Hayley - Interview 10
Age at interview: 17
Brief Outline:
Hayley lives in a small village and thinks that the reason why young people drink alcohol and/or do drugs there is because they are bored and there is nothing else for them to do. She thinks that the situation would be improved if there were other activities like youth centres or the cinema (with tickets at a reduced price) available. She also thinks better communication between parents and their teenage children would help.
Background:
Hayley lives with mum and dad and sibling in a small town in the North of England. She is finishing college next year and plans to go to university to study either occupational therapy or social work. She describes herself as white British.
More about me...
In Hayley’s village, many of her friends used to drink on the street. She didn’t join in because she knew that the police patrolled the area and anyone caught drinking underage was cautioned and a letter was sent to their parents. Her parents didn’t approve of young people drinking in public and the thought of her parents getting a letter from the police put her off the idea completely. Though she often turned down her friends’ invitations to join them for a drink, she never felt singled out or bullied.
Hayley’s experiences of drinking alcohol have mostly been at home with her family. From the age of 14 she has been able to invite her friends and have a drink in the house or at special family occasions. She says that she drinks in moderation and hasn’t ‘binge drank’ ever. For her, alcohol is good when wanting to ‘chill out’ but not to use it to get drunk. Hayley is very anti-drugs and has never tried any of them.
Hayley mostly goes out with family and close friends and prefers to go to her local pubs than to the city centre that she describes as the place where ‘all the fighting goes on’ at weekends. She works part-time and says that she doesn’t have enough money to go out often. When out with her boyfriend they tend to mainly spend time with other couples they know.
Hayley says that her parents rarely drink and when they do, it's mainly on holiday with friends. She describes her parents as ‘happy people when drunk’ and never quarrelling or violent.
Most of the information and advice about drugs and alcohol has come from them and from her school.
Hayley lives in a small village and thinks that the reason why young people drink alcohol and/or do drugs there is because they are bored and there is nothing else for them to do. She thinks that the situation would be improved if there were other activities like youth centres or the cinema (with tickets at a reduced price) available. She also thinks better communication between parents and their teenage children would help.
