Developing healthy relationships can help protect youth from poor mental health and self-harm. Help teens connect with peers and adults online or in person to feel supported, safe and valued.
Addressing the Covid-19 pandemic heightened concerns about the mental health crisis facing youth, but the need for dynamic research, prevention and innovation remains strong. Psychologists are working to tackle these challenges head-on.
Stress
As children and teens go through significant life changes, they can feel overwhelmed by the daily demands of family life, school and social media. They can also be stressed by bigger issues such as climate change and discrimination.
Stress is a normal part of life, but when it is long-term, it can damage physical and mental health. Stress can affect memory, attention and cognitive function — essential for learning — as well as immune system function and heart disease.
A healthy environment with supportive communities, stable housing, safe schools and access to health care and mental health services can help protect youth from stressors. However, structural barriers such as poverty, food insecurity, and community violence can contribute to high rates of mental health challenges among youth.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Childhood trauma can live on in the psyche and body for years, making you prone to anxiety, depression, and chronic health problems. It also puts you at higher risk of violence victimization and perpetration. ACEs are defined as “highly stressful events or situations that threaten a young person’s safety, security, trust and bodily integrity”. They include multiple types of abuse (emotional, physical, sexual and emotional neglect) and other kinds of serious household dysfunction like drug use and incarceration; witnessing community, peer and collective violence; and exposure to family members suffering from mental illness.
Studies show that ACEs are associated with numerous health conditions and risk behaviors, including suicide attempts, substance and alcohol use, teen pregnancy, early sexual initiation and multiple partners. Preventing ACEs can reduce these negative outcomes. Prevention strategies include home visiting and parenting programs, social support for parents and high quality child care. They can be integrated with economic and social policies that promote healthy homes, neighborhoods and communities.
Social and Economic Determinants
Adolescents’ mental health outcomes can be influenced by a wide range of social and economic factors. These are known as the social determinants of health (SDoH). For example, research shows that people living in poverty and those with low levels of income experience higher rates of mental illness than those in more comfortable economic circumstances.
The present study was an interpretive description study that foregrounds adolescents’ experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic using the SDoH framework. As a qualitative approach, it offered rich contextual data to complement the majority of existing studies using quantitative methods.
The findings indicate that sudden and dramatic shifts to SDoH can have significant impacts on adolescent mental health. Interventions aimed at addressing these factors should take into account their impact on mental health, as well as the contextual variables that may moderate or mediate those effects, such as race/ethnicity and gender. This requires an increased focus on cross-sectoral and inter-disciplinary ‘Whole-of-Society’ approaches.
Adolescence
During adolescence, young people are learning to build their relationships and establish their identity. They may seek novel experiences and push limits, which can be healthy when it’s done safely and in a supportive environment with loved ones. But when they’re exposed to negative attitudes and behaviors (both subtle and overt) that don’t promote healthy development, they can be at greater risk of mental health challenges later in life.
Psychologist-led research is working to change that. One example is a new recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that recommends regular anxiety and depression screenings for teens ages 8 to 18.
Identifying and treating mental health disorders early in adolescence can help reduce their impact on health, productivity, education and social functioning. It can also lower costs for healthcare, special education, criminal justice and social welfare systems. Providing access to mental health services—in person and online, like Compass Virtual—is another important aspect of this effort.