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

Abstract

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.

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

“…Young people represent approximately 20% of the Australian population (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021), and inclusion of their voice in research provides a nuanced understanding of their unique knowledge, experience and perspectives . Scarce research exists on Australian youth perspectives and experience of school-based mental health education and this information is crucial to ensure future initiatives are guided by the needs of the community (Ennis and Wykes, 2013;Hellström and Beckman, 2021).…”

Thanks for Asking! How UAE-Based University Students Conceptualize Happiness and How Institutions Can Improve It

“…Overwhelmingly, what students construe as vital to their wellbeing is not what universities typically offer [e.g., 18,48,52]. Beyond learning, they want connection, as well as to be seen, heard, and inspired.…”

“…Indeed, research involving young people often reveals a disconnect between the approaches they deem important versus those put forward by institutions [52]. For example, in school, young people identified the need for informal, immersive ways to foster social connectedness and support, over individual skills-based tools and strategies [18,52]. Similar results have been found in a group of Chinese university students studying in Australia who identified wellbeing offerings they felt would help them best, including cross-cultural interactions, non-discriminatory campus environments and greater support with employment and housing opportunities [48].…”

“…Still, wellbeing is often positioned as the responsibility of counseling departments alone and often takes the form of consumable skills and awareness raising initiatives [1,3,18]. By construing the psychosocial needs of students as individual mental health issues, institutions avoid the responsibility of building positive ecosystems.…”

‘Feeling down one evening doesn't count as having mental health problems’—Swedish adolescents' conceptual views of mental health

“…There has been a larger increase in mental health difficulties among adolescents in Sweden than in other European and Nordic countries (Potrebny et al, 2017). There is also a generally strong awareness and understanding of mental health problems, with a corresponding ability to discuss the prevalence and increase of these problems among Swedish adolescents (Hellström & Beckman, 2021). In our study, we therefore attempted to expand and nuance knowledge by exploring Swedish adolescents' views on mental health and mental health problems.…”