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Understanding the Spatial Dimension of Youth Intergroup Contact in a Postaccord Society
,
Shazza Ali,
David Manley,
Christoph Daniel Schaefer,
Laura K. Taylor,
Shelley McKeown
Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, Volume: 30, Issue: 2, Pages: 216 - 225
Swansea University Author:
Pier-Luc Dupont Picard
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DOI (Published version): 10.1037/pac0000719
Abstract
Understanding how to promote better social relations between groups in divided societies is vital for peacebuilding efforts. Building on the substantial body of research on intergroup contact theory and everyday multiculturalism, the present research aimed to examine how youth in the socially divide...
| Published in: | Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology |
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| ISSN: | 1078-1919 1532-7949 |
| Published: |
American Psychological Association (APA)
2024
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| Online Access: |
Check full text
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa65164 |
| Abstract: |
Understanding how to promote better social relations between groups in divided societies is vital for peacebuilding efforts. Building on the substantial body of research on intergroup contact theory and everyday multiculturalism, the present research aimed to examine how youth in the socially divided society of Belfast, Northern Ireland, experience social interactions in everyday urban spaces. Ten youth aged 16-18 (n = 2 Protestant female, 1 Protestant male, 4 Catholic female, 2 Catholic male and 1 mixed religious background male) were recruited to take part in the research. Everyday contact experiences were explored using photovoice, a participatory method. Following engagement with a series of photography workshops and tasks, youth took part in focus group discussions and later, walking interviews (n = 3) to discuss the factors that influence their social interactions. Five main themes to explain youth contact experiences in context were uncovered: geographical and socio-economic constraints on space use; group-based spatial cognitions, emotions, and behaviour; lived experience and social discourses; markers of identity; and intergroup norms. Taken together, findings highlight key individual and structural processes through which public spaces become used or not by young people from different community backgrounds. Implications for research and practice for promoting intergroup contact and peace in socially divided societies are discussed. |
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| Keywords: |
Youth, intergroup contact, public space, place identity, photovoice |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Funders: |
This work was supported by funding obtained from the Economic and Social Research Council (ES/T014709/1 to Shelley McKeown). |
| Issue: |
2 |
| Start Page: |
216 |
| End Page: |
225 |