in the city.
Locations of youth centres were selected with the aid of police crime figures (EMCDDA,
2006), Northern Ireland’s neighbourhood information service (NINIS, 2005), the Northern
Ireland model of social deprivation (NIMDM, 2005) and Belfast Youth Development Study
(McCrystal, Higgins, Percy & Thornton, 2003; McCrystal, Percy & Higgins, 2006) analyses.
Out of all centres visited during the data collection stage of the research, 50% were
characterised as ‘drop in’ centres for youth in the community. As the young people were
under the legal age of consent, their legal guardian had to give permission for full
participation in the research.
Therefore consent forms were distributed to the
parents/guardians of participants, to ensure that all rights are respected and each participant
who also free to opt for non-participation if desired. Only those for whom consent was
obtained were invited to participate in the research.
Data Collection
The research utilized a number of data collection approaches for example, the use of cameras,
focus groups and face to face interviews with young people. Initially all young people taking
part in the research were issued with a disposable camera with guidelines for use. Young
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people were given one week to take photographs on their camera and were asked to take
photographs of what they liked and disliked about where they live, what they are doing in
their free time and places they liked to go during their free time in the community. Once all
photographs were developed young people were invited to participate in a focus group with
approximately four young people per group. At this stage young people discussed what was
in the photographs they had taken and why they had taken the specific shots. For the purpose
of this paper, findings from the focus group sessions and photographs taken by young people
will be presented in the results section and will be explored.
Data Analysis
During the focus group sessions, photographs taken by the young people were placed on a
flip chart in front of the group and the young people were given the opportunity to describe
what was in the photographs and why they took the photograph ultimately piecing together a
‘story’ of their free time activities. The interactive conversation that was recorded during
these group sessions was transcribed and the content analysed. The data began to form
common categories and themes throughout the transcripts allowing for the finished
conceptualized and coded information to be compared.
Results
Four key themes have emerged from the results. These include drug use, leisure activity,
neighbourhood issues and social control. Each of these themes will be presented using
dialogue and photographs taken by young people.
Drug Use
Sub themes emerging from the topic of drug use include drug availability, drug accessibility,
quantity of drug use and types of drugs used by young people.
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Image 1: ‘Beer Cans’
Image 1 is a photograph taken by a 14 year old boy. With reference to the photograph the
boy stated, “On a Saturday night me and my mate gets 24 beers, 12 each. Then we’ll get
some more later on”. The amount of alcohol consumed in this instance and the availability
of such a large quantity of alcohol to a young person in early adolescence is evident. This
finding also indicates the normative behavior of alcohol use during recreation time, mainly in
the presence of peers of a similar age.
Image 2: ‘A bucket’
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Image two was taken by a 15 year old boy. This photograph visualises an instrument created
by young people in the community utilised for inhaling cannabis. Referring to this specific
photograph the participant stated, “Dope, everyone smokes it. Whenever they can,
everyday… young people thirteen upwards”. This finding emphasizes the frequency of
substance use, in this case cannabis, and the use of this substance in the lives of young people
living in their community. It also suggests early onset and initiation of cannabis use as young
people in early teens, aged from 13 years and upwards, are not only experimenting with
cannabis but are also incorporating this as a regular activity in their everyday lives. When
questioned on the accessibility of drugs in his area he also stated, “Aye, it’s very easy to get
drugs round here… from my mate or the dealer”. This conversation was mainly directed at
the availability and supply of cannabis. It is clear that at 15 years of age cannabis is easily
accessible and young people are accessing the drug either from peers or directly from a dealer
in the community.
Leisure
Sub themes emerging here of include sport activities, street corner activities, locations of
leisure time and availability of leisure resources. These will be introduced in this next
section.
Image 3: ‘The Park’
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Image 3 is a photograph taken by a 14 year old boy of a park in the local area. He stated that:
‘If you go down to that park on a Saturday night you’ll find everyone in it … there is nothing
else to do around here’. This photograph shows the type of location where large crowds of
young people are spending their free time in the community. Visually it appears the area is
secluded, away from the view of others living in the community and out of sight. Adult
supervision of free time activities in this location appears non existent with no forms of adult
formal or informal social control present. The boys in this group also indicated during the
discussion that this is a prime location for substance use, mainly cannabis and alcohol
consumption. The lack of leisure resources is implicit here as the boys’ state there is very
little for them to do in their community in their free time.
Image 4:’Football’
Image 4 is a football and was taken by a 14 year old boy. The boys in this group were all non
drug using young people and stated, ‘Football, that’s all we ever do’. Sport, specifically
football on this occasion, appears to act as a protective factor of substance use as participation
occupies the majority of their free time in the community. Most young people in the research
who were involved in regular sporting activities, mainly football or Gaelic football, (the
national sport of the republic of Ireland and of Nationalists/Catholics living in Northern
Ireland), rarely reported experimentation with alcohol, cannabis or any other illicit substance.
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When asked why they think young people living in their area take drugs they stated, “People
take drugs around here cause they think they are hard”. This finding suggests these boys
view substance use by males in their community as an activity to enhance a certain image, the
image of being ‘macho’ in the company of peers.
Neighbourhood Issues
Sub themes of neighbourhood include neighbourhood attachment, perceptions of
neighbourhood, neighbourhood collective efficacy and neighbourhood physical appearance.
Perceptions of neighbourhood, collective efficacy and the neighbourhood physical
appearance will be introduced in this section.
Image 5: ‘Graffiti’
Image 5 is a photograph taken by a 16 year old boy. He described how graffiti was symbolic
of where they live and was used as a tool to mark their territory in their community as the
letters were included in the name of this area. He explained that, “All the ones up there don’t
like the ones down here. They always fight like. Every time they see each other they fight”.
