What’s the project?
We are researchers from the University of Oxford in the Department of Experimental Psychology and we would like to invite you to take part in our research study. We are interested in 13-20 year olds who experience panic attacks and we aim to understand more about the things they do when they have a panic attack. We are researching this in order to inform therapeutic interventions and ultimately to help young people with panic disorder.
Find out more
We are conducting online interviews with young people who have or think they might have panic disorder. These interviews will be online and can take 30 - 60 minutes depending on how much you have to say. The interviews will be with Imogen Hensler on Microsoft Teams and you can either take part in the interview on your own or have a trusted friend (18+ years old) or parent/carer with you.
But before we can conduct this interview we need to see if you are eligible to take part. The study has four steps where steps one and two are assessing whether you are eligible to take part.
Overview of study steps
- The ‘Initial form and Consent’ online form. We start by asking you a few questions about your panic attacks in the Brief Panic Screener section. If you meet the threshold for this section, the survey will continue, if you do not the survey will stop and you are unfortunately not eligible to take part in our study. If you are eligible, you will then answer some questions about you and your background (e.g., age, gender) that we will use to explain who took part in the study and to help us decide who to interview later on (this is on the same form). We are looking to interview people from a range of backgrounds, therefore based on your answers, you may be invited to step 2.
- The diagnostic interview. This will be an online interview on Microsoft Teams with Imogen Hensler which will last about 15 minutes where we will further assess if you have a probable diagnosis of panic disorder. Based on your answers, you may be invited to steps 3 and 4.
- You will complete the ‘Clinical Characteristics’ online form. This has further questions about symptoms of panic, anxiety and low mood, as well as thought, feelings and behaviours when you feel panicky. There are also a few extra questions about you which help us to gain a bigger picture of you. All this information is to help inform the interview and for background information.
- The full study interview, which will also be online on Microsoft Teams with Imogen Hensler. This will take up to 60 minutes and you will be asked questions about your panic attacks.
- Must be based in the UK
- Be 13-20 years old
- Experience recurring, unexpected panic attacks or have a diagnosis of panic disorder
If you are eligible to take part in the full study interview, you will be given a £25 LovetoShop voucher which can be used at most major UK retailers.
Throughout the process there will be mental health resources for you to access if you feel the need to. You are allowed to have a trusted adult (e.g. family member or friend who is 18 years old or more) to sit in at the interviews with you. If there any other things that would make you feel more comfortable to get involved then please let us know and we will try and implement them!
If you are interested in this opportunity, please complete this online form https://oxfordxpsy.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_db5Hx9SdjvLc6eG or email [email protected] with brief answers to the following questions:
- What is your name?
- How old are you?
- Are you based in the UK?
- Do you experience recurring, unexpected panic attacks or panic disorder?
- How did you hear about this opportunity?
If you have any questions then please get in touch with Imogen at the [email protected]
21st August 2026 11pm. However, we recommend applying early as we may close recruitment if we get too much expression of interest. If the deadline has closed and you are still interested then contact [email protected] to see if we have any availability.
Please note that the McPin Foundation regularly promotes opportunities on behalf of other institutions; we are not responsible for the continuation or contents of further correspondence with any project partners where we are not listed as the project main point of contact.
