While there is extensive research on family violence and delinquency in Western literature, this topic is notably rare in Arab literature, including that from Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, although the association between being exposed to family violence and committing delinquent acts has been established in several Western studies, less is known about this association in the Saudi setting. This study sought to explore the extent and nature of these two phenomena in Saudi Arabia. It also aimed to examine the risk and protective factors that might be associated with the likelihood that girls who had experienced or witnessed family violence would then go on to commit delinquent acts. Given the dearth of literature on the association between family violence and female delinquency in Saudi Arabia, an exploratory study design was considered as the most appropriate method for this research. Data were collected through a self-completed questionnaire. The study sample consisted of 12- to 18-year-old female students (n=422) from intermediate and secondary schools in the Makkah area (western Saudi Arabia). Both family violence and female delinquency were found to have a relatively high prevalence. Physical abuse was shown to be the most common form of family violence, and brothers were the most common perpetrators of physical and sexual abuse. These results, which contrasted with a number of Western and other Saudi studies, point to sibling abuse as an area that is in need of further investigation. The current study indicated that violent offences, reported by 35 percent of the participants, were the most prevalent type of delinquency. This was unanticipated, given the highly conservative nature of Saudi society. The current study demonstrated significant associations between risk factors and the likelihood of female delinquency. In addition, the research suggests that if protective factors are absent or weak, then the likelihood that a young female will commit an antisocial behaviour offence is higher. Females exposed to family violence were found to be less likely to commit violent offences. The findings of the present study suggest that the problems of family violence and female delinquency are relatively common. More research is needed to assess the extent and nature of these problems at the national level. Moreover, the government should implement new policies and practices to address these problems head-on.

In the last decade there has been a growth in the number of women seeking asylum in the United Kingdom (UK), yet research remains extremely limited. Negative and disempowering narratives have come to dominate contemporary understandings of women seeking asylum. Taking a relational narrative approach and drawing on feminist perspectives, the main aim of this research was to explore the stories told by women seeking asylum. Placing the stories of women at the heart of this study, I conducted interviews with seventeen women who had made a claim for asylum in the UK. Their interviews were recorded, transcribed and then analysed using the Listening Guide. A further analytical step was developed called ‘letting stories breathe’. Hearing women’s stories of persecution and sexual violence, I present four recurring, inter-linked and, at times, contradictory narratives. These I have called the narrative of resistance, the narrative of reworking, the narrative of resilience and the narrative of ruination. I suggest that women, despite limited opportunities and restricted choices, do not necessarily accept the concepts and notions which have formed a basis for contemporary understandings about women seeking asylum in the UK. Furthering our knowledge of the relationship between stories and the narratives which frame them, I have demonstrated the active role women play in the construction of their own stories. Inspired by the stories told by women, this thesis contributes to creating a space where women seeking asylum can tell their own stories about their lives.

My research examines how middle aged women (35-54 years of age) who live in the UK experience the process of growing older, and it addresses in detail the question of whether, and if so, how, their sense of self changes during midlife. In recent years it has been argued that it is not possible to offer an adequate theory of women’s experience and self-understanding without addressing the bodily aspects of the constitution of identity in their social context. According to the ‘double standard of ageing’ hypothesis, women are not permitted to age in ways that men are; they are marginalised and ignored not only by popular culture but also by some sociologists and gerontologists. Thus, there is a need for rethinking current theory so as to ensure that middle aged women become more visible. The themes explored in my project include: body image in midlife, participants’ notions of middle age, methods women use in order to control or conceal the signs of ageing, female sexuality in midlife, life milestones, ageism, the double standard of ageing in British society. The thesis contributes to the current debates within social sciences by offering new data that corroborate the hypothesis of the embodied nature of female identity, and the view that ageing is experienced as a defining factor in the development of personal female identity. Paricipants acknowledge that ageing is a feminist issue and their disourse confirms that there is a double standard of ageing in British society. In addition, my project challenges the idea that getting older is something pathological. It stresses the importance of diversity among women of different ethnicity and cultural background for the psychological, and social impact of ageing in women’s life. Finally, this project suggests that social scientists need to re-consider their age cohort categorizations and the use of the term ‘middle-age’, which - given the currently popular and medical preconceptions - carries only negative connotations for participants.

