Table 2.

REACH Board perceptions and comments related to key problem areas in youth mental health research.

Domain	Problem Areas	Board member quotations on problems and potential strategies for improving research processes
Idea Generation	Relevance and importance of research topics	“The issues that adults deem as important or unimportant may be completely different than the most important and common issues to teens because of the generational gap.” “Some ways research questions are phrased villainizes teens. Researchers present data and questions in a way that blames teens.” “[Adults] focus on one specific factor that influences teen mental health and not the surrounding system that causes that issue.”
Research Methods	Representation in participant samples	“Teens from different backgrounds, like adults, have different problems because of their circumstances and identities. If you only look at one group, you miss other issues.” “…today’s teens, if you are reaching out to these groups–it is important that you are a non-threatening presence. Having someone who is in that demographic (e.g., teen who works in your lab) is really important!” “Talking to those groups [with underrepresented voices] about how we can do more research and elevate their voices”
Measurement	Selection and measurement of study outcomes	“[demographic questionnaires] still ask about gender identity while not having a full understanding of how teens are interpreting gender in this day in age.” “Different terms or perspectives on mental health issues may feel less relevant to teens today than they were for adults when they were younger.” Surveys “Might have questions with terminology the [a] teen may not be familiar with [anymore]” “You might ask a teen how often they stay up past a certain time, and then conclude that teens are struggling with insomnia, or their phones are keeping them awake. But there might be lots of reasons.” “Teen feedback ensures that these surveys improve. I get that using one survey over a long period helps get important data but finding new ways to ask the same question is vital.”
Data Analyses & Interpretation	Presentation and characterization of research study findings	“Researchers might misinterpret the MEANING of behaviors and draw conclusions that don’t really capture the function or reasons behind behaviors.” “[Researchers may] miss out on focusing on what really matters to teens in the study, they know what’s important to them and researchers might not.” “It’s helpful to give teens an opportunity to say things out loud and work through the interpretation and meaning with the researchers--especially if the study is upsetting” “Collaborate with teens to communicate results in a way that makes sense to other teens, this would involve informing teens what research language means during collaboration” “Offer compensation to teens who already participated in the study to review the results with researchers”
Dissemination	Accessing and understanding research findings	“Most of the time, researchers want their findings to influence mass audiences. But if the audiences can’t comprehend the findings, then will it influence them?” “If researchers really want their studies to influence people, [research findings] have to be accessible. I get that the system is designed to be inaccessible and we can’t immediately change it, but not everyone can access it. This makes it hard to get the research out there.” “Any teenagers trying to find research papers in their own time to address their own problems or find solutions might be confused by the jargon used.”