Ways to Wellbeing (V1.0)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Ways to Wellbeing: Lifestyle factors and mental health in young people
IRAS ID
307894
Contact name
Stella Chan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Reading
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
There are now three ‘Getting Help’ Teams and three ‘Mental Health Support’ Teams operating across East Berkshire. Practitioners within the teams carry out evidenced based treatment (informed CBT) to support children and young people who experience mild to moderate low mood/anxiety or behavioural difficulties. Although initial assessments include Routine Outcome Monitoring questionnaires, such as the Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS), impact of lifestyle factors (such as poor diet, sleep hygiene, or physical activity) have not previously been considered, despite research supporting the importance of these factors. Therefore, assessment of these factors have recently been included in the routine assessments for the teams to understand how they relate to mood and wellbeing. Understanding more about key everyday life factors and mechanisms underlying the development of illnesses is important to develop more effective strategies to prevent and treat mental health problems. So, this study aims to examine if lifestyle factors, including diet, sleep, and physical activity, are associated with psychological distress and wellbeing in children and young people. This will help inform treatment and service delivery directions, especially within the local and regional contexts.
This will be done by examining routine, anonymised data collected by the ‘Getting Help’ teams. We will examine relationships between these lifestyle factors and psychological distress/mood symptoms to gain understanding of potential mechanisms of actions/factors most likely to influence positive change.
We will further convene a steering group comprising young people representatives, clinical/ educational professionals and parents to co-produce recommendations based on the findings.
REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/PR/1739
Date of REC Opinion
15 Feb 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion