Research Projects

Barnardos has been involved in these projects:

Pathways to Resilience: Whaia to Huanui kia Toa

This is a long-term study (8 years) looking at the lives of young people in Aotearoa-New Zealand and how things turn out for them. It aims to better understand what helps young people thrive and survive and to learn about what types of experiences hold them back. The research is ecological - it looks at young people's whole environments. It explores how they see themselves, their relationships with their friends and family/whanau, how they experience their communities, what services they have used and what that's been like for them. It has a particular focus on young people facing significant risks or who are vulnerable.

This research is interested in young people's resilience - by 'resilience' we mean: ...how people respond to difficult times. When we study it, we are looking for the ranges of strategies and resources people use to help them cope with hard times. This includes all their relationships, the resources they have to help, the services that they can use to support them, the way in which their communities or culture support them as well as their own inner strengths and abilities. In this study we are interested in looking at how all of these things work together to help young people respond well to challenges. The research is linked into an international study focusing on young people's pathways to resilience. This work is based in Canada and is being led by the Resilience Research Centre , directed by Professor Michael Ungar and Dr Linda Liebenberg of Dalhousie University.

The research is being led by Professor Robyn Munford and Dr. Jackie Sanders from Massey University in Palmerston North.
 

Youth Transitions

We are pleased to provide a copy of the final research report 'Transitioning Youth with Sexually Harmful Behaviour back into the Community'. This project was undertaken by Dr Ian Lambie at the University of Auckland on behalf of Barnardos, and was generously funded by the Lottery Community Sector Research Fund. The project was designed to provide some understanding into the transitioning experiences of youth with sexually harmful behaviour in Aotearoa New Zealand as much of the existing literature is based on overseas research.

The current study aimed to examine the transitioning experiences of adolescents with sexually harmful behaviour following treatment at SAFE in Auckland, and to explore whether additional services are needed to facilitate their successful transition into the community. Qualitative methods were employed on data collected from in-depth interviews with 12 adolescents and 16 parent/caregivers. Results identified four key transitioning areas – accommodation, education/employment, social life and leisure, and emotional support. Several main overarching themes were also identified: follow-up from SAFE would be advantageous; mentors/role models could provide guidance during transition; reaching out for help is hard; adolescents need a focus and something to strive for; advice on financial management/budgeting would be useful; and adolescent motivation was important for successful transition. The results are discussed in relation to current transitioning literature on similar at-risk populations, and recommendations are made to inform transitioning practice.

While it is not possible to make extensive generalizations given the qualitative nature of this study, some recommendations based upon these findings can be made and it is our hope that these will assist practitioners with providing informed support services for adolescents during and following their treatment for sexually harmful behavior.
 

Links:

• Statement of research and evaluation ethics and proposals application form
• Resilience Research Centre

Barnardos Research Team aims to ensure that all our research is conducted to high ethical standards. We work to a statement of research ethics.