Highlights from the Dartington Research Retreat
On the 22nd and 23rd of September, our research team gathered in the serene setting of Dartington for an intensive two-day retreat. Facilitated by Jennifer Wilkinson, the primary objective of our time together was to agree on the scope of our upcoming research grant and collaboratively draft a unified vision for the project.
It was a productive few days of rigorous debate, data mapping, and strategic planning, setting a solid foundation for our work ahead.
The Core Research Focus
Building on the foundation of our pre-retreat work, our discussions centred on two research questions:
- The Main Question: We are seeking to identify which risk, promotive, and protective factors are relevant for different mental health problems in those experiencing off-time puberty. Specifically, we aim to disentangle which factors are shared across conditions versus those that are unique to specific mental health outcomes.
- The Secondary Question: We aim to determine if our findings regarding off-time puberty apply across all gender identities, minoritized ethnic groups, children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, and those with physical health problems or neurodiversity.
Day 1: Scoping and Strategy
The first day was dedicated to alignment and deep-diving into our preliminary findings.
Prof. Carol Joinson from the University of Bristol opened the sessions by outlining the specific funder requirements, ensuring that our scientific curiosity remains aligned with the strategic goals of the grant.
Building on pre-retreat work, the group engaged in presenting potential research gaps in the literature and feedback sessions covering three distinct domains:
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Externalising behaviours
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Internalising behaviours
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Neurodiversity
We worked to map out where these factors overlap across the different domains and where they diverge.
A significant portion of the afternoon was dedicated to a technical review of our data strategy. We updated our data mapping to identify which datasets are:
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Best suited to answer our specific research questions.
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Capable of providing insights into our identified sub-groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, SES).
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Representative of a suitably diverse sample, adhering to EDI (Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion) principles.
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Robust in their quality of measures regarding puberty, mental health, and risk/protective factors.
Day 2: Impact and Vision
Dr Siohban Mitchell and Dr Doretta Caramaschi from the University of Exeter led a vital session on Impact and PPIE (Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement). This session ensured that our research does not exist in a vacuum but is designed from the outset to have real-world relevance and is shaped by the voices of those with lived experience.
The retreat concluded with a synthesis session facilitated by Jennifer Wilkinson. We successfully outlined the high-level vision for the grant, integrating the complex strands of data, methodology, and impact discussed over the two days.
Summary
The Dartington retreat successfully moved us from individual workstreams to a cohesive research unit. We have left with a clarified scope, a robust data strategy, and a shared vision for investigating the complex interplay between puberty timing and mental health.