Análisis bidimensional de partículas individuales

Young people’s perceptions of their town: Influence on wellbeing

I am a student at the University of Waikato and interested in young people and what they think about the town they live in.

Who may take part?

Any student at Otorohanga College who is 17 years or older. What will participations have to do?

As a participant, you would join a group of about six to eight students. I am going to group all the female students together and all the male participants together. There will be no questions specific to males or females though.

Some young people live in towns that seem to help them do well; it may be because of good teachers, or a strong sporting community, or job opportunities, or some other reason. Otorohanga seems to be one of those towns. I would like to know why you think this is. I will ask you all one question at the beginning. That will be “What do you think are some of the good things and some of the negatives of living in Otorohanga?”

Why you?

The reason why I have chosen your town as one of the two sites that I plan to learn about, is because it has the reputation for being a town with a strong community feel.

The reason why I have chosen students of the college is because you will know your town and how you fit into it. I will also be interviewing other members of the community but because my research will be about young people, your comments will be the ones that give me a better understanding. The interviews with the other members of the community will be additional and background information. What is the purpose of the research?

The key theme of the research will be gaining an understanding of youth’s perceptions of their town and what they particularly find helpful to them as they look towards adulthood.

The project will consider young people living in two regional towns in New Zealand and what it is about their environment that is likely to have a bearing on their sense of general wellbeing. This topic has been selected to consider what community factors can help the navigation of the period from adolescence to adult. It is likely that most adolescents need support to do so and that help will come from a variety of sources. This research will consider those sources and whether the strength of the community can affect that support. The second part

of the research will consider how the youth are viewed by other members of the community.

The focus group will be a group discussion on topics which include:

• Do you see people in town that you or your family know? What do you think about that?

• Do you think it makes a difference to how you feel about Otorohanga from the way you are treated in shops?

• Do any of you hold a particular role in the school (such as captain of the rugby team)?

• What do you think about the types of things like community events that are held in Otorohanga?

• Are there some things that you don’t like about living in Otorohanga? • If you had a problem, do you know an adult that you would feel okay

talking to them about it as you know they could help you?

• Can you tell me what you think about Otorohanga and whether it is really interested in the young people?

• Tell me about what it is like to be a young person living in Otorohanga. (the sorts of things, do you feel safe, are there enough things to do, if you had a problem would you know where to seek help, do you think the library has enough books, anything you like).

• Tell me about the types of activities that youth enjoy having in town. Is there anything that you have heard about in another town, that you would like here?

You might have other things that you think should be discussed, and you are welcome to raise these.

When, where and how long?

The time and place will be when it suits all the members of the group.

The discussion will last about one hour but will finish when everyone has finished saying what they wish to say..

Anonymity.

• You will all see who else is in the group and I will ask you all to not talk about what someone else has said after the discussion is finished.

• No real names will be used in the report – gender appropriate pseudonyms will be used. So for example if your real name is Jessica, you may be called Teagan, I may write Teagan, Otorohanga.

• Anything that you say will be non-identifiable to anyone outside the group and you will have full opportunity to either pull out of the discussion at any point, and will be able to add anything to the summary.

Additional important information.

• Everything that any of you say will be respected. • There will be no difficult questions.

• You do not have to answer anything if you would prefer not to.

• You may leave at any time and you will still receive a voucher to the value of $20.

• I will send you all a summary of what was said and you are welcome to add to it within two weeks after I have sent the summary.

• None of the questions that are going to be asked will be deeply personal and you are welcome to answer the question as you wish, or not answer the question. However, there is always the chance that something that someone says, can be upsetting or cause discomfort. For that reason, we list the following support services:

- Depression Helpline 0800 111 757 - The Lowdown free text 5626 - Whats up 0800 942 878 - Youthline 0800 376 633

If you would be interested in joining one of the two groups, please send me an email at [email protected] You will receive a $20 voucher to say thank you. This research project has been approved by the School of Psychology Research and Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Waikato. Any questions about the ethical conduct of this research may be sent to the convenor of the Research and Ethics Committee (Dr James McEwan e-mail [email protected]).

This research project has also been approved by the Principal, Otorohanga College