Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

This is a qualitative data collection. The project fell into three stages: based in schools, households and related to young people’s specific cultural practices around consumption. Stage 1 provided information on young people’s consumption patterns and practices, sources of income and meanings of consumption in relation to specific products and practices. It involved two elements: the completion of semi-structured self-completion questionnaires by pupils in Year 8 (aged 12-13) and Year 12 (aged 16-17); and a series of focus group discussions with young people in all participating schools. The quantitative data is not available from the UK Data Archive. Stage 2 involved individual and joint interviews with young people and their parents, from urban areas (Birmingham and Milton Keynes) and semi-rural locations. The family interviews focused on different accounts of negotiations over money and other household resources, pocket money, payment for housework and so on. The study also considered family involvement in particular consumption practices (e.g. 'shopping with mum') from the perspectives of young people and their parents. Building on initial analyses of material from stages 1 and 2, stage 3 involved ethnographic observational case studies of young people in specific contexts involved in a range of cultural practices related to consumption. These were selected to include both young women and men in urban and semi-rural areas from a range of social class and ethnic backgrounds, and from both age groups. Further information about the project, including publications, may be found on the ESRC award grant web page.

Main Topics:

The main topics include: personal style; identity; 'fitting in' and social exclusion; shopping habits and spending, negotiation with parents, local area and leisure time.

Purposive selection/case studies

Volunteer sample

Convenience sample

Face-to-face interview

Observation