Table 5.

A description of the facilitators and challenges to youth engagement

	Facilitators of youth engagement	Challenges of youth engagement
Relational	Create safe spaces Reflexivity in adult researchers (i.e., an awareness of power dynamics, how they are relating with youth) Efforts to build relationships (genuine, trusting) between youth and adult researchers Power‐sharing with youth (i.e., empowered in decision‐making, treating youth as equals) Using accessible language	More time/effort to build relationships, especially in mental health which can be a sensitive issue Power imbalance between youth and adults Communication barriers between adult and youth researchers Navigating diverse perspectives/conflicting priorities (adult vs. youth, youth vs. parents) Managing youth expectations (e.g., about the impact of the project)
Process	Using youth‐friendly communication tools (e.g., text messaging) Having a dedicated youth engagement coordinator Building relationships with community organizations Refreshments/ice‐breaking activities Flexibility with degree of involvement and scheduling Use of pre‐ and debriefs for large meetings Having diversity among youth voices Clear expectations for youth about engagement	More work to set up engagement (as a new process) More work to support (e.g., training, accommodating needs) and coordinate youth engagement More funding, time, work Recruitment of youth researchers (finding appropriate youth, representing diversity) Monitoring whether youth are remaining representative (as they become more involved in the project, youth researchers may begin to think more like adult researchers) Sustaining engagement over the course of the project Research ethics board Balancing bringing together a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives versus efficiency in decision making Not involving youth early enough to influence project Potential for youth engagement to affect research rigour