21 research outputs found
Whose responsibility is adolescent's mental health in the UK? The perspectives of key stakeholders
The mental health of adolescents is a salient contemporary issue attracting the attention of policy makers in the UK and other
countries. It is important that the roles and responsibilities of agencies are clearly established, particularly those positioned
at the forefront of implementing change. Arguably, this will be more efective if those agencies are actively engaged in the
development of relevant policy. An exploratory study was conducted with 10 focus groups including 54 adolescents, 8 mental
health practitioners and 16 educational professionals. Thematic analysis revealed four themes: (1) mental health promotion
and prevention is not perceived to be a primary role of a teacher; (2) teachers have limited skills to manage complex
mental health difculties; (3) adolescents rely on teachers for mental health support and education about mental health; and
(4) the responsibility of parents for their children’s mental health. The research endorses the perspective that teachers can
support and begin to tackle mental well-being in adolescents. However, it also recognises that mental health difculties can
be complex, requiring adequate funding and support beyond school. Without this support in place, teachers are vulnerable
and can feel unsupported, lacking in skills and resources which in turn may present a threat to their own mental well-being
What Is a Group? : Young Children’s Perceptions of Different Types of Groups and Group Entitativity
To date, developmental research on groups has focused mainly on in-group biases and intergroup relations. However, little is known about children’s general understanding of social groups and their perceptions of different forms of group. In this study, 5- to 6-year-old children were asked to evaluate prototypes of four key types of groups: an intimacy group (friends), a task group (people who are collaborating), a social category (people who look alike), and a loose association (people who coincidently meet at a tram stop). In line with previous work with adults, the vast majority of children perceived the intimacy group, task group, and social category, but not the loose association, to possess entitativity, that is, to be a ‘real group.’ In addition, children evaluated group member properties, social relations, and social obligations differently in each type of group, demonstrating that young children are able to distinguish between different types of in-group relations. The origins of the general group typology used by adults thus appear early in development. These findings contribute to our knowledge about children's intuitive understanding of groups and group members' behavior