Listen Up: Using young people's views to help shape education to support psychosis literacy

Ramtohul, Andrew (2019) Listen Up: Using young people's views to help shape education to support psychosis literacy. Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University.

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Abstract

In the UK, schools are gradually embracing their responsibility to cater for young people’s mental wellbeing. Exploring young people’s Mental Health Literacy (MHL) is an area however that is still in its infancy. Specific focus has explored young people’s literacy of the condition of psychosis, considering how useful it is to provide biomedical information as a MHL intervention within schools. Such an approach reduces a more holistic understanding of mental illness and portrays young people as illiterate. My goal is instead to value young people as competent social agents with existing social and personal meaning in their understanding of mental illness.

A peer research methodological approach has given young people the chance to explore their views and opinions without adult influence. Thirteen PRs (Peer Researchers) were involved in focus group sessions from two Further Education Colleges in the North East of England: 1) To explore young people’s own understandings of psychosis 2) To explore what aims young people may feel psychosis literacy should address and 3) To explore what strategies young people believe would be the most useful to cater for young people’s educational and health needs.

AR-led (Adult Researcher) and PR-led data has been assessed for the influence of demand characteristics, adding new understanding of how young people socially constructed their responses according to an adult or non-adult audience. The need to understand young people’s social, cultural, and personal meanings attached to psychosis have been an important first step to help appreciate what holistic methods and content of literacy would be most meaningful and right for young people.

Nevertheless, an emphasis on academic attainment in schools and the influence of key stakeholders’ views and opinions (including teachers and parents) may challenge the viability of implementing any form of psychosis literacy within the school environment. It is likely that adult concerns would remain and form a barrier towards listening to the voice of young people’s views and opinions in favour of their own agenda.

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