'Crossing the threshold - leaving looked-after children services' : semi-structured interviews with young men aged 15-21 in Bedfordshire.

A thesis submitted to the Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Postgraduate Medical School for the University of Bedfordhire in partial fulfilment of a MSc in Public HealthFor this research a content analysis was conducted on semi-structured interviews with looked after young men to explore their understanding of health and emotional well-being, their perception of support available for them during the transition from leaving Looked After Care Services, and their knowledge of local services accessible to young men aged 15-21 in Bedfordshire when working towards independence. The focus of the research was centred on masculinity and the transitional period of adolescence referred to as the 'threshold stage', a time when a young person may feel lonely and emotionally unsupported due to the conflicting expectations about their needs for both independence and attachment. An overview of relevant public health and local authority policies that inform the study is provided in the introduction with a literature review highlighting previous research, emphasising the need to develop and tailor interventions according to the views and experiences of young men. The overall message from both the young men and professionals were about the difficulties of providing consistent support against the barriers of masculinity and not wanting to be seen reaching out for help. A number of suggestions have been drawn out from the data and presented in the conclusions