Research
TRIUMPH is focusing on three themes to target our efforts at key groups with the greatest health needs and the social connections, relationships and education settings with most influence on young people’s health and behaviours.
We have worked with young people, researchers, policymakers and practitioners from across the UK to determine priority areas for future research into youth mental public health within each of our themes.
While any young person can experience difficulties with their mental health, some groups are more likely to experience problems. Some young people may live in particularly complex and challenging families, in places with fewer opportunities for education or employment, or in societies where their identities are not treated equally and fairly.
TRIUMPH are focusing on two key groups of young people that are at greater risk of poor mental health and wellbeing:
- Care-experienced young people, including those who may have lived in foster care, residential care, kinship care, hostels or independently.
- LGBTQ+ young people, including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer or questioning, or who may define their sexual orientation and/or gender identity in other ways.
TRIUMPH supports research aiming to better understand what young people with experience of being in these groups think are the causes of poorer mental health and wellbeing, and what they think is useful for reducing these inequalities. We will look to co-create new and sensitive ways of improving mental health and wellbeing among those with the greatest need.
Building positive relationships that support good mental health and wellbeing
- How can we support LGBTQ+ young people to develop supportive peer networks that are protective of mental health?
- How can we support LGBTQ+ young people to develop positive relationships within families, wider communities, and with social care, healthcare and education professionals?
- What is the role of relationships in LGBTQ+ young people’s resilience to respond to change and adversity?
Whole system approaches to support LGBTQ+ young people’s mental health and wellbeing
- How can we change culture to reduce stigma relating to LGBTQ+ identities and lives, and support mental health and wellbeing?
- How can we achieve positive and sustainable change in schools and communities that supports mental health and wellbeing among young people of all genders and sexualities?
- How can we increase positive representations of LGBTQ+ identities, relationships and lives in popular and mainstream culture to improve mental health and wellbeing among LGBTQ+ young people?
Supporting LGBTQ+ young people through change
- What are the potentially challenging periods of change in LGBTQ+ young people’s lives and how do these impact mental health and wellbeing (e.g. moving from primary to secondary to tertiary education, leaving home, starting employment, healthcare/service changes)?
- How can we best support LGBTQ+ young people during these periods of change?
Development and training for those who support LGBTQ+ young people
- What are the training needs of adults (e.g. in education, youth work, healthcare, social care) supporting the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ young people?
- What training outcomes are important to LGBTQ+ young people for adults working to support them?
- How should LGBTQ+ young people be involved in decision-making around training and support?
Building relationships and networks that support good mental health and wellbeing
- How can we support care experienced young people to develop supportive peer networks?
- How can we support young people and their carers to develop positive relationships that are protective of mental health and wellbeing?
- How can we support care experienced young people to develop positive relationships with social care, healthcare and education professionals?
Supporting care-experienced young people at times of transition
- What are the key transitions for care-experienced young people and how do these impact mental health and wellbeing (e.g. in and out of care, leaving care, between services, educational transitions)?
- What are the challenges and opportunities in achieving positive transitions, and how can care-experienced young people be supported in managing these transitions?
Models of interagency working to support mental health and wellbeing
- What are the needs of social care, healthcare and education professionals who support care-experienced young people with their mental health and wellbeing?
- What are the opportunities and challenges of different models to support inter-agency working?
- What are the impacts of different models to support inter-agency working on young people’s mental health and wellbeing?
- How can we implement successful models of inter-agency working across different settings?
Development and training for those who support care-experienced young people
- What are the training needs of adults (e.g. social care, healthcare, education, carers) supporting the mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced young people?
- What training outcomes are important to adults and care experienced young people?
- How can mental health training be successfully implemented among adults who support care experienced young people?
Awareness, access and experience of services
- What are the service needs of care-experienced young people to support their mental health and wellbeing?
- What are care-experienced young people’s experiences of current mental health services and support and how could this be improved?
- How can we increase awareness and access to mental health services and support among care-experienced young people? What are the potential impacts on inequalities?
Co-leads: Sharon Simpson,
Mark McCann
Relationships with friends and family, and other social interactions can affect young people’s mental health and wellbeing in both positive and negative ways.
At present, we have intuitions and evidence about the importance of young people having “one trusted adult” they can turn to if they need support; the role of having a few ‘close friends’ to provide emotional support; or how mental wellbeing can be supported by having many social connections as compared to having little or no connections.
Simply counting the number and types of social connections is only the beginning of trying to understand how connections and relationships influence our mental health and wellbeing.
TRIUMPH supports research to find out what sorts of social connections and relationships are the most important for young people’s mental health. We want to better understand what young people think about their social connections, find out what relationships are most helpful and harmful for mental health, and come up with new ways to help improve mental health and wellbeing.
Building positive relationships that support good mental health and wellbeing
- How can we support young people to develop positive peer relationships, relationships with parents / carers, and relationships with other adults (e.g. teachers, youth workers)?
- What is the role of relationships in young people’s resilience to respond to change and adversity?
Whole system approaches to support young people’s mental health
- How can we change culture to reduce stigma and support mental health and wellbeing?
- How can we reduce the impact of inequalities (e.g. deprivation, social inequalities, geographical area) on mental health and wellbeing?
Social media and mental health
- How can we harness social media in a positive way to support mental health and wellbeing?
Out of school and community settings to support mental health and wellbeing
- What is the role of youth clubs, social prescribing (i.e. referrals to local non-clinical community services) and outdoor activities in supporting youth mental health?
- What skills / support do parents and carers need in order to support young people and how can this be provided?
Schools and other education settings can play an important role in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people and provide a unique opportunity to deliver programmes to a wide audience of young people. They are also important settings for identifying and challenging things that can have negative impacts on mental health and wellbeing such as bullying, victimisation and negative or violent relationships.
Emerging evidence suggests the way schools are organised, the level of meaningful pupil involvement in decision making and staff/pupil relationships can contribute to wellbeing. However, school and health service support for those most in need is often lacking and we don’t know enough about how best to support key groups of young people at the greatest risk of mental ill health.
Building positive relationships that support good mental health and wellbeing
- What role do schools play in developing relationship education?
Whole school system approaches to support young people’s mental health and wellbeing
- How can we change culture around wellbeing and attainment (e.g. policies, curriculum)?
- How could the school curriculum be modified to support young people’s mental health?
- How can changes to the physical or structural education environment affect mental health and wellbeing (e.g. class size, timetable structure, built environment, physical activity, time outdoors)?
- How can we develop mental health literacy among young people to increase awareness and reduce stigma around mental health and wellbeing?
- How do we measure change in whole school / education setting environments?
Social media and mental health
- How can education settings support the digital literacy of students and staff?
Supporting young people at times of transition
- How can we support young people to develop the skills and resilience to adapt to changes in their lives (e.g. moving from primary to secondary to tertiary education, starting work, or moving in and out of different education settings)?
- What additional support should education settings provide to support young people through transitions?
Improving links to mental health services and support
- What processes and policies are needed to allow inter-agency working linked to education settings that provides consistent and appropriate support for young people?
- How should young people in education settings be involved in decision making around mental health services and support?
Development and training for those who support young people’s mental health and wellbeing
- What are the development needs of education staff (e.g. teachers, support staff, mental health specialists in education settings) in order to provide appropriate support to young people?
- What training is effective for staff in education settings?
- How can training on mental health and wellbeing be successfully implemented in education settings?
Staff mental health and wellbeing
- What do staff in education settings need to support their own mental health and wellbeing?
- How can we effectively implement strategies or interventions that support staff wellbeing?
Engaging with families
- How can education setting effectively engage with families, particularly parents / carers, to support them in understanding young people mental health issues?
- How can families work with education to provide a consistent support system for young people both in and out of the education setting?
Social connections and relationships