Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41652611›Full record

ArticleResearch involvement and engagement2026

Exploring Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in youth mental health: reflections from researchers and young people.

Josimar Antônio de Alcântara Mendes, Mathijs Lucassen, Sarah Doherty, Ayan Mahamud, Carolyn Ten Holter, Chris Greenhalgh, Ellen Townsend, Chris Hollis, Marina Jirotka

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Research involvement and engagement, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. 'Co-Production Is Caring': Young People's Reflections on Responsible and Dialogic Co-Production in Youth Mental Health.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Josimar Antônio de Alcântara MendesResponsible Technology Institute, Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, 39a St. Giles, Oxford, OX1 3LW, UK. josimar.dealcantaramendes@cs.ox.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8230-1998
Mathijs LucassenCity St George's, University of London, Northampton Square, London, EC1V 0HB, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6958-3468
Sarah DohertySprouting Minds (Young People Advisory Group - Digital Youth Programme), University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-4006-2803
Ayan MahamudSprouting Minds (Young People Advisory Group - Digital Youth Programme), University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-2392-6516
Carolyn Ten HolterResponsible Technology Institute, Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, 39a St. Giles, Oxford, OX1 3LW, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8739-3211
Chris GreenhalghUniversity of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3483-2422
Ellen TownsendUniversity of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4677-5958
Chris HollisUniversity of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1083-6744
Marina JirotkaResponsible Technology Institute, Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, 39a St. Giles, Oxford, OX1 3LW, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6088-3955

Funding

UK Research and Innovation MRC project reference MR/W002450/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundResponsible Research and Innovation (RRI) promotes inclusive, anticipatory, and reflexive research practices that respond to societal needs. While widely applied in technological fields, its application in youth mental health remains limited. This study aimed to explore how RRI principles are understood and enacted within a large interdisciplinary programme on digital youth mental health in the United Kingdom, focusing on the perspectives of both researchers and young people.

methodsAn online survey was conducted with 21 researchers and 5 young people (mean age = 21 years, standard deviation = 2.74) involved in the programme. The survey included open-ended questions exploring knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to RRI and youth mental health. Responses were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis to identify patterns of meaning across the dataset and to generate themes.

resultsSix themes were developed, reflecting participants' knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Both researchers and young people conceptualised youth mental health as multifaceted, shaped by personal, social, and cultural factors, and existing along a continuum from flourishing to struggling. Young people highlighted digital harms and economic precarity, while researchers emphasised biopsychosocial determinants, offering complementary perspectives. Involving young people was seen as essential for challenging adult assumptions, improving clarity and relevance of tools, and strengthening ethical integrity. Barriers included communication gaps, entrenched hierarchies, inconsistent involvement, and the resource-intensive nature of participation. Key facilitators included mutual respect, care, flexibility, and procedural structures such as youth co-chairs (i.e., a young person co-leading the project/grant with the principal investigator/s) and regular collaborative meetings. Together, these elements demonstrated how RRI values can be embedded to foster meaningful and equitable youth-researcher partnerships.

conclusionsThis study shows that applying RRI in youth mental health research enhances co-production by integrating diverse perspectives, addressing ethical concerns, and strengthening the quality and social relevance of research. To fully realise this potential, RRI must be embedded as an ongoing practice supported by intentional infrastructures, such as youth leadership roles, communication training, and opportunities for intergenerational dialogue. Crucially, funders must recognise and resource the relational, iterative, and time-intensive nature of responsible youth involvement. Embedding RRI in this field provides a valuable framework for moving beyond tokenistic consultation towards inclusive, future-oriented, and ethically grounded research.

Indexed as

CoproductionMental healthParticipatoryResponsible research and innovationYoung peopleYouth

Identifiers

PMID41652611
PMCPMC12973806

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.