Domestic abuse has historically been defined and constructed as an adult issue. However, in recent years there has been increasing awareness that young people also experience abuse within their relationships that can have serious and long-term effects on their health and wellbeing. Research has revealed higher rates of abuse reported by younger women than by adult women (Barter et al, 2009) and young mothers in particular appear to be at significant risk of experiencing relationship abuse (Wood et al, 2011). However, there is a lack of empirical research that has explored young mothers’ experiences of abuse and, therefore, little is known about the ways in which they understand and make sense of relationship abuse and negotiate their mothering within an abusive relationship. By focusing exclusively on mothers who became pregnant before they were 18, this research addresses this gap in knowledge and offers an original contribution to the evidence base. The primary aim of the research was to offer young mothers who experienced relationship abuse an opportunity to tell their stories. Underpinned by a feminist, social constructionist epistemology, the research adopted a narrative methodology and used semi-structured interviews to generate data. Participants were six young women who became pregnant before their eighteenth birthday and who had experienced relationship abuse in the last year; two were pregnant with their first child and four were already mothers. Narrative analysis of the data using The Listening Guide explored how participants constructed themselves and made sense of their relationships, paying particular attention to the ways in which personal stories reflected or contested available narratives about relationships, abuse, motherhood and teenage pregnancy. The emerging stories offer an insight into how these young mothers negotiated limited and sometimes contradictory narratives in order to make sense of their experiences and tell their own story. Participants told stories about their relationships and stories about becoming and being a mother that were inextricably linked. Stories of relationships and abuse overwhelmingly reflected narratives of romantic love; narratives that place responsibility for relationships with women, perpetuate gender inequalities and normalise male control and abuse. Their stories of motherhood reflected currently available narratives of ‘good’ mothering and rejected dominant narratives about teenage motherhood that were inconsistent with being a good mother. The findings highlight the limited repertoire of narratives available to young mothers who have experienced relationship abuse and reveal the potentially constraining nature of dominant narratives. Recommendations are made for policy, practice and future research.

Domestic violence has been gradually increasing globally with developing countries across Sub-Saharan Africa being the most affected (WHO, 2013). Uganda, in particular, ranks highest in relation to the incidence of domestic violence (UNICEF, 2000). This situation led to the enactment of the first domestic violence legislation in the country, the Domestic Violence Act, 2010; this makes domestic violence a crime and is particularly focused on reducing violence to women (Uganda GBV Guidelines, 2013). Women make up the majority of victims of domestic violence in Uganda and are subject to gender inequality within a patriarchal society that particularly disadvantages them. However, the argument of this thesis is firstly, although there are strong cultural factors implicated in violence against women, notably practices of wife inheritance, forced marriage and societal sanctioning of wife beating, there has been an over-reliance on cultural explanations for the problem (Bowman, 2006, Speizer, 2010) at the expense of exploring psychological factors. It is argued that understanding psychological issues related to domestic violence is particularly important in post-conflict settings since the literature shows that wars and violence at the societal level often get played out in the domestic sphere and can contribute significantly to the generation of psychological harm and personality issues (Saunders et al., 1999). Victims often use different coping behaviours-strategies to protect themselves from negative feelings and thoughts (Fritsch & Warrier, 2004) but what remains unclear is how both genders engage coping styles. Secondly, in an attempt to address the needs of women as victims, policy and practice in Uganda has failed to recognise the way that women can contribute to the victimisation of other women (particularly relevant in a context in which polygamous households and co-wives are normative) and also to men, who in such a patriarchal society may experience difficulties acknowledging victimhood and seeking help. Using non-coercive questionnaires administered to 60 victims and 60 perpetrators of both genders in an urban area in Uganda, this study aimed to explore the relationship, impact of gender and role in domestic violence based sub-scales on: attitudes to coercion (private matter, men’s right to control, women exaggerate, women’s behaviour used to justify, no big deal), self-reported victimisation (physical, psychological and sexual, personality traits (neuroticism, extroversion and psychoticism) and coping styles (problem solving, social support and avoidance)). Participants faking good (Lie) was controlled as a covariate according to Francis et al, 1999. This quantitative study employed 2x2 factorial design [gender vs role]. MANCOVA analysis was used to test hypotheses on differences and interactions and a Pearson product moment correlation analysis was conducted to test hypotheses on group relationships. Since results can be significant by chance, as recommended by Pallant 2013 p.217 this study applied Bonferroni correction-adjustment to the alpha levels which are used to judge statistical significance on 14 dependent variables. The findings revealed statistically significant role (victim and perpetrator) differences but no major gender differences. Results also revealed no interaction and no effect between gender and role on all aforementioned dependent variables. However, there were statistically significant correlational findings based on role as (victims and perpetrators) and gender for (males and females) on most sub-scales on attitude to coercion, self-reported victimisation and coping styles except personality traits. The only significant correlations for personality traits were between perpetrators neuroticism trait scores and psychological violence. Overall, exploring the psychological behaviour patterns, the study provides insights into the psychological characteristics of victims and perpetrators of both genders in the Ugandan sample. These results were then compared with western published studies and both commonalities and differences were identified. Studying the responses of both male and female victims and perpetrators represents the first such research in a post-conflict African context and makes a significant contribution to knowledge. Though specific to Uganda, the study findings point to the need for a greater awareness of the significance of psychological factors in exploring domestic violence in Africa, especially in countries where the population has been exposed to violence at a societal level, such as war. Furthermore, a major contribution is made by this study in its conclusion that there is need for a gender sensitive approach to domestic violence in African context, one that takes account of the differential needs of men and women as both victims and perpetrators. Finally, in opening up psychological explanations for domestic violence in addition to cultural factors and gender inequality, the way is paved for a synergistic approach for addressing domestic violence –one which addresses these as interlinking elements of the problem requiring simultaneous attention.

This thesis investigates a contemporary issue in developing countries within the context of the Cameroon North-West Region. It seeks to understand how government policy and development organisations in Cameroon are empowering women and promoting their role in the community development (CD) process. It investigates and analyses the causes of gaps between policy implementation at the grassroots level which prevents women benefiting fully from the programmes initiated by government at the central level. The research is an empirical study which employs a qualitative approach with a case study design, informed by feminist paradigms and guided by the Interpretivists epistemological stand point. The case is the North-West Region of Cameroon, with particular focus on women’s development Non-Governmental Organisations and Women’s Groups. Semistructured interviews, questionnaires, focus groups and documentary analysis were the main methods of data generation. In seeking to understand why women’s role in the process of CD is still limited to basic activities at the household and local community levels it has become necessary to examine gender roles within the Cameroon socio-cultural milieu to observe how these are affecting the overall development process. The Government’s initiative to empower women all over Cameroon and promote their influence in the community is in recognition of the pivotal role they play in uplifting living standards and alleviating poverty particularly in the rural communities, which also falls within the government’s overall development plan for the nation. The research has found that recent efforts to promote this through policy and targeted programmes for women at the grassroots have been thwarted by a severe deficiency in financial and human resources, poor communication networks, high rates of illiteracy among women, corruption, politics of ethno-regional segregation and the lack of a mechanism for enforcing legislation. The thesis has thus, unpacked the rhetoric of government initiated programmes and the gaps between policy and implementation at the grassroots level. A new understanding or perception to the concept of empowerment which focuses on economic and welfare needs, different from the conventional meaning has been brought out through this research. This suggests that definitions of concepts such as empowerment must be brought within a specific sociocultural and political context. The thesis has made recommendations for what is required to be done if women are to be in the driving seat for rural development in Cameroon and the North-West Region in particular. The thesis concludes that Community Development and Women’s Empowerment are two complementary processes in Cameroon. While Community Development has a long history in the country and has been hailed as the total approach to development especially in the North-West Region, women’s empowerment on the other hand is generally considered a secular concept from the West which still has no place yet in any of Cameroon’s sub-cultural groups not least in the North-West Region. Local perceptions are that women should be empowered if only this means increasing their economic opportunities to earn and bring more money into the family and community and not more

This study draws on in-depth semi-structured interviews with seventeen partnered mothers in Newcastle upon Tyne. All the study households contained a full time wage earner and had an income between 60 and 85% of the national median household income. The aims of the study were: 1) to establish how interviewees managed life on a limited income, both financially and emotionally 2) to investigate how this was connected to sources of household income, negotiations with their partner, and personal beliefs about money and gender 3) to discover how these women experienced and understood their own material deprivation and their role as household financial managers. Previous studies of intra-household income have looked at the whole population or those on benefit, but mothers in this income bracket had never been studied before. Moreover, after a decade of tax credit reform and women-into-work policies significant changes in the financial circumstances of this group of households seemed likely. An approach which placed the lived experience of the interviewees at the centre of the study was taken, rooted in the feminist qualitative tradition. A new method for revealing the material deprivation of individual household members was also pioneered. The key finding is that women in this income group were likely to be materially poor, although living in households officially defined as ‘not poor’, and the way they related to their money is similar to poor women in previous studies. This resulted both from the general inadequacy of household incomes and from the way resources were distributed within the household, with women often at the bottom of the spending hierarchy. Contrary to the findings of most previous studies, women did not ‘tag’ certain streams of household income, such as reserving Child Benefit for children; instead they ensured children were protected from material deprivation by their own sacrifices, sacrifices not always shared with their male partner. The lower the household income, the more likely this was to happen. Other findings include widespread desire to undertake paid work if it fitted around caring responsibilities, a marked decline in the proportion of household income from male earnings, a strong tendency for the mother to be the sole manager of household finances and therefore the carrier of resulting stress, and a powerful discourse that men could not be trusted with money which further increased women’s burden of worry. The women interviewed had a high level of financial skill, demonstrating many strategies to make money stretch further, but usually resources were simply inadequate to meet all household needs. Policy recommendations recognise the vital importance of tax credits and argue for increasing household incomes through supporting good quality paid work that fits with caring responsibilities. It is argued that better measurement of intra-household income distribution is also needed. The cultural issues underpinning the unequal burden of self-sacrifice within families are harder to tackle, but some suggestions are made.

Pubertal timing and relationships with parents and peers have each been linked to substance use in adolescent girls. However, to understand the origin of adolescent substance use in relation to these factors, it is important to focus on combined risk effects. As shown in the systematic review (the first part of this PhD project) only a few studies have tested the relationships between these factors in predicting adolescent substance use The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the main effects of pubertal timing and psycho-social factors (parent-daughter relations and peer deviance) on substance use. A second aim was to examine whether the links between pubertal timing and girl’s substance use are indirect via psycho-social factors (mediation) and whether the links between psycho-social factors and substance use differ across pubertal timing groups (moderation). Girls’ data from the population-based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) was analysed. Pubertal timing was assessed yearly between ages 8 and 17, parent-daughter relations and peer deviance at age 15, and alcohol, cigarette and cannabis use at age 16. Additionally, analyses controlled for a set of a priori selected confounders. Late maturing girls had lower levels of cannabis use compared to on-time maturing girls. Late maturing girls had fewer alcohol drinking, cannabis using and delinquent friends than early maturing girls and fewer cannabis using friends than ontime maturing girls. Additionally, late maturing girls’ lower levels of alcohol use were partly explained by having fewer cannabis using and delinquent friends. To conclude, in late adolescence, the combined effects of peer deviance and pubertal timing are more influential than the combined effects of parent-daughter relations and pubertal timing, in predicting adolescent substance use. Collectively, the findings indicate the importance of creating targeted prevention programs that are sensitive to developmental stage in relation to the peer group.

This dissertation is the outcome of a 25-month long narrative inquiry-based study on experiences of living with motor neurone disease (MND). MND is an adult onset, incurable, neurodegenerative condition that is characterised by loss of voluntary muscle movement as a result of destruction of motor neurones, leading gradually to partial or complete paralysis and eventually to death. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of people living with MND. Following a narrative inquiry methodology the focus of the study was to explore how specific people live in their local contexts. Data were collected through the use of multiple semi-structured interviews with people with MND and some of their partners. The findings illustrate the unique ways in which people with MND experience the disease and make sense of their life. The seven people who participated in this study were trying to construct a notion of normality in their everyday life, in the midst of what were sometimes perceived as difficult or even abnormal circumstances. Through seeking and trying out different solutions to the challenges they were facing, participants were trying to create a life they could describe as good. The findings highlight the intersubjective nature of illness experiences. For the three couples who participated in the study the experience of being in a long-term relationship was a vital part of who they were, and how they experienced MND. The findings also underline the importance of exploring the experiential knowledge that people living with MND develop through managing the disease and incorporating it in various ways in their daily life. This knowledge can help create a kind of life that people living with MND feel is worth living.

The purpose of this thesis is to address the relative effectiveness and usefulness of intersectionality as an elastic concept which can span more than the theoretical arena. To do this, the prevailing social problem of violence against ethnicised women is examined in all its complexities. Intersectionality works on two strategic levels – firstly, the framework recognises that individuals are comprised of numerous identity markers and that these characteristics take on a multiplicative relationship, and secondly, that structural systems of power exist within society to reinforce hierarchical privileges and oppressions that are predicated on identity. This thesis presents intersectionality as a possible way of framing the various interactions of social divisions, and the regimes of inequality which cut-across them, in the context of violence against ethnicised women. This violence is analysed through theoretical, policy and practical responses with particular attention being paid to how the three spheres deal with difference on a variety of analytical levels. A content analysis of New Labour government policy adopts intersectionality as a lens with which to ascertain how valuable this frame is as a methodological tool. Ten interviews with service providers from the violence against women field are conducted in order to gain experiential insight into how identity is seen to shape experience and appropriate responses. This thesis demonstrates that competing perceptions of identity, which are contextually and historically contingent, create a series of specific problems for ethnicised women that are frequently rooted in discourses of marginality, difference and homogeny. Intersectionality is a useful way of creating increased fluidity between theory, policy and practice, and of heightening an understanding of the heterogeneity of women’s experiences. It has much to offer the VAW field in the UK.