“It is Noisy, Busy and Smells Weird”: Sensory Friendly Environments for Children and Young People Visiting Health Care Settings

Reviewed by: Histories, Memories and Representations of Being Young in the First World War ed. by Maggie Andrews, N. C. Fleming, and Marcus Morris Ashley Henrickson Histories, Memories and Representations of Being Young in the First World War. Edited by Maggie Andrews, N. C. Fleming, and Marcus Morris. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020. xiii + 257 pp. Hardcover $119.99, paper $84.99. Histories, Memories and Representations of Being Young in the First World War explores the experiences of young people during the war and how the conflict has been presented to young people in the century that followed. The edited collection was developed from a 2015 conference at Manchester Metropolitan University titled "Being Young in World War One." Editors Maggie Andrews, N. C. Fleming, and Marcus Morris have broadly defined both children and youth (including people up to the age of twenty) and welcomed essays that explore the diverse perspectives and experiences of young people. The editors aptly note that the collection does not and cannot cover the entirety of young people's experiences; however, the contributors should be commended for putting a notable dent in the historiography. The chapters cover many different topics, including children's and young people's experiences in education, the workplace, and organizations like the Navy League. Examining such a breadth of topics inevitably means that the authors describe numerous and sometimes contradictory wartime experiences. For example, in her chapter, Ruth Percy suggests that young, working-class women viewed the war as a time of opportunity rather than a time of loss and sorrow. Conversely, Melanie Tebbutt describes how young people often found refuge from the sadness of war in darkened movie theatres. Marcus Morris illustrates yet another unique experience by drawing attention to the desires of some young women to subvert gender norms and fight on the front lines. These varied descriptions of young people's experiences may appear inconsistent, but as Maggie Andrews, Hayley Carter, Lisa Cox-Davies, and Anna Muggeridge explain in their chapter, "there were numerous home fronts just as there were numerous battlefronts," and furthermore, "a national narrative of the conflict, even in relation to children, is not the national narrative" (55). By highlighting a variety of perspectives, this edited collection embraces the inevitable complexity of wartime and childhood. [End Page 441] The collection works to center the experiences of children and young people in a field where their experiences are often studied only in relation to other histories. In doing so, the authors demonstrate how the history of childhood helps paint a more complete picture of the past. For example, by focusing on the experiences of urban children, Rebecca Ball's chapter challenges the belief that the home front was a predominantly female space and questions the assumption that relationships between civilians and soldiers were largely defined by separation. The latter half of the collection examines contemporary understandings of the war and children's place within it, along with ways that the war was presented to later generations. Jane Rosen considers how children's novels produced over the past four decades preserve myths about the war in an attempt to tell morally instructive tales. Sam Edwards discusses how the war has been portrayed and commemorated through television. The collection concludes with a fascinating chapter by Maggie Andrews that will interest both academic and public historians. Andrews reviews the numerous accommodations that were undertaken to make the centennial commemorations of the First World War palatable for consumption by young people in the United Kingdom. She outlines the various political, historiographic, and economic factors that shaped and ultimately limited the histories of the war that were shared with young people. Overall, this collection provides a wealth of insight into the experiences of young people in World War I. Melanie Tebbutt's analysis of how children experienced the darkened space of the cinemas is especially innovative. As a whole, the book demonstrates that growing up during a time of conflict had enormous effects on young people's lives; however, these effects were diverse and sometimes contradictory. Ashley Henrickson Know History Inc. Copyright © 2022 Johns Hopkins University Press

