Background to the Research

• Research into the impact of the Troubles on the population of Northern Ireland has tended to focus on various subgroups such as children or those directly involved in incidents.
• This study focuses on the general effects of the Troubles on the population as a whole.
  

Research Approach

• A survey of 1346 people was carried out alongside in-depth interviews with 85 people, all of whom lived in 3 different sets of wards that were classified according to their Troubles-related death rates.
• The key variables were location, gender, religion, age and socio-economic status as these are associated with an individual's experience of the Troubles.
  

Main Findings

• Of the respondents, 624 were male and 722 were female, two-thirds were between the ages of 25-59, 421 (32.2%) were in the 40-59 age group, 201 (15.5%) were below the age of 20 and 13.2% (171) were aged 65 or over.
• Approximately two-thirds of the sample were Catholic and one-third were Protestant.
• Over a third (39% - 516) of households had no member in either full or part-time employment, 313 (23.6%) had 1 member and 346 (26.1%) had 2 members in either full or part-time employment.
• A significant proportion of respondents (14.1%) were receiving Jobseekers Allowance, 27.1% receiving Income Support, some 27.6 were on housing benefit and 39.7 were on child benefit.
• The majority of respondents owned their home 738 (54.6%) and 45.2% rented their accommodation.
• In relation to perceived housing segregation. 787 out of 1,344 (58.6%) saw their area as segregated, the majority (81.8%) were Catholic.
• The largest single group of respondents (30.4%) earned between £100 and £250 per week, 27.5% earned less than £100. Only 8.9% of respondents earned between £12,000 and £16,000 per annum and 1.1% earned more than £30,000.
• Those in wards of high intensity violence sought help more frequently than those in other wards. In the case of all wards, help was sought primarily from family, although differences emerged in help sought outside the family between the 3 locations.
• Over 40% of those who sought help in high intensity wards were unable to find satisfactory help, compared with 29% in medium intensity and 29% in low intensity wards.
• Over 23% of respondents in high intensity wards had taken medication compared to almost 12% in medium intensity wards and just over 9% in low intensity wards.
• Twenty-two per cent of respondents in wards of high intensity reported increased alcohol consumption related to the Troubles compared to just over 4% in middle intensity wards.
• Location proved to be a key factor in experience of the Troubles; those living in high intensity wards related paramilitary/security forces activity at twice the rate for middle intensity wards and 4 times the rate for the least intensity wards.
• In high intensity wards there are insecurities and fears in being outside one's area and an acute awareness of outsiders.
• There is a strong pattern of segregation, with over 25% of those living in high intensity wards, who were employed, working only with members of their own community.
• Males have been the primary victims of the Troubles, with 37.5% claiming to have experienced the Troubles 'a lot'/'quite a lot' compared to 22.3% of females. Conversely, just under a fifth of males and just over a quarter of females claimed little or no experience of the Troubles.
• The percentage of Catholics reporting a lot of experience of the Troubles was more than 3 times higher than for Protestants. This difference was sustained in the high intensity wards, with over 25% of Catholics reporting 'a lot' of experience of the Troubles compared to 5% of Protestants.
• In total, 62 (4.5%) individuals were physically injured due to the Troubles. Thirty-nine people had been injured in a bomb explosion at least once and 33 injured in shootings.
• Just over 20% of the sample (287) people reported deterioration in their health as a result of Trouble-related trauma or bereavement.