Public Health Environments and Society, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
School for Public Health Environments Research, Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
Health Expect. 2024 Jun;27(3):e14092. doi: 10.1111/hex.14092.
Research with young people (YP) is ethically challenging and bound in a complex maze of issues relating to power, voice and representation. Such sensitivities mean that the challenges raised in researching marginalised YP are often hard to navigate. This paper reports on research carried out with YP to explore links between mental health, school exclusion and involvement in criminal gangs. It aims to provide a practical guide to negotiating some of the methodological and ethical challenges experienced.
In-depth interviews conducted with 28 YP (aged 14-24 years) who were gang involved or seen to be at risk of gang involvement. Research was conducted in youth clubs, alternative provision and youth justice settings.
OBSERVATIONS/REFLECTIONS: We reflect on how navigating ethics can create barriers to involving YP as primary informants in research. We consider why it is important to overcome these hurdles and how public engagement work with recognised gatekeepers and the use of creative interview methods can facilitate meaningful encounters, where YP feel able to share valuable insights into their lives.
Alongside a number of specific learning points, the paper reflects on theories behind research with YP, including the need for recognition of power imbalances and reflexivity. It concludes with thoughts on the practical realities of achieving meaningful participation or an 'authentic voice' with marginalised groups and the importance of this in informing policy and practice.
The focus of this work was to collect experiences of YP who are recognised as gang-involved or at risk of being so, with a view to informing health and education policies. The scoping study for the project involved extensive public engagement work with YP exploring and trialling suitable methods of accessing, recruiting and ultimately interviewing this target group. This is central to the discussion within the body of the paper.
对年轻人（YP）的研究具有伦理挑战性，并且涉及到与权力、声音和代表性相关的复杂问题。这种敏感性意味着，研究边缘化的 YP 所带来的挑战往往难以应对。本文报告了一项针对 YP 的研究，该研究旨在探讨心理健康、学校排斥和参与犯罪团伙之间的联系。本文旨在为解决研究中遇到的一些方法和伦理挑战提供实用指南。
对 28 名 YP（年龄在 14-24 岁之间）进行了深入访谈，这些 YP 曾参与过帮派活动或被认为有参与帮派活动的风险。研究在青年俱乐部、替代教育和青年司法机构中进行。
观察/反思：我们反思了如何在伦理导航中为 YP 作为主要信息来源参与研究设置障碍。我们考虑为什么克服这些障碍很重要，以及如何通过与公认的把关人进行公众参与工作和使用创造性的访谈方法，促进有意义的互动，使 YP 能够分享他们生活中的宝贵见解。
除了一些具体的学习点外，本文还反思了与 YP 合作研究的理论基础，包括认识到权力失衡和反思性的必要性。最后，本文还思考了在边缘化群体中实现有意义的参与或“真实声音”的实际情况，以及这对于为政策和实践提供信息的重要性。
这项工作的重点是收集被认为是帮派成员或有成为帮派成员风险的 YP 的经验，旨在为健康和教育政策提供信息。该项目的范围研究涉及与 YP 进行广泛的公众参与工作，探索和试验适合接触、招募并最终访谈这一目标群体的方法。这是本文讨论的核心。