Background: Group programmes are a common component of treatment in inpatient child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) units. There is evidence for specific group interventions, however, comparison across a multidisciplinary group programme is under-explored. Aims: This research examines young people's experiences of, and satisfaction with, a multidisciplinary group programme on an acute inpatient CAMHS unit. Methods: Weekly surveys were distributed to young people, and 37 responses were gathered across four months in 2018. Rates of attendance, enjoyment and perceived helpfulness of groups were calculated. Content analysis was used to explore key themes in qualitative responses. Results: Young people rated a creative activities and games group (54.05%) and the art therapy group (48.95%) as the two most enjoyable groups. Art therapy was reported to be the most helpful group overall (45.65%). Young people also expressed their dislike for verbal psychotherapy groups (43.24%), finding these confronting relative to other modalities in the programme. Conclusions: Art therapy and arts-based groups received the highest positive feedback relative to predominantly verbal psychotherapy groups. A multidisciplinary group programme which integrates art therapy and other creative modalities has the potential to enhance engagement in acute inpatient settings which may result in improved mental health outcomes for young people. Implications for future research and practice: Future research should aim to foreground young people's perspectives and experiences of therapeutic programmes, and provide opportunities for clinicians to redevelop programmes responsively to service user feedback. Survey findings support advocacy for consistent art therapy roles and services within inpatient CAMHS units.

With the rising numbers of prisoners in Australia and the recognition of prisoners as parents across policy and academic domains, an increased interest in children affected by parental incarceration has emerged. Such interest focuses on three areas of inquiry: psychological impacts of parental incarceration on children and young people; links to intergenerational crime; and current responses to children and young people with a parent in prison. Much of this research about children has been undertaken with adults; it is often unclear whether researchers spoke with children and young people about the issues they reported on. Where children and young people have participated in research, it generally focused on data collection from surveys and other measurement tools. Research that explored children and young people’s experiences of parental incarceration, as perceived by them, is limited. A small number of international studies, predominantly from the United Kingdom (UK) and United States of America (US), have spoken with children directly about this issue; however, there is a considerable gap in research that considers the Australian context, particularly the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). This study aimed to fill this gap. It explores the self-reported experiences of children and young people living in the ACT who have or have had a parent in prison. All participants experienced paternal incarceration; three experienced maternal incarceration. This thesis analyses the results of qualitative interviews with children aged 8–18. Employing a childhood studies framework, this research highlights the voices of children and young people, emphasising their own perspectives and meaning-making. A reference group comprising five young people provided guidance at the commencement of the study. Sixteen children and young people participated in semi-structured interviews. Participants were recruited from a range of services across Canberra, including prison, statutory child protection services, youth work services and other non-government services. Data were analysed using an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach. This approach illuminated the complexity of the meanings children and young people placed upon their experience of parental incarceration. This analytical method also ensured that children and young people stayed at the forefront of the findings. The findings highlight that, when a parent commits a crime, the adult criminal justice system institutes a process in which the children of prisoners may, or may not, actively participate. From the point of arrest to the release of their parent, children and young people describe how their everyday lives were influenced by the criminal justice system and how they in turn managed and responded to the challenges that arose. Children and young people spoke about a diverse range of experiences at different points across the criminal justice process, which lasted for different periods of time. Children and young people described how the adult criminal justice system frequently created or exacerbated experiences of instability and uncertainty across specific life domains. They reported challenges with family relationships, housing, caring responsibilities, finances and education. They also described distinct differences in the types of relationships they had with their parent before, during and after incarceration. Consistent with childhood studies, children and young people described how they would meet these challenges and work to change them. Children and young people also experienced a range of emotions. Feelings of loss, stress, disconnection, shame and stigma were present for many participants. The feelings they described were not necessarily associated with the level of involvement they had with their incarcerated parent. In exploring children and young people’s understanding of parental incarceration, this research adds to the emerging body of work about children of prisoners in the Australian context. Children and young people’s participation has allowed their experiences of parental incarceration to be considered beyond the criminological and developmental psychology perspectives that have traditionally dominated much of the research in this field. This thesis provides a theoretical contribution by considering the tensions that exist in how children enact agency and the way they influence and are influenced by the social process and structures around them. In better understanding the experiences of children and young people, this thesis makes an important contribution to the development of sensitive and appropriate policy and practice within social work and more broadly so that children with a parent in prison may be better responded to.

