Locational Preferences of 14-year-old School Children in Londonderry

Abstract

This research attempted to replicate Stringer and Cornish’s (1990) study of locational perceptions in Northern Ireland while avoiding some of that study’s limitations. Ratings of residential preference and perceived unemployment, violence and denomination for 25 areas of Londonderry were gathered from 52 Catholic and 52 Protestant 14-year-olds. Intergroup agreement on perceptions was high, both groups viewing Catholic locations as having higher unemployment and violence. For Protestants, this reinforced a preference for in-group locations, but for Catholic subjects in-group preference was counterbalanced by negative perceptions of social conditions. This pattern was similar to that reported by Stringer and Comish (1990), and implied the behaviour observed here can be generalised beyond the original subjects and geographical locations. Additional factors for developing a model of locational preference formation were suggested.