Beyond the Orange and the Green. The Diversification of the Qualitative Social Research Landscape in Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland conflict has been described as one of the most over-researched conflicts in the world. However, this is a relatively recent development. For many years, when the conflict was most intense, social scientists in Northern Ireland were silent and not vocal. The sectarian violence that dominated the life in Northern Ireland as well as the fact that the country was a fundamentally unjust society contributed to this silence. However, since the peace process began in the mid 1990s, a growing number of qualitative studies have been published, utilising one-to-one interviews and focus group discussions, in order to "make people's voices heard" and deal with the consequences of the so-called "Troubles". This paper looks into the emergence of a qualitative social research landscape in Northern Ireland beyond the conflict and explores issues so far neglected. It is argued that a number of factors have contributed to this, among them the availability of research funding to voluntary and community sector organisations that use their data to influence policy-making and equality legislation in a country which is still deeply divided along socio-religious lines.

Sex Education in Northern Ireland Schools: a Critical Evaluation.

To date there has been little research on young people and sexuality in Northern Ireland. This paper draws on the first major study in this area to analyse the delivery of formal sex education in schools. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to access young people's opinions about the quality of the sex education they had received at school. Overall, they reported high levels of dissatisfaction, with notable variations in relation to both gender and religious affiliation. In one sense their opinions mesh well with those of young people in other parts of these islands. At the same time the specificity of sexuality in Ireland plays a key role in producing the moral system that underlies much of formal sex education in schools. Underpinned by a particularly traditional and conservative strain of Christian morality, sex education in Northern Ireland schools is marked by conservatism and silence and by the avoidance of opportunities for informed choice in relation to sexuality on the part of young people.

The first time: young people and sex in Northern Ireland.

The sexual health of people, particularly young people, in Northern Ireland is currently poor. Yet there has been little research conducted on sexual attitudes and lifestyles. This paper is based on data from the first ever major research project in this field in Northern Ireland. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, it targeted young people aged 14-25. A combination of a self-administered survey questionnaire, focus group discussions and one-to-one interviews was found to be most suitable for the collection of sensitive data on sexuality in a country where the social and moral climate had previously prevented studies of this nature. Information was collected on sexual attitudes and behaviour generally. This paper focuses on one crucial issue: the age of first sexual encounter. It explores the attitudes of young people to that experience and the use of contraception. Many of the findings match those of similar large-scale surveys in England and Wales, including the modal age of first sexual encounter and the influence of peer pressure on decision-making about first sex. There were significant gender differences in both behaviour and attitudes. It is hoped that the research results will influence future education and health policy, which has all too often been based on ignorance.

Sexual behaviour of young people in Northern Ireland: First sexual experience

Two National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles in Britain (Natsal) were conducted, one in 1990 and one in 2000. Northern Ireland was excluded from both studies. Now, for the first time, comparable data about sexual attitudes and lifestyles of young people (14- to 25-year-olds) in Northern Ireland are available. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires, one-to-one interviews and focus-group discussions. As in Natsal 1990 and 2000, young people were asked about their sexual attitudes towards sex, experiences of sex education, knowledge of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and, if sexually active, about the circumstances in which sexual intercourse occurred. A total of 1013 young people in the target age group completed the self-administered questionnaire. Young people in Northern Ireland do not differ significantly from their counterparts in Britain in terms of sexual lifestyles and attitudes. Some 53.3% of all respondents reported that they had had sexual intercourse. Condom use at first sex was reported by 64% of sexually active respondents; 27.4% said they used no contraception; 26.7% of all respondents said they had sex before age 16. Respondents who first had sex when they were 15 or 16 years were more likely than other respondents to say that 'being drunk' was the main reason why intercourse occurred. Peer pressure to engage in sex was more prevalent among males than females. Young people in Northern Ireland regard friends as their most important source of sex education. School is the second most important source but most respondents wanted more sex education in school. It is important that it is needs focused and includes potentially sensitive and contentious information.