People
Janet Shucksmith
Senior Lecturer
+44 (0)1642342969
J.Shucksmith@tees.ac.uk
Overview of research | Selected Publications
Janet Shucksmith has been Professor in Public Health at the University of Teesside since October 2005. She is also an Associate Director of the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships. Her current work is on issues of the negotiation of responsibility for children's and young people’s health and well-being between families and the state, particularly around issues of sexual health and mental well-being.
Earlier longitudinal studies gave rise to a book, Young People's Leisure and Lifestyles, and a series of articles examining the variations in young people's health behaviours and the relationship of these to family patterns and parenting styles. Subsequent qualitative studies have sought to enable young people to find a voice in discussing their own health and health education needs.
Janet has undertaken a variety of projects on the role of families and communities in promoting health. These issues have been explored in an evaluation study of the Scottish Executive demonstration project on teenage sexual health (Healthy Respect); a review of child and family health strategy and service provision for the Health Education Board for Scotland; a Joseph Rowntree Foundation project exploring the role of mentoring relationships in the development of vulnerable young people; an examination of the development of new instruments for health visitors working with families; and an assessment of the needs of ethnic minority groups for health services.
A further Chief Scientist Office funded study looked at the extent to which families, school and health communities share responsibility for the support of children with chronic medical needs at school. Janet and her colleagues have also completed a project looking at the ways in which schools respond to issues about mental health and well-being in young people.
Arising from these studies is a strong interest in more general themes of partnership or interagency working for health and a concern with 'evidence into practice' issues
1993 Young People's Leisure and Lifestyles. London: Routledge (with L B Hendry, J Love & A Glendinning)
1995 Educating for Health: School and Community Approaches with Adolescents. London: Cassell (with L B Hendry & K Philip)
1995 Models of parenting: implications for adolescent well-being within different types of family contexts. Journal of Adolescence 18, 253-270 (with A Glendinning and L B Hendry)
1997 Family life and smoking in adolescence, Soc. Sci. Med, 44, 1: 93-101 (with A Glendinning and L B Hendry
1997 Adolescent drinking behaviour and the role of family life: a Scottish perspective, Journal of Adolescence , 20: 85-101 (with A Glendinning and L B Hendry)
1998 Health Issues and Adolescents: Growing Up and Speaking Out. London: Routledge (with L B Hendry)
2000 ‘Perfect parents: do efforts to increase parent participation in education increase social exclusion?’, in Ryan H and Bull J Changing Families, Changing Communities: Researching Health and Wellbeing among Young People’. London: Health Education Authority
2003 Young People’s Self-Identified Health Needs: a review. Scottish Youth Issues Journal, 6:47-62 (with J Spratt)
2004 ‘A risk worth the taking: how young people view sexual activity and sexual health issues’ in Duffy M and Burtney E (eds.) Young People and Sexual Health: Social, Political and individual Context. To be published by Palgrave, 2004
2005 ‘Families, Education and the ‘Participatory Imperative’ in Cunningham-Burley S and McKie L (eds.) Families, Relationships and Boundaries (with L McKee and H Willmot) To be published by Policy Press: Bristol