A Bounded Legacy: family relations and the transmission of violent attitudes and behaviour in the Fountain enclave in Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Summary
This study explores family relations in the Protestant/Loyalist Fountain enclave in Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland after the Belfast Agreements. The Fountain is an interface area characterized by physical boundaries, tied family and community life and a high rate of violent incidents. This study focuses on youngsters and looks at family ties, socialization and the transmission of boundaries and (violent) attitudes and behaviour towards the other community in a post-war enclave context. Transmission was analyzed from a discursive approach and the study looks at the reproduction and meaning of discourses and practices and the differences and similarities between family members. Interviews were conducted with family members of three generations from five families living in the Fountain. The results showed a wide variety of attitudes, opinions and behaviours with regard to inter-community relations within families and between generations. Families played an important role in the confirmation and conceptualization of boundaries but not in the way boundaries were dealt with. No evidence was found of transmission of sectarianism and radical attitudes and behaviours within families. Parents showed ambivalent cues with regard to the acceptability of violence. Motives for youth violence were not conflict related per se. Youth agency, personal experiences, social disadvantage and extra-family spheres of influence as peer groups, social networks and paramilitaries appeared to be important in the development of violent behaviour.