In this case he is describing young people who live a few streets away and comparing them
with the young people who live in his area. These symbols were widely visible in the
communities where the research took place and the geographical boundary of each individual
territory was a little as three or four streets apart. The findings may suggests ‘gang’ based
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activity or collective efficacy among young people within their area which can result in
violence when these groups of young people come into contact with each other.
Image 6: ‘Mural’
Image 6 is a photograph of a mural (A large design or picture, generally created on the wall
of a public building in Belfast to commemorate periods during the troubles in Northern
Ireland) in a loyalist community taken by a 15 year old boy. He stated, “Murals, they
actually make your place look a bit cleaner. Near enough every single wall has graffiti on it,
and the street where they are there isn’t one bit of graffiti.” Visually murals in the area are
seen as a protective factor of neighbourhood physical disorganisation as they keep the area
free from graffiti. They also are a mechanism of labelling, young people can identify with the
messages portrayed by the murals in their area. The finding also suggests there are higher
levels of graffiti compared with murals in the area as he states almost every wall in the
community had graffiti on it. These boys also stated that it tended to be young people in their
teens who participated in writing the graffiti on the walls of their community and that they
knew it was not acceptable or tolerated in their community to write graffiti on a wall where a
mural was drawn.
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Social Control
Issues relating to social disorganisation are apparent in the research findings. More
specifically formal and informal mechanisms of social control will be introduced in this
section.
Image 7: ‘The Steps’
Image 7 is a photograph taken by a 14 year old girl. This was an area in her community
where she socialised with peers on week evenings and at weekends. With reference to this
photograph she stated, “See people who don’t want us hanging around on the streets, like wee
grannies, tell the paramilitaries and they come and throw us off the streets… its not fair on
us.” This appears to suggest residents and paramilitaries are acting as a means of informal
social control in the area who work together to target the behaviour of young people in their
area. Local residents are using local paramilitaries to control the behaviour of young people
in the area rather than using formal methods of control such as the police. Young people are
being moved from these areas by these informal mechanisms of social control where they
socialise with peers in their free time into secluded areas such as waste land, parks and
derelict buildings when they can not be moved on during their recreation time.
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Image 8: ‘Police Land Rover’
Image 8 is a photograph of a police vehicle. It was taken by a 15 year old girl who wanted to
express her opinion of the police presence in the area. She stated, “When the police come in
it makes people wanna brick them and all. They think they are gonna calm the areas down
but all they really do is put people in danger like come to harass people”. In the community
police are a form of formal social control. It is evident that young people view the police as a
source of danger placing them at risk rather then protecting them in their community. The
reference to ‘brick them and all’ refers to an act frequently participated in during time of
rioting in the area when the conflicting communities came together in acts of violence by
throwing bricks and/or rocks or stones at each other. Young people still refer to this as a
means of removing something or someone from their community, in this case the police.
Communication with the police is viewed negatively by the girl as she feels they harass
people when they come into their area.
Conclusions
Four key themes have emerged from the research to date specifically relating to drug use,
leisure, neighbourhood and social control. Young people living in these areas which are high
in social deprivation in Belfast have reported a frequency of alcohol consumption and
cannabis use in their free time. The onset of substance use and misuse is indicated at early
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teens from age thirteen and upward and appear to be seen as a normative behaviour during
their recreation time. Young people living in these communities report spending most
evenings out of the home with peers participating in activities that are low in structure and
parental supervision such as hanging around in parks, and standing on street corners. Young
people, particularly males who report participation in sport, mainly football in their free time
are less like likely than those who do not, to participate in drug use behaviours indicating that
sporting activities more specifically structured team sporting activities may act as a protective
factor of substance us at this stage of adolescence (Yin, Katime & Zapata, 1999; McHale,
Crouter & Tucker 2001; Bartko & Eccles, 2003; Mahoney et al, 2001). When moved on
from locations of leisure time by mechanisms of informal social control such as local
residents or paramilitaries, young people move into secluded areas out of sight such as parks,
derelict buildings and waste ground which may be termed as risky places for leisure time
(Farrington, 2002). On these occasions with no adult supervision or the presence of formal
social control mechanisms, young people are becoming involved in anti social behaviour
such as substance use and violence among peers. Rather than decreasing levels of anti social
behaviour, the interaction of these community groups appears to be having a negative effect
on behaviour as young people are forced into areas where delinquent behaviour, in particular
violence and substance use, may result and even become normalised (Sampson & Groves,
1989). Anti social behaviour in the community is apparent and enhanced by the presence of
graffiti. Young people are using graffiti to mark their territory leading to gang like activity
as these groups often clash resulting in physical contact. This finding is supported by the
literature which suggests socially disorganised communities with extensive street corner peer
groups and gang based activity are also expected to have high levels of adolescent crime and
delinquency (Thrasher 1963; Sampson et al, 1989; Shaw & McKay, 1969). Young people
do however speak positively about means of deterring young people from writing on the
walls in this case the presence of murals in their community. These murals are ironically
seen as a protective factor against neighbourhood physical disorganisation when on most
occasions they are pictorial images of cross community conflict and violence. Young people
indicate a negative view of all forms of social control in there area specifically residents,
paramilitaries and police. It is there for suggested that intervention efforts in these
communities could consider a focus on both the provision of leisure spaces for young people
in their free time and relationships with social control mechanisms in their area.
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Acknowledgements
Ms McCarroll is undertaking a HSCR funded by the Research and Development Office of the
Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland).
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