Several people standing in front of a wall with research content
What is the Youth Network?
Our aim is to achieve positive changes for children and teenagers with our research. That is why we want to conduct participatory research. Participatory research is a process in which different people conduct research together as equals. So we don't just want to work about teenagers - we want to work with you!
We want to initiate positive changes that contribute to the promotion of people's health and well-being. We are particularly interested in your opinion: What are interesting topics and questions for you? What concerns you and which topics do you think should be researched? How do you think we can work together with the people who are directly affected by our research? Your ideas are worth listening to! Because you are an expert on what you need as a young person and what should change.
What are your advantages?
- You will receive up-to-date and new information about research projects and have the opportunity to give your opinion directly.
- You will work together with various scientists and other interested young people and can exchange ideas with them directly;
- You will meet other young people who may have similar interests.
- At each meeting there are also fun activities to get to know each other and snacks on site :)
How can I join?
Curious? Great! But not everyone always has the same amount of time and capacity for additional tasks - we know that too. That's why it's important to us that everyone can get involved as they wish: some may be involved for the entire project, others only at certain times. It is important to us that everyone who is interested can contribute their ideas and strengths. You decide how actively you want to get involved.
There are many ways to get involved:
- I just want to keep myself informed and stay in touch. Just get in touch with Nele Dippel de on +49-3641-9-45997 or champ@uni-jena.de, then you will be integrated into the network and will always receive information about meetings and new projects.
- I want to get started right away! Regular digital meetings are offered within the respective projects, where ideas can be exchanged and the next steps discussed - you can join at any time! Take a look at the current projects on offer and get in touch if you are interested;
- I have an idea of my own that urgently needs to be researched! We are always happy to hear from you - please contact champ@uni-jena.de and you will soon receive feedback on your project.
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From Knowledge - Development and Evaluation of a transdiagnostic mobile-based Intervention for children and adolescents
"Children and adolescents sometimes have to wait up to a year for an outpatient therapy place!" This means that a lot of time can pass between the time when contact is first made with a psychotherapy practice and the time when the therapy finally starts. Without help, however, this time could mean that problems and complaints worsen or that additional difficulties arise in other areas: at school, in the family or with peers. This "waiting time" should therefore not pass unused, after all there are good reasons for seeking help.
It is specifically this time between making contact and starting therapy that we are concerned with: we want to offer young people help for this waiting period. For this reason we have set ourselves the task of developing an app that can be used while waiting for a place in therapy - I-WAIT (Intervention zur WArtezeitüberbrückung auf einen Individuellen Therapieplatz).
I-WAIT is intended to be the first point of contact for teens between the ages of 12 and 17, providing support in the case of difficulties and information about mental health.
Do you have ideas about what content the app should contain or what it should look like in order to be used?
Great! We are looking for teens who want to help develop and implement the app. Please get in touch with Hannah Boltz at
hannah-sophia.boltz@uni-jena.de for more information about the project and planned meetings. -
Deal with it! - Coping with Climate Stress among Adolescents
The climate crisis triggers feelings of fear, anger, sadness and powerlessness in many young people. It can therefore also lead to psychological strain and stress. In order to better assess such effects, it is important to compare the climate crisis with another situation that can trigger stress.
As part of the research project "Deal with it! - Coping with climate stress and social stress in young people", we would like to investigate this issue. We are comparing the reaction to the climate crisis with social stress, which is very present in the everyday lives of many young people. We also want to find out what strategies young people use to deal with the stress they experience.
Are you interested in the research project or do you have your own idea of what we should definitely not forget? Then please get in touch with Nora Spirkl at nora.spirkl@uni-jena.de.
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Crisis Pathways - Impacts of Global Crises on Families and Children
Climate crisis, pandemic, war - we are currently living in a time in which various global crises are happening at the same time. This can be psychologically stressful for many people. During the pandemic, we have noticed that families in particular have been severely affected. Yet, we know very little about how parents and children are experiencing the current global crises. We would like to investigate this as part of the research project "Crisis paths - the impact of global crises on families and children".
To this end, we would like to invite children and teens as well as their parents to our laboratory to deal with these topics. We are particularly interested in finding out what ways there are of dealing with the emotions that arise. For example, does it make a difference whether you deal with the global crises alone or together?
Do you have your own idea for this research project or would you just like to find out more about it? Then get in touch with Nora Spirkl at nora.spirkl@uni-jena.de.