Youth as Partners, Participants or Passive Recipients: A Review of Children and Adolescents in Community‐Based Participatory Research (CBPR)

Abstract

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an orientation to research that places value on equitable collaborations between community members and academic partners, reflecting shared decision making throughout the research process. Although CBPR has become increasingly popular for research with adults, youth are less likely to be included as partners. In our review of the literature, we identified 399 articles described by author or MeSH keyword as CBPR related to youth. We analyzed each study to determine youth engagement. Not including misclassified articles, 27 % of percent of studies were community-placed but lacked a community partnership and/or participatory component. Only 56 (15 %) partnered with youth in some phase of the research process. Although youth were most commonly involved in identifying research questions/priorities and in designing/conducting research, most youth-partnered projects included children or adolescents in several phases of the research process. We outline content, methodology, phases of youth partnership, and age of participating youth in each CBPR with youth project, provide exemplars of CBPR with youth, and discuss the state of the youth-partnered research literature.

Empowering aspects for healthy food and physical activity habits: adolescents’ experiences of a school-based intervention in a disadvantaged urban community

“…Participation is often conceptualized as both a process and a valued outcome in health-promotion programs (Potvin, 2007). Jacquez, Vaughn, and Wagner (2013) conducted a literature review including studies that had utilized participatory research, finding that most studies were cross-sectional in nature and that the researchers partnered with adolescents in only half of the studies. Many intervention studies targeting adolescents have focused mainly on obesity prevention and changing less desirable behaviours, rather than promoting healthy behaviours (Frerichs, Ataga, Corbie-Smith, & Tessler Lindau, 2016).…”

Accessing Young People Who Self-Harm as Research Participants

“…However, involvement of young people in the design of research and subsequent data collection, otherwise known as participatory research, remains relatively speaking in its infancy (Jacquez et al 2013, Yonas et al 2009, Chen et al 2007, and does not necessarily address the gate keeping difficulties I encountered. This is particularly so when, as was the case with my study, research aims to investigate 'sensitive' topics.…”

An alternative approach to a complex issue: Youth-designed strategies for the prevention of teenage pregnancy in schools

“…Twenty-four participants (14 girls and 10 boys) agreed to take part after being briefed about the project. We adopted a participatory action research (PAR) design, because it combines research and action with the participant being central to the process (Jacquez, Vaughn & Wagner, 2013).…”