Editor’s choice
Editor’s choice
part of Citizen Science
Youth mental health is a global priority challenge. Young people deserve to have their needs met by mental health research that asks and answers the questions that matter most to them.
Achieving this goal requires researchers to view young people with lived experience not only as participants in their studies or recipients of their findings, but as partners and leaders in their own right. This requires citizen science to adopt radically different ways of working with young people that facilitate equal contribution throughout the research process.
Beyond the direct impacts of enhancing both researchers and young people’s knowledge and skills, this can ensure more relevant, accessible and impactful research is conducted and communicated.
An illustrated summary of the project's aims and processes.
Illustration: Tamara-Jade Kaz
Our approach is based on radical collaboration: youth co-researchers are equal partners in identifying priority research questions and developing research proposals to address these. The project supports young people in being fully integrated into the design and development process, with capacity building, relationship building and financial reimbursement to enable young people to take an active role and work with confidence alongside professional researchers. Through peer-to-peer learning and signposting to methods and materials, we support researchers in making an authentic space for collaboration with the young people.
The project ran from 2021 to 2024 and is continuing to generate research outputs.
Past event / See Rhys Archer's insights from the Youth LIVES project, as shared at the European Network for Mental Health Service Evaluation (ENMESH) conference.
Youth LIVES is a citizen science mental health research project that seeks to produce priority mental heath research proposals for young people. The project brings together youth co-researchers (young people aged 14-21 with lived experience of mental health) with mental health researchers across a program of facilitated sessions to identify research areas of interest; conduct evidence mapping and other knowledge sharing activities; build appropriate research methods, and co-create and share a co-designed research proposal.
The project is split into 4 research teams, focused on youth priority topics identified through co-design sessions. These topics are
The Youth LIVES project was led by SEI York and the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, with contributions from the School of Arts and Creative Technologies at the University of York and in partnership with Leaders Unlocked and Mental Health Foundation.
Youth LIVES was funded through UKRI Citizen Science Collaboration Grants, and supported by the Young Foundation. It ran from 2021 to 2024 and is continuing to generate research outputs.
Each of the four research groups co-created a research proposal. You can access each one below as both a written document, an illustration and an audio file. If you would like to zoom in on the illustrated proposals, please access them via the proposals section of the Youth LIVES website.
What cultural barriers exist in accessing mental health services in schools, and what are effective interventions to overcome them?
Illustration: Keir MB Studio
What is the mental health of young people awaiting a diagnosis for ADHD, Autism, and other neurodevelopmental/neurodiverse conditions?
Illustration: Keir MB Studio
What is the impact of pet ownership and pet therapy on the mental health of young people and their pets around the world?
Illustration: Keir MB Studio
How do interventions for at-risk young people affect their coping skills and help-seeking behaviour?
Illustration: Keir MB Studio
Read more about each of the four research teams and how they tackled the priority topics identified through co-design sessions on the Youth LIVES website.
Past event / SEI York's Citizen Science Group ran a panel session exploring four related narratives at the Science in Public 2024 conference in Birmingham, UK.
Journal article / This paper shares learnings from a discussion on co-creation practices across Europe, which we led at the 2024 European Citizen Science Association conference.
Journal article / The SAMHE project introduces a novel method to generate and analyze extensive datasets via collaborative citizen science methods, in this case with UK schools.
