Impact of rural settings on the interpersonal and personal processes associated with young people supporting a peer who experienced a traumatic event

Abstract

Introduction: There is limited research into informal support processes amongst young people supporting a peer through a traumatic event and how this process occurs specifically within a rural setting.

Objective: The aim of this research was to understand how the contextual environment impacts on the personal and interpersonal processes of rural-based young people supporting a peer who experienced a traumatic event.

Design: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 22 young people (aged 14-19), who resided in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. A substantive theory was developed using Charmaz's (1) Constructivist grounded theory methodology.

Findings: Young people who shared responsibility for supporting their peer went back to life as normal and felt connected to their community, whereas young people who maintained sole responsibility, experienced mental health problems, disconnected from their community and felt like an outsider. The contextual environmental factors (i.e., service accessibility, limited transport, and internet blackspots) impacted both negatively and positively on young people's ability to provide support as well as influenced whether they felt safe share responsibility.

Discussion: This theory implies that providing pathways to reconnecting with place and community, are essential in guiding young people back to their foundations of support.

Conclusion: Integrating these insights can create new service models in rural areas, whilst also creating opportunities to form healthy foundations of support.

Keywords: grounded theory; mental health; qualitative methods; risk factors; rural, social support; social proximity; young people.