Purpose To explore the experiences of children and young people (CYP) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic and lock down restrictions. Methods Semi-structured, online interviews were conducted with 17 children and young people from the UK, Northern Ireland, aged 10–14 years with ADHD. Over half the participants had a co-existing diagnosis, such as autism spectrum disorder. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim before being subjected to thematic analysis. Results Four themes were identified; the emotional impact of the pandemic, adjustments to daily living, impact of remote learning and the effect on relationships. Many CYP citied feelings of sadness, loneliness and anxiety, others found the reduction in social demands favourable. Conclusions As one of few studies to capture the experiences of children and young people with ADHD during the COVID-19 pandemic, this research highlights the potential negative long-term impact on emotional welfare, schooling and relationships. Implications for rehabilitation Health care professionals should be aware of the overall impact on health and well-being for children and young people with ADHD following the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions to ensure that the effect of these are minimised and managed in the future. Educators and clinicians should be cognisant of the long term consequences of poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and should put in place pro-active strategies to support children and young people with ADHD. Children and young people with ADHD may suffer greatly from reduced access to sports and leisure facilities. Policy makers should be conscious of the potential negative consequences of placing limitations on access to such facilities.

ObjectivesMost studies have been concerned with the experiences and needs of spouses/partners and adult children of people with dementia. In this review, children and young people's lived experience of parental dementia was investigated. Findings will inform both researchers and professionals in the area of dementia care.DesignA systematic literature search was performed in CINAHL, PsychINFO, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. A rigorous screening process was followed, and a checklist for qualitative and observational studies was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the studies. Narrative synthesis of the selected articles was carried out.ResultsTwenty‐one studies were included and a synthesis of the literature revealed six themes. The first theme concerned the difficulties in dealing with the diagnosis which was often preceded by a long period characterized by uncertainty, confusion, family distress, and conflicts. The second theme discussed changes in family relationships in terms of the role of children and young people in supporting both parents and keeping family together. The third theme described the impact of caring on children and young people who struggled to balance caring tasks and developmental needs. The fourth theme showed consequences on children and young people's personal lives in terms of education/career and life planning. The fifth theme illustrated main adaptation models and coping strategies. The last theme discussed the need for appropriate support and services based on a “whole family” approach.ConclusionsThe included studies provide the basis for knowledge and awareness about the experience of children and young people with a parent with dementia and the specific needs of support for this population.

The stories behind stories: Reflections on the role of voice in research with unaccompanied refugee youth

OBJECTIVES. Dissatisfaction with services has been associated with poorer child mental health outcomes, early treatment termination as well as disagreements over the nature of mental health difficulties, reasons for referral and therapy goals. The development of straightforward, reliable, and accurate methods of eliciting service users' views is essential within child and adolescent mental health care. This paper describes the development of the child and adolescent service experience (ChASE), a tool to measure children and young people's service experience DESIGN. The study comprises a non-experimental, cross-sectional design. METHODS. Participants were 132 mental health service users aged 8-18 years. Participants and their main carer completed the ChASE, Parent Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ) (Stallard, 1996) and Strengths and Difficulties (SDQ) Impact Supplement. Clinicians completed the SDQ Impact Supplement and provided clinical activity data. A sub-sample of participants completed the ChASE on a second occasion, 6 weeks after the completion of the first questionnaire. RESULTS. Scrutiny of ChASE data indicated high levels of completion. Principal axis factoring identified three factors within the ChASE: Relationship, Privacy, and Session Activity. The ChASE has good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Significant correlations were found between the ChASE and carer satisfaction, service use, and youth clinical outcomes. CONCLUSIONS. The ChASE is a short, psychometrically robust tool for routine measurement of children, and young people's experience of mental health services, which users can complete easily. The results underline the importance of alliance factors to children and young people and their association with clinical improvement as well as the potential for the ChASE to be used a measure of children's therapeutic progress and alliance.

When should we intervene in adolescent depression and with whom?

To gain an understanding of children's experiences of expressing their views and having them heard in Australian healthcare settings. Child-centred qualitative research. A deductive qualitative content analysis was undertaken. Data were collected from 20 Australian children and young people between the ages of 7 and 18 years old using the 'draw, write and tell' method. Children's experiences of 'space' and 'voice', and therefore the opportunity to express their views in health care were, in the main, positive. At the same time, their experiences of 'audience' and 'influence', the situations in which those views are given due weight, were overwhelmingly described as negative. Australian paediatric health services appear to have responded to calls to provide children with the opportunity to express their views and thus are delivering on the elements of 'space' and 'voice', whereas the realisation of 'audience' and 'influence' has some way to go. Due weight is not always given to children's views. The Lundy model can be used to facilitate a better understanding of the concept of voice, and the responsibility of health organisations in implementing the rights of children and young people, as articulated in Article 12. Children and young people have a right to express their views and have them heard in health care, but their experiences in Australian health care are unknown. While children's experiences of expressing their views in health care were mostly positive, their views are not always taken seriously or given due weight. This research impacts child health professionals in Australia and internationally. The study is reported using the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR). Members of the Youth Advisory Council of two tertiary children's hospitals were consulted and invited to become members of the research team.

This thesis mounts an in-depth exploration of young, white, Scottish people's views and experiences of falling in love with people of the opposite sex in the context of 'serious' romantic relationships formed in their late adolescence. It is located within the sociology of emotion and engages with debates about how emotional experience is shaped and influenced by social interaction, structures, cultural discourses and resources. The principal questions considered are: What array of social-cultural influences are pertinent to understanding these young people's experiences of love and 'serious' relationships? How and in what ways are these influences perceived to be inflecting or constitutive of these young people's experiences? In what ways do these young people's experiences exceed the account made possible through the sociology of emotion and, what possibilities and opportunities are there for elaborating this account? The study draws principally on data generated through interviews with young people studying for Highers in the sixth year of a secondary school. A grounded approach was used in analysis of these data. Findings include the development of taxonomies of 'serious' relationships which describe their constitutive elements, address the issue of why they are especially pertinent to young people in late adolescence and how this relates to their negotiation of specific social settings, interactions and developmental events. Gender, family and transition emerge as particular salient socio-cultural influences within these young people's accounts of their 'serious' relationships and the nature of each of these is explored in depth. I argue that the theoretical framework provided by the sociology of emotion has good explicative power in terms of identifying the array of social factors which are likely to be influencing emotional experiences but there is scope both for further research and to employ additional theoretical resources, especially psycho-dynamically inflected thinking, in order to explain emotional experience at the level of individual.

Depression is common and increasing in young people, who seem especially vulnerable, both in the probability of developing depression, and in the resulting negative consequences across the lifespan. Unfortunately, available treatments rarely lead to full remission and even in cases of remission relapse rates are high. Different explanatory models have been proposed, and research indicates a multifaceted etiology. The descriptive DSM-5 has low diagnostic validity in this age-group, especially for depressive disorders, and limited attention has been given to young people's own experiences of becoming depressed. Hence, there is a risk of missing clinical information that is important for the therapeutic alliance and treatment. This study aimed to explore young people's experiences of becoming depressed. A qualitative study was performed. Six participants with clinical depression, currently in treatment at child and adolescent psychiatric outpatient clinics in northern Sweden were recruited. Interviews followed a semi-structured manual, and data was analyzed with inductive qualitative content analysis. Participants described different reasons for their depression, and from their stories four categories were identified: "Being subjected to violence", "Suffering separation and loss", "Feeling abandoned", and "Feeling burdened and vulnerable". These categories were interpreted in the theme: "Dealing with an overwhelming life situation". The participants presented mainly stressful external and relational events preceding their depression. A combination of overwhelming stressors, lack of support and lack of time for recovery was described. This points to the importance of validating the narratives of young patients with depression and to offer trauma-informed treatment approaches in mental health care.

A rejuvenated approach to urban development and inequality: Young people's perceptions and experiences in Rio de Janeiro

