Future Directions for Community-Engaged Research in Clinical Psychological Science with Youth

Abstract

Despite advances in clinical science, the burden of mental health problems among youth is not improving. To tackle this burden, clinical science with youth needs methods that include youth and family perspectives on context and public health. In this paper, we illustrate how community-engaged research (CEnR) methods center these perspectives. Although CEnR methods are well-established in other disciplines (e.g. social work, community psychology), they are underutilized in clinical science with youth. This is due in part to misperceptions of CEnR as resource-intensive, overly contextualized, incompatible with experimentally controlled modes of inquiry, or irrelevant to understanding youth mental health. By contrast, CEnR methods can provide real-world impact, contextualized clinical solutions, and sustainable outcomes. A key advantage of CEnR strategies is their flexibility-they fall across a continuum that centers community engagement as a core principle, and thus can be infused in a variety of research efforts, even those that center experimental control (e.g. randomized controlled trials). This paper provides a brief overview of this continuum of strategies and its application to youth-focused clinical science. We then discuss future directions of CEnR in clinical science with youth, as well as structural changes needed to advance this work. The goals of this paper are to help demystify CEnR and encourage clinical scientists to consider adopting methods that better consider context and intentionally engage the communities that our work seeks to serve.

Figure 1.. Continuum of Community-Engaged Research and Principles

Note: This figure depicts a continuum of community engagement in the context of research—with increasing communication, shared decision making, time and trust from left to right. Principles of engagement are detailed that are important across the entire continuum (Goodman et al., 2019; 2021). The boxes describing Outreach & Education, Consultation, Cooperation, Collaboration, and Partnership refer to levels across the continuum and strategy examples and definitions across the continuum. All aspects of the continuum, as shown on the bottom, are undergirded by core competencies of reflexivity, authenticity, structural competency, and honesty.

Figure 2.. Future Directions for Community-Engaged Research in Clinical Science with Youth

Note: This figure highlights future directions in community-engaged research in clinical psychological science with youth. Topics are divided into methods, content, who is involved in research, and research outputs. Underlying all future directions are processes that are collaborative and reflect processes that are core to community-engaged research. Other future directions include structural changes in clinical psychological science departments; these include directions in training, incentives, promotion processes, and funding. Structural changes can help drive future directions identified topics.