A participatory action research study to explore adolescents’ experiences of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) through creative workshops: a protocol
Authors: Butcher Isabelle , Williams Anna Mankee , Hugh-Jones Siobhan , Cooke Paul , Teasdale Ben , Shaughnessy Nicola , Pavarini Gabriela , Smith Lindsay , Bhui Kamaldeep 
Published: December 2023

Introduction

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are associated with poor mental health in adolescence. There are critical gaps in understanding how and why ACEs are experienced by particular groups of young people and what factors contribute to risk and resilience. This research aims to: a) understand the lived experiences by which ACEs in diverse young people unfold to affect their mental health and b) utilise and understand how novel creative and participatory arts approaches can contribute new knowledge about ACEs to inform future interventions for adolescent mental health.

Methods and analysis

An interdisciplinary collaboration, this utilises a blended mixed-methods approach as a triangulation between qualitative research methods, arts-based practice research and a participatory-community-research model. Framework-analysis is utilised as is appropriate to the complexities of data collection in interdisciplinary studies, working across teams, combining analysis of themes across a group (ACE-affected adolescents) with consideration of individual participants through interviews and creative media. This study will recruit 100 young people aged between 10-24 in England in; Cornwall, Kent, Leeds, London and Oxfordshire. This study is part of a larger project by the same authors, investigating adolescent mental health. In this discovery phase, creative practices are being used in conjunction with qualitative methods of data analysis to enable us to elicit, examine lived experience and youth voice as core features of enquiry. This facilitates understanding of the role of creative practices in helping young people share the events in their lives that they feel have been significant in shaping their views of themselves, of others and of their current mental health and wellbeing.

Ethics and dissemination

This study is sponsored by the University of Oxford. Ethical approval obtained from institution (R71941/RE001) and NHS Health Research Authority committees. (23/WM/0105) The outputs from this study will be shared, locally, nationally and globally.

Strengths and Limitations (five)

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This study aims to understand the lived experiences of adolescents aged between 10-24 regarding adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

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This study is recruiting adolescents from a range of communities and geographic localities in England, including, rural and urban.

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There is a plethora of research examining the association between ACEs and mental health outcomes, but a paucity of research has employed a blended mixed method approach utilising qualitive research methods, arts-based practice and a participatory community research model.

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This study will purposively endeavour to ensure each adolescent’s voice is heard and the study will engage with those individuals who may otherwise not be able to participate in research.

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This study is focused on recruiting in England and thus the findings it is hoped will be useful to policymakers and clinicians in the devolved nations but the authors recognise that adolescents in the devolved nations may have experienced different ACEs to those adolescents in this study.