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The Emotional Lives of Young People in School

This is an information page for families and schools interested in our study on The Emotional Lives of Young People in School.

This study focuses on the role of the school environment in adolescent mental health. It forms part of our wider programme Regulating Emotions – Strengthening Adolescent Resilience (RE-STAR), which aims to reduce the risk of adolescent depression.

In this study we are particularly interested in the experiences of young people with autistic and/or ADHD traits attending mainstream secondary schools, and those of school staff. We want to know how school experiences can be changed to promote the emotional wellbeing of young people, particularly those with autistic and/or ADHD traits.

We hope the findings from our study will support RE-STAR in developing a whole-school strategy to reduce the number and impact of upsetting school experiences for young people in sustainable ways for schools.

Call for pastoral school staff interested in taking part in our survey!

We want to understand what priorities, enablers and barriers school staff identify as important when promoting the mental health of autistic/ADHD students and the staff working with them.

This study is open to pastoral staff working in mainstream secondary schools in England. We particularly want to hear from Heads of Years 7-11 and Designated Mental Health Leads (or equivalents).Working in mainstream secondary schools in England

School staff will receive:

  • A £10 e-voucher.
  • Access useful mental health resources.
  • Automatically enter a prize draw to win a £100 e-voucher.

To take part, click the link below:
https://qualtrics.kcl.ac.uk/jfe/form/SV_a9tWBdrhQGpxxFI  

For any questions, feel free to email us at re-starinfo@kcl.ac.uk

Pastoral school staff survey flyer with QR code.

Call for autistic and ADHD young people for interviews!

We want to understand from autistic and ADHD young people with experiences of low mood, depression or burnout how school life impacts their mood.

This study is open to young people:

  • Aged 11 to 16 years
  • Have a diagnosis of autism, ADHD, or both,
  • Have experience of low mood, depression or burnout
  • Registered with a mainstream secondary school in the UK

Young people will receive up to £20 e-vouchers!

To apply, click the link below
https://qualtrics.kcl.ac.uk/jfe/form/SV_0dIZQftrVWxgvnU

For any questions, feel free to email us at re-starinfo@kcl.ac.uk

My Emotions and Me in School Interview Study Flyer

Our Research Questions

We would like to find out ...

  • What is the impact of school on the emotional lives of young people with autistic/ADHD traits, from the point of view of the school staff and young people?
  • How does hearing the point of view of young people impact the school staff's views and vice versa?
  • How do young people with autistic/ADHD traits and school staff think school experiences can be changed to promote the emotional well-being of young people?

How we plan to answer these questions

The four phases of the study are illustrated below:

Emotional Lives of Young People in School study phases

Meet the Team!

Lauren and Myrto will be working with you throughout the study, leading activities in the focus groups and interviews.

Emotional Lives Young People in School team

Our researchers:

Our My Emotions and Me project leads:

Dr Susie Chandler is our project manager, and Jane Offerman is our administrator. 

More about RE-STAR

Emotional Lives Young People in School is part of a wider project called RE-STAR (Regulating Emotions - Strengthening Adolescent Resilience). To find out more, watch this video from our principal investigator, Prof Edmund Sonuga-Barke:

News & Events

Podcasts

logos for Extraordinary Brains, Arts & Ideas, and Psychology in the classroom

This research is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC)

Project status: Ongoing

Keywords

MENTAL HEALTHADHDAUTISMYOUNG PEOPLECHILDRENNEURODIVERSITY