Promotion of health and well-being of young people
Young people’s health and well-being is high on the political agenda both in Denmark and internationally. Especially young people’s mental health is a focus in research and in political initiatives, as this group is in a vulnerable phase of life and many are at risk of not thriving, of being diagnosed with different mental disorders and of engaging in groups that might lead them into crime and extremism.
Since the mental health crisis of the young generation is also high on agendas internationally, it might be a cross-cultural phenomenon, and it is of interest to the network to explore what are commonalities as well as differences of issues that are experienced by young people in a Danish as well as in a global perspective. It is also of interest to the network to explore what might be possible solutions to this crisis, including whether engaging in activities such as sports and arts could play an impactful role.
Vision
The network intends to broaden the approach to exploring ’mental health’ by considering physical, socio-cultural and mental dimensions of young people’s lives as interrelated. It is moreover important to consider the different arenas of their lives (education, work, leisure time and social media) as interconnected if we are to understand the crisis to do with young people’s health and well-being better, and if we are to be able to come up with solutions for this societal challenge. The solutions might have to start by more precisely defining what concepts such as health and well-being entail, and by creating a nuanced view on the relationship between risks of not thriving and engagement in different arenas, as both social media and other activities can have both positive and negative impacts on the lives of the young generation.
The network brings together experts from different fields and sectors in an endeavor to explore and facilitate new research into questions such as:
- How is the body, the mind and social relationships connected in different arenas of young people’s lives?
- What does it mean when either the body, the mind or social relationships are not functioning in positive ways?
- What characterises different communities where young people engage (including online and in activities to do with sport and arts, and in different geographical places)?
- What problems are there when young people are not engaged in positive ways?
- How is mental health and well-being perceived and approached by different groups of young people including in different parts of the world?
- What might be possible solutions to promote health and well-being within for example the education system?
Mission
The network is focused on creating change and considers collaboration between researchers and stakeholders from different sectors key to be able to draw up policy recommendations and new models, methods and theories for implementation in practices that involve young people.
Aims
- To facilitate knowledge sharing between researchers from different disciplines and with expertise of different methodologies including qualitative, arts-based, quantitative and physiological across departments and faculties of UCPH, with researchers from other universities and with stakeholders from relevant sectors that focus on young people.
- To involve young people in discussions and research initiated by the network.
- To initiate new possibilities for collaboration e.g. for research proposals, for exchange between PhD students, for engaging in education programs and for co-writing of papers.
Contact
Associate Professor in Educational Studies of Movement Charlotte Svendler Nielsen, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Faculty of Science
Email csnielsen@nexs.ku.dk
Associate Professor in Health Anthropology Hanne Overgaard Mogensen, Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences
Email hanne.mogensen@anthro.ku.dk
Associate Professor in Media Studies Line Nybro Petersen, Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities
Email bmr573@hum.ku.dk
Associate Professor in Movement and Neuroscience, Jacob Wienecke, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Faculty of Science
Email wienecke@nexs.ku.dk