Structural and socio-psychological influences on adolescents' educational aspirations and subsequent academic achievement.

Previous literature indicates that educational aspirations are an important predictor of achievement at school and beyond. This paper examines the factors that are associated with high educational aspirations. It also looks at the relationship between aspirations and achievement at the General Certificate of Secondary Education in a deprived area of London.

The impact of psychological distress on the educational achievement of adolescents at the end of compulsory education.

Background: Poor academic performance at school can have a substantial effect on opportunities in adult life and as such it is imperative that researchers establish the chief causes of underachievement. This paper examines performance at the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), examined at age 16, with reference to psychological distress and depressive symptoms as measured at age 13-14.

Methods: The data come from a school based prospective epidemiological study of a representative multiethnic sample of adolescents attending East London secondary schools in Tower Hamlets, Hackney, and Newham.

Mingling, observing, and lingering: everyday public spaces and their implications for well-being and social relations.

The rejuvenation of public spaces is a key policy concern in the UK. Drawing on a wide literature and on qualitative research located in a multi-ethnic area of East London, this paper explores their relationship to well-being and social relations. It demonstrates that ordinary spaces are a significant resource for both individuals and communities.

Area social fragmentation, social support for individuals and psychosocial health in young adults: evidence from a national survey in England.

This paper uses national survey data for young adults in England to explore empirically the relationships between social fragmentation in communities (measured for geographical areas), social support experienced by individuals from their immediate social circle, and psychosocial health of young adults. After reviewing previous research about these associations, we adopted an empirical approach to these questions, which was innovative in using data on area social fragmentation from a different source to the survey data on individuals. Also, we have examined the relevance for mental health of interactions between individual social support and area social fragmentation, as well as their independent associations with health.