A Foucauldian-Informed Analysis of the ways in which families in London construct their understanding of the August 2011 riots

Abstract

The events of the August 2011 riots evoked responses from the public, politicians, researchers, the media and members of academia, and tended to focus on explaining the events. Within political rhetoric and media accounts, issues such as poor parenting were raised in relation to the riots, and the behaviour of young people. Subsequently, the ‘Troubled Families Programme’ (TFp) was introduced towards the end of 2011, which included a payment-byresults system to address the issues associated with this pre-defined group. Amidst the riots and the ensuing introduction of the TFp, there appeared to be an absence of consultation with families. The presented study aimed to consult parents and families through exploring how they constructed the 2011 London riots. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents and families together. Participants included nine parents, aged between 26 and 56 years and three young people, aged between 13 and 20 years from a range of ethnic backgrounds and occupations, and from three different London boroughs. A social constructionist stance was adopted and the study was informed by narrative therapy ideas, within systemic theory. A Foucauldian-informed thematic analysis identified five main themes: inequality and exclusion, rioting as a criminal threat, youth as problematic, parenting, the family and morality, and reclaiming normality. These themes highlighted the relevance of socio-political factors, parent-blaming and contradictory constructions of youth as well as community resources, to parent and family constructions of the 2011 London riots. The analysis indicated implications for clinical psychology formulation with parents, families and young people. It also suggested a role for community psychology across London boroughs and ideas for informing contingency plans following riots, as well as the commissioning of resources within local authorities.