Significant adults and peers - mapping and understanding transitions in children's support networks over the life course.

This mixed methods study aims to research the roles that significant adults and peers play in children's lives over time. Its findings will help better understand patterns of support from early childhood to pre-adulthood, alongside individuals' narrative constructions of such support.
Advanced quantitative methods will be used to analyse survey data from the Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) survey, focusing on longitudinal data reflecting aspects such as parent and child attachment, children's relationships with other adults, peer on peer relationships and support, as well as contextual data (e.g. school transitions, puberty, family composition, etc.). In addition, through a sub-sample of this survey, narrative visual methodologies will be used with the now adult survey participants to gain a deeper understanding of when, where and why support from significant others mattered most.

This project will provide a much more nuanced and child-centred understanding about what support different significant others offer for different groups of children. The research has the potential to better inform policy interventions targeted at families, school children and adolescents which seek to address children's emotional development and behaviour.