RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS NEEDED What is the research project

RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS NEEDED What is the research project about? Impact on Urban Health (part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity) is committed to helping urban areas become healthier places for everyone to live. One of their programmes focusses on adolescent mental health and they are in the process of exploring what some of the big issues are at a local level. This research aims to explore the experiences of families with children with behavioural difficulties. We know that living with a child who has a behavioural difficulty and trying to get support can be really challenging. This research is all about the voices of families and making sure these are not overlooked. You know the most about what day-to-day life is really like and the impact the behavioural difficulties can have on your child and your family as a whole. Who is doing the research? The research is being carried out by Renaisi and Close-Up Research – we are independent research organisations and our work involves speaking to a wide range of people to help them share their stories. Plus 4 are a specialist organisation who are responsible for finding families who are interested in taking part in the research. The research will help Impact on Urban Health to know where best to target their funding – aiming to help more families in the future have more positive experiences and much-needed support. How can you help? • Do you have a child with a behavioural difficulty? This means your child has persistent problems with behaviour (such as aggression, breaking rules and significantly disturbing others) which might happen at home, school, with friends or peers, or out in the community. Your child might have a formal diagnosis known as Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) or Conduct Disorder (CD) or be currently seeking a diagnosis. Autism and ADHD are not within the scope of the research - however, your child may have this alongside the behavioural difficulties. • Is your child accessing some form of support for the behavioural difficulty? This might mean you are seeking further information as you think your child might have a behavioural disorder, or you are already engaging with services to gain a formal diagnosis. • Do you live in either Lambeth or Southwark? • Are you interested in sharing your story? Ideally, your whole family need to be happy to take part in the research – that includes you, as well as your child who has the behavioural difficulty, and any siblings.

What does taking part involve? When and how do we want to speak to your family? The research will take place in February and March 2021. It will involve meetings over Zoom or the phone, some short diary tasks to do in between, and activities to engage children and young people. For those who are keen, there also options to be supported to tell their stories in different ways through a short film or podcast. What kind of things will we be asking you? We will ask you about your day-to-day experiences, the impact that the behavioural difficulty has on your child, your family and other relationships outside the family, and your experiences of support and what could be improved. You will have one researcher who gets to know you and will talk you through every step of the research and make sure you are happy to continue or if you want to stop taking part at any point. What is the time commitment? The research will be at various times over a period of up to four weeks. We will work with you closely to understand how much time you have available and how to fit in the research activities at times that best suit you and your family. As a thank you for your time, you will be paid for each research activity you participate in. This means the total payment will vary from family to family. You will receive a minimum of £ 50, even if, for example, you only take part in one interview. Some families may take part in a number of research activities and could receive up to £ 550 (based on a family with two parents and three children taking part in all research activities). Who will see the research? What happens next? The research will be published in the future – but your family will not be identified or named individually. Plus 4 are supporting Renaisi and Close-Up to find families who are willing to take part in the research. For those families that take part in the short film or podcast, they can choose whether to use a different name and whether they would like their faces shown or blurred. Plus 4 will be your first contact if you are potentially interested in taking part. If you are still interested after speaking to Plus 4, a Renaisi or Close-Up researcher will set up a meeting with you to explain much more about what is involved, the payments, and anything we need to take into account to make it as easy as possible for you to take part. We look forward to meeting with you! For further questions, please contact Peter Allan (Managing Director at Plus 4) at peter_allan@plus 4. co. uk or 0208 254 4444.