Mental health implications of being labelled a threat to society during adolescence among diverse groups
Lead Research Organisation:
King's College London
Department Name: Health Service and Population Research
Abstract
he prevalence of mental health problems among adolescents in England
is 14% [1]. In adults, there are clear and unexplained differences in the
types of mental health problems experienced by white and black people;
for instance, rates of psychosis are higher among black people [2]. Among
young people, though, research suggests similarities in mental health
problems between black and white youths, despite, on average, higher
prevalence of risk factors among black adolescents [3]. Understanding
ethnic differences in the development of mental health problems during
adolescence and into adulthood is a key focus of REACH (Resilience,
Ethnicity and AdolesCent Mental Health), the research group I've been
working in for the last 2 years.
Negatively stigmatising people from an early age has adverse impacts
and we know this to be the case even if the label is unfounded. As an
example, from educational psychology, "teachers and parents are more
likely to perceive disabilities in and hold lower educational expectations for
labelled adolescents than for similarly achieving and behaving adolescents
not labelled with disabilities" [4]. My proposal is to produce is a novel
perspective on how the process of labelling young people as a potential
threat to society affects their mental health, and whether these effects
differ by ethnic groups and among migrants. The theoretical framework
behind labelling theory involves an individual receiving a label that they did
not choose for themselves and assumes that, although an outcome can
stem from other causes, once an individual has been defined as deviant,
problematic or dangerous "they face new problems that stem from the
reactions of self and others to negative stigma that are attached to that
label" [5, 6, 7]. There is a plethora of research in adults on the
criminogenic processes triggered by labelling [5] and, separately, the
stigma associated with mental health problems [8]. But there is very little
research, locally and globally, on the mental health implications of being
labelled a threat to society at an early age.
is 14% [1]. In adults, there are clear and unexplained differences in the
types of mental health problems experienced by white and black people;
for instance, rates of psychosis are higher among black people [2]. Among
young people, though, research suggests similarities in mental health
problems between black and white youths, despite, on average, higher
prevalence of risk factors among black adolescents [3]. Understanding
ethnic differences in the development of mental health problems during
adolescence and into adulthood is a key focus of REACH (Resilience,
Ethnicity and AdolesCent Mental Health), the research group I've been
working in for the last 2 years.
Negatively stigmatising people from an early age has adverse impacts
and we know this to be the case even if the label is unfounded. As an
example, from educational psychology, "teachers and parents are more
likely to perceive disabilities in and hold lower educational expectations for
labelled adolescents than for similarly achieving and behaving adolescents
not labelled with disabilities" [4]. My proposal is to produce is a novel
perspective on how the process of labelling young people as a potential
threat to society affects their mental health, and whether these effects
differ by ethnic groups and among migrants. The theoretical framework
behind labelling theory involves an individual receiving a label that they did
not choose for themselves and assumes that, although an outcome can
stem from other causes, once an individual has been defined as deviant,
problematic or dangerous "they face new problems that stem from the
reactions of self and others to negative stigma that are attached to that
label" [5, 6, 7]. There is a plethora of research in adults on the
criminogenic processes triggered by labelling [5] and, separately, the
stigma associated with mental health problems [8]. But there is very little
research, locally and globally, on the mental health implications of being
labelled a threat to society at an early age.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Craig Morgan (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Samantha Davis (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES/P000703/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2027 | |||
| 2297136 | Studentship | ES/P000703/1 | 01/10/2019 | 31/10/2023 | Samantha Davis |
| Description | Lambeth Youth Justice Partnership Board |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | MOPAC Consultation |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Mental Health Data Prize |
| Amount | £40,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 226700/Z/22/Z |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2022 |
| End | 02/2023 |
| Description | Presentation to Tokyo Metropolitan Institute |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Co-presented emerging project findings to three mental health researchers from The Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science with research expertise in social determinants of adolescent mental health. Purpose was to have both teams present findings from recent work with the aim of developing future work collaborations. Most important outcome was that one of the researchers is currently writing up their findings on similar work to mine with another collaborator in New York City, US and this has led to discussions on connecting and collaborating with other international research groups and institutions looking at the emotional impact of police contact among young people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Presentations to Community Working Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presented emerging findings on police contact and adolescent mental health from this PhD project to our community working group (including our local partner community organisation and borough councillor). This work was used as evidence to support and strengthen our partners own qualitative research into policing young Black people. Requests were made for additional findings and we were invited, by our partner community organisation, to present these findings to the local youth justice board. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | School Work Experience workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Created and delivered two online workshops attended by roughly 50 young people in each session (including both study and non-study participants from London and other areas of England). These 1-2hr workshops formed part of a week-long work experience course. The workshops included an introduction to policing young people in London and adolescent mental health; disseminating emerging findings from our study; online polls to hear directly from young people about their interpretation of the data, their thoughts on the topic, suggestions on what research should be prioritised next, and other insights. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | School Workshop (London), PSHE session |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Created and delivered workshops during PSHE lessons at our participating schools to young people aged 15 to 17 (around 80 pupils in total). Presented project findings, engaged in discussions which were led by young people, and coordinated active group work and knowledge sharing, etc., Outputs from these workshops have been transformed into word clouds, visual posters, and direct quotes are being integrated into our youth reflections chapter within the thesis. The primary impact and intended purpose was to include their input and directions for policy changes in relation to police powers in this thesis. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Student Council Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Assisted colleagues within my research team to deliver a student council workshop with secondary school pupils on adolescent self-harm and friendship networks. The intention was to engage young people from our participating study schools in topics that mattered to them, facilitate discussions and debates, and to empower them and provide them with the tools to be able to feedback suggestions for policy changes at their school with the senior leadership teams. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | YPCC Consultation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Data workshop/consultation meeting with our study's Young Person Community Champions (YPCC) group. We discussed and interpreted the PhD project findings on policing young people and directions for further research. One of our YPCC members expressed a keen interest to write up their reflections on this topic which will be formed as a separate section in the empirical paper and/or integrated into the wider chapter within the thesis that is dedicated to young people's reflections on this research. All of the YPCC's voices from this consultation have been used to inform the project direction, interpretation, and recommendations for policy change and future research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |