A narrative study of young people's experiences with substance use
Research type
Research Study
Full title
‘A narrative study of young people who have recently been discharged from a specialist support service (SSS) for their drug and or alcohol use’
IRAS ID
180116
Contact name
Parminder Chana
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust in conjunction with Essex University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 24 days
Research summary
The title is ‘A narrative study of young people who have recently been discharged from a specialist support service (SSS) for their drug and or alcohol use’.
The study aims to produce a rich understanding of the experiences of six young people who have been categorised as having abused substances. There is a paucity of educational psychology research within this area and it is hoped that the rich stories produced will allow for a better understanding of some of the difficulties faced by young adults in similar contexts.
The specialist support service will identify suitable participants. All participants will have been recently discharged from the service. Those that consent to be interviewed will participate in two interviews spaced approximately two weeks apart and the interviews will take place in the SSS building. The data will be analysed using Narrative Analysis.
The SSS is commissioned by the Joint Commissioning Group for Young People’s Substance Misuse. It is based within the Local Authority Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust and located in Children Services within the Targeted Youth Support Services. Young people up to the age of 18 are referred to this service when their substance use is seen to be causing significant problems in their life. To receive support from the specialist support service the young person needs to be under the age of 18 years at point of referral with a drug or alcohol problem and living in the host Local authority or have a host Local authority General Practitioner or attending school in Local authority.
The SSS would discharge their service users based on the following:
• Young people are drug free or they have reduced their drug use significantly and feel that it is manageable and no longer chaotic.
• The particular piece of intervention work has come to an end.REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
15/IEC08/0045
Date of REC Opinion
15 Jul 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion