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Qualitative longitudinal research (QLR) has been described as an emerging and innovative methodology particularly adept at exploring the complex multifaceted nature of young people's lives. Adopting a qualitative longitudinal approach, this thesis explores young women's experiences of teenage pregnancy and motherhood. Highlighting the use and value of this methodology demonstrates the complexity of teenage pregnancy and motherhood, especially with regard to developments through time and how an individual narrative can unfold. By taking a holistic biographical approach this thesis also considers the role of 'critical moments' through time in defining and impacting upon young mother's transitions, identities and life chances. The value of focusing upon processes rather than simply outcomes can also help inform more receptive policy approaches. For instance, being able to grasp the significance of events and ascertain the causes and processes through time help ensure that policy initiatives correspond to the needs of service users. As the thesis will highlight, QLR should be viewed as a distinctive methodological approach that can provide unique and valuable insights into the processes attached to complex social phenomena and give weight to the lived experiences of young mothers. What makes this thesis an original contribution to the literature is how it views teenage pregnancy and motherhood as fluid and dynamic, moving away from the static snap shots that often depict young mothers as struggling, or even 'failing' (at one moment in time), to a more nuanced account that reflects their journeys into motherhood and changes through time.

The introduction of Universal Credit, a means-tested benefit for working age people in the UK, constitutes radical welfare reform and entails a significant intensification and expansion of welfare conditionality. Numerically, women are disproportionately affected by the conditionality regime for main carers of children within Universal Credit. Under this new benefit, couples have to nominate as "lead carer" the person in the household primarily responsible for the care of the dependent children. Lone parents are automatically designated the "lead carer". The lead carer is subject to different levels of work-related requirements depending on the age of the youngest child and faces sanctions for non-compliance. To investigate how the conditionality within Universal Credit affects the valuing of unpaid care, women's employment trajectories, women's agency and ultimately women's citizenship status, a qualitative longitudinal study was carried out. Two rounds of semi-structured interviews were conducted with a group of mothers subject to the conditionality within Universal Credit which explored over time their experiences of, and views on, this new conditionality regime. The resultant findings demonstrate that the conditionality within Universal Credit exacerbates women's marginalised position in dominant gendered citizenship frameworks. By making social rights dependent on more intensive and extended paid work-related behaviour, the conditionality demands women undertake paid work as their active citizenship contribution and further devalues unpaid care. However, this policy does not facilitate mothers' entrance into the types of paid work that would enable them to obtain full citizenship status in its current gendered form. It also further constrains mothers' choices about engagement in paid work and unpaid care and can compel them to act against their volition, thereby exacerbating the limitations placed on women's agency. This thesis ultimately calls for social security benefits to be designed and delivered in ways that enhance, rather than undermine, women's citizenship status and practice.

The adoption of children against the wishes of their first parents is a highly contested area of policy and social work practice in England and Wales (Doughty, 2015; Featherstone et. al., 2018b; Ward and Smeeton, 2017). In the years since 2010, successive governments have introduced reforms which aim to reduce court timescales and increase the numbers of looked-after children being adopted (Conservative Party, 2019; Department for Education, 2015b). Such reforms have come at a time when entitlements to welfare benefits and services to support families to retain care of their children have been dramatically curtailed (Bywaters et. al., 2020; Hastings et. al., 2015; Featherstone et. al., 2014a; 2018; Lonne et. al., 2016; Morriss, 2018). In a context concerned with prioritising the welfare of individual children (s 1.1, Children Act, 1989), there is evidence that the complex needs of first mothers can be overlooked in favour of a "child rescue" approach to intervention (Crittendon, 2016; Kirton, 2019:4). First mothers who experience the removal and adoption of their children have been identified as a population of women living with multiple, complex and mutually reinforcing difficulties (Broadhurst and Mason, 2013; Featherstone et. al. 2014a; Neale and Lopez, 2017; Roberts et. al., 2017), and there is evidence that mothers' voices can be marginalised within the current "happy ever after" narrative surrounding adoption policy (Gupta and Featherstone, 2020:166). This thesis aims to explore 19 first mothers' experiences of the loss of a child to adoption, including investigation of mothers' utilisation of artefacts such as toys and blankets associated with now-adopted children in managing their grief. Respondents' situated accounts are privileged as providing key insights into the experience of marginalised motherhood within the contemporary context.

Resilience, generally understood as the avoidance of negative consequences despite the presence of adversity, has attracted significant attention in the study of human responses. This research focused on resilience with LGBT+ people in the UK who are known to experience health inequalities. As such, the findings contribute to a growing field, which has yet to adequately account for the perspectives of those with marginalised identities. The research questions explored the interrelated concepts of adversity and resilience, alongside intersectional notions of difference. Informed by the principles of qualitative social research with an online methodology, the research successfully engaged with 111 participants. These participants generated the research data through an online questionnaire and distance interviews via email, instant messaging and Skype. Analysis indicated participants held complex relationships with the notion of resilience, which were grounded in their personal and community experiences. Individual agency factors and structural environmental characteristics contributed to participants' resilience. Significantly, participants perceived resilience as required from those with minority identities, pointing to the elevated rates of suicide and mental health problems as a direct consequence of this expectation. Resilience was also associated with notions of survival; these accounts diverge from many contemporary approaches which are contingent on the concept of thriving. The study concludes that structural components, such as identity-based adversities, are central to understanding LGBT+ peoples' perspectives and experiences of resilience. The need for further qualitative explorations of resilience is evident. It is suggested that future research focuses on accounts of resilience with marginalised individuals and communities who have much to offer to the study and understanding of resilience. Furthermore, it is suggested that policy makers apply caution when deploying the concept of resilience as the expectations of responding in such a manner place significant requirements on those already at risk of the consequences of structural adversities.