Meeting of minds: imagining the future of child and youth mental health research from an early career perspective
Child and youth mental health is an international public health and research priority. We are an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral network of UK-based early career researchers (ECRs) with an interest in child and youth mental health research. In this paper, we reflect on ongoing challenges and areas for growth, offering recommendations for key stakeholders in our field, including researchers, institutions and funders. We present a vision from an ECR perspective of what future child and youth mental health research could look like and we explore how the research infrastructure can support ECRs and the wider research field in making this vision a reality. We focus specifically on: (a) embracing complexity; (b) centring diverse voices; and (c) facilitating sustainable research environments and funding systems. We present recommendations for all key partners to consider alongside their local contexts and communities to actively and collaboratively drive progress and transformative change.
Authors
- Eva A. Sprecher (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6169-5294)
- Tessa C. Reardon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9298-091X)
- Jackie Parsonage (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4355-5092)
- Jeanne Wolstencroft (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6160-9731)
- Ola Demkowicz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9204-0912)
- Eleanor Chatburn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6745-6737)
- Kimberly S. Petersen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5020-3549)
- Vilas Sawrikar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8160-0232)
- Tim Clarke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3901-9601)
- Buket Kara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4424-240X)
- Aislinn Bergin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4276-3466)
- Anna March (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1811-6090)
- Hazel Marzetti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4555-2258)
- Josefien Breedvelt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1864-1861)
- Leanne McIver (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1969-2241)
- Hannah J. White (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7937-5988)
- Hannah Jones (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5883-9605)
- Ruth Knight (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7966-8393)
Institutions
- University of East Anglia (GB)
- York St John University (GB)
- Oxford Brookes University (GB)
- University of Leeds (GB)
- University of Nottingham (GB)
- Loughborough University (GB)
- University of Strathclyde (GB)
- King's College London (GB)
- Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Anna Freud Centre (GB)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- University of Bristol (GB)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Space Research Institute (UA)
- Child Mind Institute (US)
- NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (GB)
- University College London (GB)
- Lancaster University (GB)
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BJPsych Bulletin
- Published
- 2025-06-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2025.26
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Mental Health Research Topics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.24
Funders
- Oxford Brookes University
- NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre
- Child Mind Institute
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- University of East Anglia
- University of Exeter
- King's College London
- University College London
- University of Oxford
- University of Leeds
- Loughborough University
- University of Bristol
- University of New South Wales
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London
- Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health