Living in the city: school friendships, diversity and the middle classes.

Much of the literature on the urban middle classes describes processes of both affiliation (often to the localities) and disaffiliation (often from some of the non-middle-class residents). In this paper, we consider this situation from a different position, drawing on research exploring whether and how children and adults living in diverse localities develop friendships with those different to themselves in terms of social class and ethnicity. This paper focuses on the interviews with the ethnically diverse, but predominantly white British, middle-class parent participants, considering their attitudes towards social and cultural difference. We emphasize the importance of highlighting inequalities that arise from social class and its intersection with ethnicity in analyses of complex urban populations. The paper's contribution is, first, to examine processes of clustering amongst the white British middle-class parents, particularly in relation to social class. Second, we contrast this process, and its moments of reflection and unease, with the more deliberate and purposeful efforts of one middle-class, Bangladeshi-origin mother who engages in active labour to facilitate relationships across social and ethnic difference.

Children's friendships in super-diverse localities: Encounters with social and ethnic difference.

This article explores how children make, manage, or avoid friendships in super-diverse primary school settings. We draw on interviews and pictorial data from 78 children, aged 8-9 years across three local London primary schools to identify particular friendship groupings and the extent to which they followed existing patterns of social division. Children in the study did recognise social and cultural differences, but their friendship perceptions, affections, conflicts and practices meant that the way in which difference impacted relationships was partial and unstable. Friendship practices in the routine settings of school involved interactions across difference, but also entrenchments around similarity.

COVID labour: Making a 'livable' life under lockdown.

Drawing on qualitative longitudinal data from 38 families with children in the UK collected between May 2020 and June 2021, this article discusses the extra everyday labour which individuals experienced in going about their daily lives during COVID-19. In particular, we examine in detail the everyday practices of negotiating risk and caring for self and others within the context of the pandemic. We call this COVID labour - the work involved in living through and adjusting to a pandemic. We identify this as constituting three main aspects: seeking and interpreting information; assessing risk; and minimising risk. Like other forms of labour, it is stratified by gender, class and ethnicity. Overall, the analysis contributes to a greater understanding of everyday life 'under lockdown' for families with children, and how 'livable' lives are made under times of great risk.

Adolescents' and young people's experiences of social relationships and health concerns during COVID-19.

PURPOSE: To illuminate the meaning of social relationships and health concerns as experienced by adolescents and young people during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A longitudinal qualitative study was conducted. Data reported from 172 adolescents and young people aged 12-24 years in five countries; Chile, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States collected from May 2020 to June 2021 were analysed via thematic analysis. RESULTS: Adolescents and young peoples' experiences of social relationships and health concerns were described in seven themes: Family proximity, conflicts and frustration; difficulties and challenges related to limited living space; peer relations and maintaining friendship in times of social distancing; the importance of school as a place for interaction; vulnerability, emotional distress and uncertainty about the future; health concerns and sense of caring for others; and worries and concerns related to financial hardship. These reports show that the changes to everyday life that were introduced by public responses to the pandemic generated feelings of loneliness, vulnerability, and emotional distress, as well as increased sense of togetherness with family. CONCLUSIONS: The everyday lives of adolescents and young people were restricted and affected more by the consequences of the pandemic than by the COVID-19 virus. These experiences had various impacts on well-being and mental health, where some individuals felt more exposed and vulnerable to emotional distress and loneliness than others. Family and peer relationships could be protective and support a sense of togetherness and belonging. Hence, social relationships are important to provide emotional support. Support for adolescents and young people should be tailored accordingly around social and emotional concerns, to encourage health and well-being.