scholarly journals Perceived Support and Sense of Social Belonging in Young Adults Who Have a Parent With a Mental Illness

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aude Villatte ◽  
Geneviève Piché ◽  
Sylvie Benjamin
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Transition To Adulthood ◽  
Parental Support ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Social Belonging

This participatory action research explores the perceived social support of youth whose parents have a mental illness during their transition to adulthood. Social support is an important protection factor during this developmental period, but few studies have explored how these young adults perceive their social support. Nor has any study assessed whether participation in a group-based participatory action research project could improve these youth's sense of support.Purpose: (1) identify which aspects of social support these youth spontaneously address when talking about their experiences in Photovoice workshops; (2) explore how participants view these types of workshops as a good way to improve their sense of social support and belonging.Methodology: Ten young adults (nine women and one man) between the ages of 18 and 25 who have at least one parent with a mental illness participated in Photovoice meetings in 2019. These group meetings aimed to explore and share their experiences as young adults whose parents have a mental illness. The testimonies were combined with data obtained from the abbreviated version of the Social Provisions Scale and the Scale of Social Belonging.Results: The quantitative results suggest that participants consider their social support levels to be high, but their qualitative statements highlight low level or absence of parental support in terms of emotional, informative or instrumental levels. They see themselves as an important source of support for their parent and discuss the importance of having other supports figures (romantic partner, employer, friends, sibling, etc.). Conversely, they have difficulty asking for help for various reasons (including fear of stigma). They consider that their participation in this Photovoice project allowed them to feel heard, supported and to develop a sense of belonging to a group.Discussion: To conclude, clinical issues to be considered for psychosocial intervention with young adults of parents with a mental illness are discussed.

Allyship and solidarity, not therapy, in child and youth mental health: Lessons from a participatory action research project with psychiatrized youth

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Liegghio
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Young People ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Research Project ◽  
The Social

While globally advances have been made to recognize children as social actors in their own right, for psychiatrized young people their experiences of distress are often seen as a limitation and thus used as a justification for denying their meaningful participation in matters of concern to their lives. However, what would it mean if ‘mental illness’ was not seen as a ‘limitation’, but rather as an ‘epistemological position’ from which the social world is experienced, understood and acted upon? What would it mean if our theories about ‘distress’ and ‘helping’ were premised on the subjugated knowledges of psychiatrized children and youth? The consumer/survivor-led research movement has made significant gains in answering these questions for the adult, but not necessarily for the child and youth mental health field. The purpose of this article is to critically examine the significance of psychiatrized young people setting and executing their own research and, ultimately, practice agendas. Presented are the outcomes of an evaluation of a participatory action research project examining the stigma of mental illness conducted with seven psychiatrized youth, 14 to 17 years old. The outcomes suggest our roles as practitioners and researchers need to shift from being ‘agents’ working on behalf of to ‘allies’ working in solidarity with young people to change the social conditions of their marginalization. The article concludes with the limits of consumer/survivor-led research for addressing adultism and, instead, ends with a call for decolonizing children’s mental health.

“I’ll Save You a Seat”: Negotiating Power in a Participatory Action Research Project with Queer and Trans Young Adults

2021 ◽  
pp. 004208592110231
Author(s):  
Amy Hillier ◽  
Kel Kroehle
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Youth Leadership ◽  
Youth Participatory Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Operational Issues ◽  
School Youth

Youth participatory action research (YPAR) provides a model for youth leadership in research aimed at tangible improvements to their lives. We employed YPAR with queer and trans young adults in a qualitative study about trans high school youth. In this paper, we highlight the importance of relationships, dialog and reflexivity to ensuring ongoing critical reflection on the ethical nature of what often appear as methodological and operational issues. Our research underscores the tensions, contradictions, and limitations of sharing power that emerge in collaborations across age, race, educational attainment, and lived experience.

Actieonderzoek in leefstijlonderzoek is geen sinecure

KWALON ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Famke van Lieshout ◽  
Gaby Jacobs ◽  
Shaun Cardiff
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Clinical Practice Setting ◽  
Learning Together

Action research in lifestyle research is no sinecure. Response to Kromme et al.: ‘Changing together is learning together’, a participatory action research project This is a reply to the contribution entitled: ‘Learning together is changing together: A participatory action research project on the role of the internist in promoting a healthy lifestyle’. Here the authors highlight the complexity of facilitating participatory action research (PAR) in a clinical practice setting and reflect on the first three stages of their research through eight principles that could guide PAR, as described by Van Lieshout et al. (2017). As we developed these principles, we explain the principles of participation, reflexivity, contextuality and transformation in greater detail in relation to the context of this study. The authors made suggestions to change the five-phased model of PAR to get a better grip on the process. The authors rightly highlighted some limitations in the labeling of some phases. However, it is the reflexivity on the multiple perspectives that facilitators encounter and the relationships they engage with during the process, as well as acknowledging the iterative process of PAR, which needs to be embraced and experienced during the entire process of study.

“Different but connected”: Participatory action research using Photovoice to explore well-being in autistic young adults

Autism ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 1246-1259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Yu Hin Lam ◽  
Emily Holden ◽  
Megan Fitzpatrick ◽  
Linda Raffaele Mendez ◽  
Karen Berkman
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
School Transition ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Transition Program ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Autistic Community

Past research has largely focused on the negative aspects of well-being of autistic young adults during the post-school transition. Research that meaningfully includes autistic individuals and captures their perspectives of positive well-being is essential for stakeholders to better understand how to provide services that respond to the needs and wants of the autistic community. In the current study, 14 autistic young adults in a post-school transition program participated in a Photovoice project and used photos to express their ideas about well-being. A participatory action research approach was used to support participants’ active engagement in the research processes and to encourage meaningful expression of their first-person perspectives. Results revealed an account of well-being reflecting expressions of individuality and growth, the significance of having close relationships, and a sense of connection with the community. This study has implications for research and practice that promotes well-being among the autistic community using approaches that are ethically informed and inclusive of autistic voices. Lay abstract Past research has mainly focused on autistic people’s deficits and poor outcomes compared to other groups of people. Little is known about their positive life experiences, and how to support them to achieve a higher quality of life. It is important to include autistic individuals in research so that they can influence how their voices are represented in a meaningful way and how the research results will be useful to them. In this study, a university researcher collaborated with 14 autistic young adults in a post-school transition program to design and run the research, collect and analyze the data, and use the results to create a presentation to the community. Specifically, the participants took photos in daily life and discussed their ideas about what a good life means to them. Results showed that these young adults described themselves as uniquely and different, but they were eager to learn and adapt. They also valued their relationships with their families, friends, and animals around them, as well as the community at large. This research shows that autistic individuals have important perspectives to share and knowledge to contribute when they are given the opportunities to participate in different aspects of research. The findings will be useful in developing services and influencing policies that promote well-being among autistic adults.

scholarly journals Aligning Action Research and Restorative Justice: Highlighting Epistemological Tensions

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-29
Author(s):  
Brunilda Pali
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Restorative Justice ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Social Conflicts ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Local Participation ◽  
Culture Of Silence ◽  
A Site

The epistemology of participatory action research sets a high agenda for pursuing and engendering change oriented towards social justice. This article is based on a participatory action research project, anchored both in the principles of restorative justice and action research. The project aimed at mobilizing local participation, knowledge and resources and creating restorative dialogue and encounters in handling social conflicts in intercultural settings in four different countries. Restorative justice and action research are highly compatible in terms of some of their core principles, but the project revealed important tensions that this article will reflect upon. Zooming into a town in Hungary – one of the four action research sites – the article addresses these tensions by focusing on two central themes. The first theme, encountering the silence and micropolitics, relates to the challenges created in the site, due to our encounter with its micropolitics and the existing ‘culture of silence’ about social conflicts. How should researchers enter a site, how far should they stir the depths of conflicts and disturb the silence and status quo in order to unearth injustices, multiply narratives, and stage different perspectives? The second theme, rethinking conflict participation, relates to the tension created between a more naïve idea of participation and a more antagonistic one. In restorative justice, it is often assumed that if everybody were included and participated in restorative processes, staging their different perspectives, then consensus could be reached. But considering the possibility that different views cannot be reconciled, and power relations cannot be suspended, we need to rethink the meaning of conflict participation in restorative praxis. 

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