Supporting Young People with Behavioural Difficulties

We know that many young people do not get the mental health support they need.

Support for young people with behavioural and attentional difficulties is particularly difficult to access. Young people might struggle to follow instructions in school or feel overwhelmed and frustrated leading to behaviour that others find challenging. Adults may misunderstand these challenges as just “bad behaviour” rather than signs that a young person is struggling and needs support.  

Stigma and misunderstanding prevent young people and their families from getting the help they need, meaning that mental health difficulties are often unrecognised and untreated.  

Early help is important as it can improve education and work outcomes later in life. Our research will help identify where there are gaps in support and guide improvements to services in the Bath & Northeast Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire region.  

What is the Pathways Study?

We want to find out what support children and young people with behavioural and attentional difficulties get for their mental health, and what happens when they do not get any support.  

The Pathways Study has three parts, representing a range of perspectives:

9-12-Year-Olds and Their Families

We are conducting a three-year study looking at pathways through the healthcare system of children with behavioural and attentional difficulties. We are speaking to children aged 9-12 and their parents/carers about their experiences of trying to access support.

We want to understand:

• The factors that influence whether a family can access support.  
• Where families get support from, whether this is from the NHS / CAMHS, charities, schools or other places.  
• The impact of support on children’s mental health, wellbeing and school engagement.  
• The impact of support on parents’ and carers’ mental health and wellbeing.  
• What improvements are needed to better support children and families?

Take part

We are currently recruiting families with children aged 9-12 for this study. As well as giving children and families a voice, we also pay families for their time.

To take part, click here

16-25-Year-Olds and Their Parents/Carers

We are interviewing 16-25-year-olds with past or current behavioural and attentional difficulties and their parents. We want to hear about their experiences of trying to access mental health support to understand what worked well and what could be improved.

Health and Social Care Professionals

We are interviewing health and social care professionals. We want to understand how they support young people with behavioural and attentional difficulties in their services and what the current healthcare pathways look like.

Get involved

We are proud to be working with schools and youth organisations to support our research. If you would like to get involved, please email: pathways-study@bath.ac.uk

We are also happy to hear directly from young people or parents at the same email address.

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