A collaboration led by researchers from the University of Strathclyde is set to shape the future of mental health research for young men from marginalised groups, as a two-year study is launched.

The Men Minds project will look to coproduce ‘change for better mental health for men on the margins’ – with a focus on migrants, the LGBTQ+ community and those in conflict with the law.

Up to 12 young men will be recruited as part of a forum so researchers can identify barriers to participation in mental health research, discuss experiences around masculinity, mental wellbeing and access to mental health services.

The researchers will then work together with participants to co-design more meaningful and engaging approaches to research, to develop future work with up to 80 young men.

In partnership with the University of Dundee and Monash University in Melbourne, the project will look to better understand the challenges and needs of young men and will focus on three groups of adolescent young men to co-produce ‘change for better mental health for men on the margins’.

Study lead Dr Nina Vaswani, a research fellow in Strathclyde’s Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ) explained:

“Mental health is one of the main challenges that marginalised young men face but their mental health is less well understood because of the barriers they face to participating in research. There can also be barriers to service provision, which may not be culturally designed to meet their needs.

“We’re aiming to work with young men to increase knowledge about what are suitable research methods and suitable interventions for them. It’s about creating an environment in which we can explore these ideas, to make information more inclusive and to support young men to lead on developing better research.”

The two-year study will look to increase understanding of how marginalised groups can be effectively engaged in co-producing more accessible research for adolescent young men.

Going forward, researchers then hope to redefine concepts related to adolescent marginalised masculinities, help-seeking, wellbeing and mental health.

Funded by the Medical Research Council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council, researchers hope the study’s findings will inform mental health policy and practice.

As part of this effort to include people who have lived experience Iain Corbett, previously a member of the CYCJ Executive Governance Group will join as Participation Advisor. Mr Corbett explains that his experience as a young man – linked to difficulties faced growing up in a low-income family, impacted by multiple bereavements – affected his own mental wellbeing:

“I ended up with some convictions for minor offences but after my first conviction, I found I didn’t really care about the others I got. I knew that what I was doing wasn’t right but I didn’t think about any repercussions.

“It was a difficult time, I could see my peers around me were also struggling. I had friends who died, through suicide and through drink-driving, while others went to prison.”

In research published last year, Public Health Scotland (PHS) revealed that 75% of people who died by suicide in 2021 were male.

Between 2017 and 2021, the probable suicide rate in Scotland was over three times higher in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived areas. 

Another key aim of the study is to engage with a wide range of non-academic partners to ensure that policy and practice change leads to long-lasting real-world impact. Dr Richmond Davies, Head of Service, Health, Wellbeing & Social Care at PHS, says this new work could help develop better mental health services:

“This research is welcomed as it is likely to give improved and informed insight to what matters to those seeking mental health support and particularly on how to remove or reduce the existing barriers for those seeking that help – as well as helping future research initiatives that want to involve marginalised groups at higher risk of poor mental health.

“Actively involving those who have lived/living experience to better understand how to engage with them is key to developing better service responses. Research which explores the wider interpretation of mental health, covering distress (including suicidal distress), will support the aim of improving service responses shared by Creating Hope Together, the new Suicide Prevention Strategy for Scotland.”

Speaking with healthandcare.scot, the Policy and Parliamentary Advisor for Poverty Alliance, Ashley McLean said it’s important to elevate the voices of people currently living in poverty into policy and practice. Ms McLean explained that money matters for the mental health of people in poverty and the services in Scotland are far from meeting those most in need:

“I think the issue of the mental health crisis is so complex because it's not just linked into the health service itself, but it also links into the funding and the support available for community organisations. Organisations that do free counselling sessions for people on low incomes are already maxed out.

“We’re not doing enough to look at how our structures facilitate and support folk on low incomes with behavioural choices. That links into how we support folk on low incomes to deal with and manage stress – poverty is just stressful, too.”

The study’s lead author, Dr Vaswani said she hopes the outcome of this work will improve this by providing information for all levels of policy and service provision:

“The knowledge that we will gain from having more accessible research methods will also feed into service provision, practice and policy. Our non-academic partners will help with translating this new knowledge into tangible change for young men.”

Read more: Scots' mental wellbeing declined since pandemic; Go ahead for vulnerable teenagers' inpatient unit; Patient waited four years for psychology support; Mental health review: Expand MWC scope

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