Research Away Day: Puberty and Young People’s Mental Health
On April 1st, 2025, our research network gathered for a full-day Away Day at the peaceful and scenic Folly Farm Centre near Bristol. Surrounded by nature, the venue offered an ideal setting for reflection, collaboration, and creative thinking on the day’s theme: pubertal timing and mental health in children and young people.
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The event brought together researchers from the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, and Exeter to share knowledge, spark new research ideas, and explore how our work can support young people’s wellbeing in real-world settings.
Session 1: Understanding the Data and What It Can Tell Us
The day began with a series of small group activities facilitated by our core members. Together, we explored how existing research data can help us better understand puberty and mental health, and how we might improve or expand this work.
Key topics included:
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Bringing together long-term studies (known as longitudinal cohorts) to compare findings across groups, locations, and time.
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Linking data from different sources, such as schools and health services, to build a fuller picture of young people’s development.
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Measuring puberty and mental health, using information reported by young people, parents, and researchers—highlighting the variety of approaches used in major studies like ALSPAC, the Millennium Cohort Study, and the ABCD study.
This session helped identify opportunities and challenges in using these rich datasets to answer pressing research questions.
Session 2: Shaping New Research Questions
In the second part of the day, we turned our attention to the future. Groups worked together to develop potential research questions for an upcoming funding bid, drawing on the strengths of our network and the insights from Session 1.
The discussions were energised and collaborative, with each group sharing their ideas in a final summary session. Many common themes emerged—particularly around improving our understanding of risk and resilience during puberty, and identifying practical ways to support mental health through schools, families, and services.
Session 3: From Research to Real-World Impact
Our final session focused on how our research can make a difference beyond academia. Small groups explored how existing evidence on pubertal development and mental health has informed policy and practice, and what more we can do to ensure our work reaches those who need it.
One group, facilitated by Dana Tarif, our postgraduate representative from the University of Bristol, shared insights into mediation modelling—a research method that helps uncover how early puberty might influence mental health. The group discussed how understanding these mechanisms can lead to better support strategies for schools, families, and youth services.
This session highlighted the importance of working across disciplines and sectors to ensure that research findings are useful, accessible, and actionable.
Looking Ahead
Our Away Day at Folly Farm was more than a meeting—it was a meaningful step forward for our network. The event strengthened connections, inspired fresh ideas, and reaffirmed our shared commitment to research that improves the lives of young people. We look forward to building on the ideas from this day as we move toward future projects and collaborations.
