An Assessment of Mental Wellbeing and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Youth Living in Central Mexico

Abstract

The current state of adolescent mental health and wellbeing in Mexico constitutes a serious public health concern. In an effort to better understand the potential impact this crisis is having on youth in Central Mexico, we designed a study to assess the connection between Mental Wellbeing and Health-related Quality of Life among a sample of children in junior high school. Descriptive statistics suggest that 22.5% of our sample was “at-risk” of poor health-related quality of life, with 19.8% at risk within the physical subscale and 24.3% at risk within the psychosocial subscale. Regression analyses showed that mental wellbeing scores significantly predicted scores on the physical subscale of the quality of life measure, but did not predict overall wellbeing or psychosocial wellbeing. If replicated, our results may have important implications for health professionals, social workers, researchers, policy makers, and other individuals living in Mexico. We encourage continued research among Mexican youth in rural, underserved areas of Central Mexico such as Michoacán in order to further support strengths-based approaches for improving both their mental wellbeing and quality of life.