Crying wolf? Australian adolescents’ perceptions of the ambiguity of visible indicators of mental health and authenticity of mental illness

Teng, Emmelin; Crabb, Shona; Winefield, Helen R.; Venning, Anthony

doi:10.1080/14780887.2017.1282566

Cited by 16 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Targeting mental health education and support within school environments has the potential to produce long term positive effects on mental, social, and behavioral development (Graham et al, 2011;Ekornes, 2020;Grové and Laletas, 2020;Kostenius et al, 2020). Yet youth have inadequate information about mental health, especially within their learning environment (Rickwood et al, 2005;Teng et al, 2017;Tharaldsen et al, 2017;Radez et al, 2021). Barriers for youth seeking help for mental health problems include negative attitudes toward mental illness, a lack of knowledge and help available (Radez et al, 2020).…”

Section: The Need For Mental Health Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

“It’s Something That We All Need to Know”: Australian Youth Perspectives of Mental Health Literacy and Action in Schools

2022

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Young people expressed concern about their mental health before COVID-19, and these concerns have escalated in response to the pandemic. A lack of knowledge, stigma and unfamiliarity with how to seek help contribute to low self-efficacy in mental health care. There is a need for school settings to include mental health education, or mental health literacy (MHL), to address youth mental health needs. Evaluation of school-based MHL programs often occur without the consultation of key stakeholders, such as young people. This study aimed to understand young people’s experience of mental health education in their school and their perspectives of how future mental health education can be tailored to suit their needs. Four online group discussions were conducted with 13 participants aged 11 to 18 years old. Eight main themes were generated from these discussions: (1) limited mental health education and understanding in school, (2) struggle to help seek, (3) negative mental health attitudes, (4) desired content about mental health education, (5) understanding of mental health, (6) school as a place for support, (7) suggestions for mental health education, and (8) ways for schools to be responsive to youth needs. All the young people in this study expressed concerns around the lack of mental health education in their schools and indicated that this must change for the wellbeing of all youth.

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Section: The Need For Mental Health Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

“It’s Something That We All Need to Know”: Australian Youth Perspectives of Mental Health Literacy and Action in Schools

2022

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“…Factors influencing young people’s help-seeking behaviour include confidentiality and trust within the context of seeking help, perceptions of young people’s problems as generally less important than those of adults, and a heavy emphasis on internalizing or “bottling up” feelings as a popular coping strategy [ 44 ]. A recent Australian study found that there are discrepancies between adolescent descriptions of mental health on a conceptual basis and their representations of mental health relevant to their own lives and experiences [ 45 ]. This highlights the need to explore everyday challenges as experienced by adolescents and young adults in light of the increasingly prevalent rates of self-reported mental health problems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A Greek study found that pupils (13–16 years) described mental illness in a multi-dimensional way including, for example, being in a certain state of something; doing or behaving in a certain way; having psychological problems; not knowing what is going on around them; seeing everything in black and imagining things; and not being able to do certain things [ 46 ]. Considering that concepts of mental health are complex even for adults [ 47 ], a focus on students learning to understand and appreciate seemingly opposing ideas when considering mental health and illness may be a useful first step in the endeavour to develop mental health knowledge and understanding in adolescents and, in turn, in adults [ 45 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When it comes to research investigating youth’s perceptions on mental health, few are conducted on non-clinical samples [ 45 ]. The considerable uncertainty regarding the state of mental health among young people in general, their own understanding, and what are successful efforts to promote mental health, emphasizes the importance of including young people without diagnosed mental illness and their perspectives in mental health research [ 48 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite a growing demand to educate adolescents with life skills to help them deal with their everyday challenges and transition into adulthood with informed healthy choices, there are yet few qualitative studies on this subject [ 31 ]. Discrepancies that exist between the views of adolescents and professionals are vital to acknowledge, considering the potential influence of such differences on the effectiveness of mental health policies and programmes that are developed by professionals but aimed at youth populations [ 45 ]. As young people’s actions are grounded in how they understand and interpret the world, understanding the perceptions and experiences about mental health and help-seeking behaviour is important in the undertaking of addressing mental health problems among adolescents and young adults [ 44 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Life Challenges and Barriers to Help Seeking: Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Voices of Mental Health

Hellström

Beckman

2021

IJERPH

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Listening to the voices of adolescents and young adults regarding their lived experiences could be a way to identify important skills and abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that will enable youth to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life. Hence, the aim with the current study is to explore the experiences and understandings of the life situation among adolescents and young adults of today, by making their voices heard in regards to mental health and help-seeking behaviour. A total of 6 group interviews were conducted with 22 adolescents and young adults (13 girls and 9 boys) ages 17–25 (M = 18.6 years). Data analysis was conducted using qualitative content analysis and resulted in two categories and five subcategories. The first category, Life challenges, included views on the sources of mental health, how to manage different types of relationships, and thoughts on accepted ways to express mental health problems. The second category, The need of present adults, highlighted important aspects for seeking help, such as an expressed need to be seen and heard by adults including parents, school staff, and other professionals as well as a need for adults’ increased availability. The challenges to students’ well-being and mental health are many, and there are no simple solutions. Based on the results in this study, life skills training should include elements to enhance the development of individual coping strategies, to be applied when life feels tough and when the body is experiencing stress reactions. Further, to minimize the risk of self-stigma and the internalization of negative stereotypes and self-blame, life skills training should include elements to increase knowledge of structural factors that have effects on the life situation as well as parents, school personnel, and other important adults.

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Depression Literacy and Self-Reported Help-Giving Behaviour in Adolescents in Ireland

Byrne,

Swords,

Nixon

2024

Child Psychiatry Hum Dev

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This questionnaire-based study aimed to explore depression literacy (DL) and help-giving experiences in 12–18-year-old adolescents (N = 535, Mage = 14.9 years, 51.8% male) in Ireland. In response to a vignette depicting a character displaying symptoms of depression, 46.7% labelled these symptoms ‘depression’, with increasing age and empathy associated with increased likelihood of labelling as such. Almost all (92.1%) believed the character needed help, but the perceived helpfulness of potential responses varied. Over one-third (38.2%) indicated they knew someone who had displayed similar symptoms in the past year, with 85.2% of these reporting having helped this person. Reported help-giving responses included comforting the person, encouraging professional help-seeking, and informing an adult. The findings suggest adolescent DL can be best supported by developmentally-sensitive interventions that encourage empathy and the importance of engaging adults’ assistance.

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Crying wolf? Australian adolescents’ perceptions of the ambiguity of visible indicators of mental health and authenticity of mental illness

Cited by 16 publications

References 42 publications

“It’s Something That We All Need to Know”: Australian Youth Perspectives of Mental Health Literacy and Action in Schools

“It’s Something That We All Need to Know”: Australian Youth Perspectives of Mental Health Literacy and Action in Schools

Life Challenges and Barriers to Help Seeking: Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Voices of Mental Health

Depression Literacy and Self-Reported Help-Giving Behaviour in Adolescents in Ireland

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