Reports indicate a decrease in youth mental health in Sweden but at the same time research suggests that what is interpreted as mental ill‐health could be considered everyday challenges by young people themselves. The distribution of mental health and illness among young people is uneven based on inequities related to factors such as race, gender and socioeconomic status. Sweden in particular is a country with large socioeconomic inequities in youth mental health and in school results, compared to other European countries. The aim of this study was to explore young people's experiences of the role of race, gender and socioeconomic status in relation to everyday challenges. Sixty‐five young people aged 13–15 years old were recruited by student health services and participated in focus group discussions at schools in the southernmost part of Sweden. Data were analysed by secondary analysis with deductive qualitative content analysis using Ecosocial theory of disease distribution as theoretical framework. The analysis resulted in one main theme; Navigating inequities to gain and keep social status, with three underlying themes; Guided by social norms, Negative impact in everyday life and Importance of family influence. Participants were aware and critical of norms and expectations related to race, gender and socioeconomic status. Experiences of prejudice and unfairness was both own lived experiences by the participants as well as observed through friends and classmates. Young people spontaneously identify everyday challenges related to race, gender and socioeconomic status, even when not asked directly about these issues. Conforming to sexist, racist and classist, expectations is a way to lose and gain status in a school setting. Many of the inequities discussed related to socioeconomic status and the direct consequences of having or not having money. Young people's everyday experience of inequities is important to consider in youth mental health promotion aiming to tackle health inequities. Further research is needed on those experiences and how this affects mental health.

Making best use of patient experience.

BackgroundMental health problems are common among children and young people in the UK. Some young people from ethnic minority backgrounds experience mental health problems in different ways from those from non-ethnic minority backgrounds. Furthermore, those from ethnic minority backgrounds often experience greater difficulties in accessing mental health support and variable levels of engagement with services, and may prefer different support to their white British peers.ObjectiveTo describe the nature and scope of qualitative research about the experiences of children and young people from ethnic minority backgrounds in seeking or obtaining care or support for mental health problems.Data sourcesWe searched seven bibliographic databases (Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, MEDLINE, PsycInfo®, Health Management Information Consortium, Social Policy and Practice, and Web of Science) using relevant terms on 23 June 2021.MethodsThe scoping review included qualitative research about young people’s experiences of seeking or engaging with services or support for mental health problems. Included studies were published from 2012 onwards, were from the UK, were about those aged 10–24 years and were focused on those from ethnic minority backgrounds (i.e. not white British). Study selection, data extraction and quality assessment (with ‘Wallace’ criteria) were conducted by two reviewers. We provide a descriptive summary of the aims, scope, sample, methods and quality of the included studies, and a selected presentation of authors’ findings (i.e. no formal synthesis).ResultsFrom 5335 unique search records, we included 26 papers or reports describing 22 diverse qualitative studies. Most of the studies were well conducted and clearly described. There were studies of refugees/asylum seekers (n = 5), university students (n = 4) and studies among young people experiencing particular mental health problems (n = 14) (some studies appear in multiple categories): schizophrenia or psychosis (n = 3), eating disorders (n = 3), post-traumatic stress disorder (n = 3, in asylum seekers), substance misuse (n = 2), self-harm (n = 2) and obsessive–compulsive disorder (n = 1). There were also three studies of ethnic minority young people who were receiving particular treatments (cognitive–behavioural therapy, multisystemic therapy for families and a culturally adapted family-based talking therapy). Most studies had been conducted with young people or their parents from a range of different ethnic backgrounds. However, nine studies were conducted with particular ethnic groups: asylum seekers from Afghanistan (n = 2), and black and South Asian (n = 2), black African and black Caribbean (n = 2), South Asian (n = 1), Pakistani or Bangladeshi (n = 1) and Orthodox Jewish (n = 1) people. The studies suggested a range of factors that influence care-seeking and access to mental health care, in terms of the beliefs and knowledge of young people and their parents, the design and promotion of services, and the characteristics of care professionals. Poor access was attributed to a lack of understanding of mental health problems, lack of information about services, lack of trust in care professionals, social stigma and cultural expectations about mental resilience.LimitationsAs this was a rapid scoping review, there was only a basic synthesis of the research findings.Future workFuture research about young people from ethnic minorities could cover a wider range of ethnic minorities, sample and analyse experiences from particular ethnic minorities separately, cover those accessing different services for different needs, and adopt multiple perspectives (e.g. service user, carer, clinician, service management).Study registrationThis study is registered ashttps://osf.io/wa7bf/.FundingThis project was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery programme and will be published in full inHealth and Social Care Delivery; Vol. 10, No. 22. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.