What opportunities matter to young people?

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  What opportunities matter to young people and what abilities are needed in order to enjoy them?

• IRAS ID

  141103

• Contact name

  Daniel Gladwell

• Contact email

  d.gladwell@sheffield.ac.uk

• Research summary

  The central aims of the student’s PhD thesis are:
  • to investigate the pathways through which health problems are associated with diminished ability to enjoy the opportunities that matter to young people,
  • to investigate the first person lived experience of young people, noting their accounts of how health affects their wider abilities.

  The first aim of the thesis is being pursued by quantitatively analysing the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England. The second aim of the thesis is being pursued by the qualitative study for which this application is being made. The title of the qualitative study is: “What opportunities matter to young people and what abilities are needed in order to enjoy them?”.
  The study aims to investigate the opportunities that matter to young people in both the present and the future and the role that those abilities (or their absence) play in young people being able to enjoy these opportunities. Young people will be interviewed who have cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and no health difficulties (those with no health difficulties will be recruited through a secondary school in Sheffield).
  Firstly, the analysis will enquire of a range of young people what abilities and opportunities they value. This enquiry will occur indirectly as young people will be asked to talk about their lives so far and particularly focus on those events and experiences that were important for them. Secondly, the analysis aims to understand their perspective on how these opportunities and abilities in different aspects of life affect each other.
  The research is important as it will enable a fuller understanding of how poor health and other hindrances affect individuals’ abilities over time. Interviews will be undertaken over approximately 18 months, over that time participants will be asked to complete three interviews. The interviews should last approximately one hour

• REC name

  London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  14/LO/0497

• Date of REC Opinion

  25 Mar 2014

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion