World Teen Mental Wellness Day

 World Teen Mental Wellness Day

March 2 is World Teen Mental Wellness Day. The awareness color for mental health is lime green. World Teen Mental Wellness Day raises awareness about the mental health issues that teenagers face. For example, Mental Health America reports that 50% of all people who will have a mental health disorder in their lifetime start to experience symptoms by age 14.

Good mental health is an essential part of healthy adolescent development. For instance, it helps young people build positive social, emotional, thinking and communication skills, and behaviors. It also lays the foundation for better mental health and wellbeing later in life.

World Teen Mental Wellness Day raises awareness about issues young people encounter. The stigma associated with mental illness can make teens reluctant to ask for help. World Teen Mental Wellness Day encourages open conversation to help teens around the world.

Teen Mental Health Trends

According to a 2023 trends report from the American Psychological Association, teens’ mental health is in crisis. In fact, the surgeon general went as far as to declare a mental health crisis for teens in the aftermath of the pandemic and the new stressors and challenges associated with it. However, the American Psychological Association reports that U.S. children and teens have been suffering since well before COVID-19 arrived. Many things can also affect the mental well-being of youth, including stigma, bullying, food insecurity, violence, and puberty.

Across the board, psychologists are learning more about what can be done to help. Part of this includes, for example, new mental health recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The task force recommends regular anxiety screenings for those ages 8 to 18. In addition, the task force recommends regular depression screenings for youth ages 12 to 18. Many times, the child’s pediatrician or primary care provider can conduct the screenings.

Parents, guardians, teachers, coaches and others who are concerned about a teen in their life can refer to a video by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) titled “10 Common Warning Signs of a Mental Health Condition in Teens and Young Adults.” The video offers guidance on behaviors that could indicate a problem. Additionally, Mental Health America’s article “Know the Signs: Recognizing Mental Health Concerns in Kids and Teens” offers more support.

Statistics and Determinants of Health

One in six people are aged 10–19 years. Adolescence is a unique and formative time. There are physical, emotional and social changes. Globally, it is estimated that 1 in 7 (14%) 10–19 year-olds experience mental health conditions, yet these remain largely unrecognized and untreated.

Adolescents with mental health conditions are particularly vulnerable to social exclusion, discrimination, stigma (affecting readiness to seek help), educational difficulties, risk-taking behaviors, physical ill-health, and human rights violations.

Determinants of Mental Health

Adolescence is a crucial period for developing social and emotional habits important for mental well-being. These include adopting healthy sleep patterns, exercising regularly, developing coping, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills, and learning to manage emotions. Protective and supportive environments in the family, at school and in the wider community, are important.

Multiple factors affect mental health. The more risk factors adolescents are exposed to, the greater the potential impact on their mental health. Factors that can contribute to stress during adolescence include exposure to adversity, pressure to conform with peers and exploration of identity. This includes sexual identity.

In addition, media influence and gender norms can exacerbate the disparity between an adolescent’s lived reality and their perceptions or aspirations for the future. Other important determinants include the quality of their home life and relationships with peers. Violence (especially sexual violence and bullying), harsh parenting, and severe and socioeconomic problems are recognized risks to mental health.

Some adolescents are at greater risk of mental health conditions due to their living conditions, stigma, discrimination or exclusion, or lack of access to quality support and services. These include adolescents living in humanitarian and fragile settings, adolescents with chronic illness, autism spectrum disorder, an intellectual disability or other neurological condition, pregnant adolescents, adolescent parents, or those in early or forced marriages, orphans, and adolescents from minority ethnic or sexual backgrounds or other discriminated groups.

Emotional Disorders

Emotional disorders are common among adolescents. Examples include anxiety disorders (which may involve panic or excessive worry). They are the most prevalent in this age group. They are more common among older than among younger adolescents. It is estimated that 3.6% of 10–14-year-olds and 4.6% of 15–19-year-olds experience an anxiety disorder. Depression is estimated to occur among 1.1% of adolescents aged 10–14 years, and 2.8% of 15–19-year-olds. Depression and anxiety share some of the same symptoms, including rapid and unexpected changes in mood.

Anxiety and depressive disorders can profoundly affect school attendance and schoolwork. Social withdrawal can exacerbate isolation and loneliness. Depression can lead to suicide.

Behavioral Disorders

Behavioral disorders are more common among younger adolescents than older adolescents. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), characterized by difficulty paying attention, excessive activity and acting without regard to consequences, occurs among 3.1% of 10–14-year-olds and 2.4% of 15–19-year-olds. Conduct disorder (involving symptoms of destructive or challenging behavior) occurs among 3.6% of 10–14-year-olds and 2.4% of 15–19-year-olds. Behavioral disorders can affect adolescents’ education and conduct disorder may result in criminal behavior.

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, commonly emerge during adolescence and young adulthood. These disorders involve abnormal eating behavior as well as preoccupation with food. Eating disorders are, likewise, often accompanied by concerns about body weight and shape. Anorexia nervosa can lead to premature death, often due to medical complications or suicide. It has higher mortality than any other mental disorder.

Psychosis

Conditions that include symptoms of psychosis most commonly emerge in late adolescence or early adulthood. Symptoms can include hallucinations or delusions. These experiences can impair an adolescent’s ability to participate in daily life and education. Psychosis often leads to stigma or human rights violations.

Suicide and Self-Harm Is Especially Important Information to Know on World Teen Mental Wellness Day

Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death in older adolescents (15–19 years). Risk factors for suicide are multifaceted, and include harmful use of alcohol, abuse in childhood, stigma against help-seeking, barriers to accessing care and access to means of suicide. Digital media, like any other media, can play a significant role in either enhancing or weakening suicide prevention efforts.

Risk-Taking Behaviors

Many risk-taking behaviors for health, such as substance use or sexual risk-taking, start during adolescence. Risk-taking behaviors can be an unhelpful strategy to cope with emotional difficulties and can severely impact an adolescent’s mental and physical well-being.

Worldwide, the prevalence of heavy episodic drinking among adolescents aged 15­–19 years was 13.6% in 2016, with males most at risk.

The use of tobacco and cannabis are additional concerns. Many adult smokers had their first cigarette prior to the age of 18 years. Cannabis is the most widely used drug among young people with about 4.7% of 15–16-years-olds using it at least once in 2018.

Perpetration of violence is a risk-taking behavior that can increase the likelihood of low educational attainment, injury, involvement with crime or death. Interpersonal violence ranked among the leading causes of death of older adolescent boys in 2019.

Promotion and Prevention

Mental health promotion and prevention interventions aim to strengthen an individual’s capacity to regulate emotions, enhance alternatives to risk-taking behaviors, build resilience for managing difficult situations and adversity, and promote supportive social environments, and social networks.

These programs require a multi-level approach with varied delivery platforms. These include, for example, digital media, health or social care settings, schools or the community and varied strategies to reach adolescents, particularly the most vulnerable.