Research Manager
+358 41 517 8678
tuuli.pitkanen@youthresearch.fi
Research Manager, Finnish Youth Research Society
PhD, Title of Docent (Adjunct professor) at the Faculty of Education and Psychology at University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Project Leader, CHAT-YOUTH Crisis Help and Assistance for youth during challenging Times
Principal Investigator, Out of Despair WP5 Youth as service users
Principal Investigator, Need and Implementation of Social Rehabilitation for Vulnerable Young People (HANSKU)
Member, the Pool of European Youth Researchers (PEYR)
Trustee, the Addiction and the Family International Network (AFINet)
Member of the Managerial Committee, the COST action: Digital Mental Health for Young People (YouthDMH)
Research to support understanding and well-being of young people
Polarization has increased and some young people are not doing so well: the number of young people who use drugs has increased, the reduction in alcohol use among young people has stopped, and a small number of young people are getting involved in increasingly serious crime. The exceptional circumstances caused by the pandemic have increased the anxiety, depression and loneliness experienced by many young people. There is a continuous need for studying the effects of political decision making on youth and bringing up the points of view of young people themself.
The main purpose of my research projects is to conduct high-quality research that produce information for practitioners and decision makers to increase understanding and well-being of young people.
Research Manager at Finnish Youth Research Society since 11/2020
My work includes planning and coordinating research projects, analyzing large data sets, interviewing patients, staff and service providers, and writing scientific papers. My background is in social psychology. The aims of my projects have varied and I have focused, for example, to the needs and psychosocial well-being of young people, improvement of social, mental and addiction services, use of multiple methods including also longitudinal as well as chat and register data sets, and co-operation between different stakeholders. Before FYRS, I worked as senior researcher at Järvenpää Addiction Hospital and A-Clinic Foudation. Please see the list of my international publications in orchid.
I work in co-operation with wide range of national and international NGOs and universities, and the Finnish National Institute of Health and Welfare. My work includes also participation to seminars and meetings, as well as, preparation of proposals and joint applications to external bodies. Several under-graduate and post-doc students use our data sets under my supervision.