After introductions and ice-breakers we dived into two interesting topics: the questionnaire for help-seeking youth and collecting narratives of young people.
In our work package 7 a questionnaire is being developed to find out more about trajectories of help seeking youth. This questionnaire will be used during the first visit of the help-seeking person in a clinical setting. A previous version of this questionnaire was already improved based on feedback of Young Experts present in the Youth-GEMs science cafés and other young people. Marta Ferrer, who works as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry and Mental Health Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón in Madrid was present in this Science Café to discuss new suggestions on the questionnaire with the Young Experts.
Young Experts mentioned amongst others:
- Questions about labour and/or academic life could be added.
- There are a lot of questions about parents, but not everyone has parents. Carers may be a more suitable phrase or parental figures.
- Shortening the questionnaire as it takes about 20-40 minutes to fill it in.
- Questions on coping, thoughts and thinking and how sensitive the items are formulated were evaluated in a very positive way.
Next guests were Hanske Douwenga, Marijke Kolk and Lisette van der Poel (working at HU University of applied sciences Utrecht in the Netherlands). They are involved in our work package 2 where we aim on giving a voice to young people. One way of doing so is by collecting narratives of young people with mental variations. Marijke and Hanske explained how we will collect so called qualitative data in an interview study which will enrich the quantitative data collected in other work packages in the project.
Narratives will be collected by clinicians and researchers via a specific method. They will therefore all attend an online training focused on deep listening and creating a safe environment for young persons. The following questions are leading in the qualitative interviews:
- How do young people experience living with mental variation?
- What are the challenges and difficulties in everyday live?
- What is helpful in coping (triggers and glimmers)?
Young Advisors were asked to give input on the way the narratives are collected: 1 on 1 or in small groups, whether any topics are missing in the training and the do’s and don’ts in creating a safe atmosphere for young people.
