Young people often gather in groups to protect themselves from violence and alcohol and drug related problems, according to researchers in the U.K.

PNN reported Feb. 21 that a study of parents and youths in Glasgow, Scotland, found that kids move in packs to share knowledge of local hazards, such as violent gangs and adults with drug problems. The study runs counter to the idea that groups of young people hanging out together in public is a sign of trouble.

"We were impressed by the positive part that young people's peer groups played in helping them to stay safe," said lead researcher Malcolm Hill, director of the Glasgow Center for the Child and Society. "Parents were generally unaware of its importance and young people themselves recognized that sticking together in groups could, in spite of their self-protective intentions, appear threatening to some adults ... Both parents and children in these deprived neighborhoods were keenly aware of risks within their communities and the young people had often become experts in avoiding potential trouble. They knew about avoiding people, places and certain times of day, and they deployed a range of other strategies, including keeping a low profile or asking friends or parents to accompany them in order to keep safe."

The study also found that parents in low-income communities often restricted the activities of their children to protect them from known dangers in the community, and that children were generally receptive to these restrictions. "The parents we interviewed described sophisticated strategies they had adopted to minimize their children's exposure to danger and to guard them against temptations to go 'off the rails'," said study co-author Paul Seaman. "They also had high aspirations for their children, wanting them to have better opportunities in life than they had experienced. What appeared to be lacking was the capacity to fulfill the hopes they held, especially in education, because they did not have the knowledge or resources to realize them."

The study was conducted for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.