Citation

Kabiru CW, Blum RW. J. Adolesc. Health 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.10.007

PMID

36369112

Abstract

We have a notion that adolescence is a healthy time of life. Many parents wonder what is so stressful for young people who do not have the kinds of financial burdens and family worries that adults experience. Consequently, it is not uncommon for adults to dismiss the emotional concerns of their adolescent children. However, adolescence is a time of exceptionally rapid change both physically and neurodevelopmentally. As a time of numerous first experiences and exposures, the world around the adolescents changes in ways that they never experienced in childhood. Under normal circumstances, these changes result in stress that can lead young people to feeling overwhelmed, isolated, and depressed. In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic period, the social isolation and socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic have taken a further toll on young people's mental health and wellbeing.

The inclusion of a goal specific to mental health in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is an important inflection point because it marks the first time that mental health is acknowledged by the global community as a cornerstone for national development. Valid, comparable, and reliable data on mental health conditions are essential for tracking progress in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals target on mental health. One problem that we face, however, is that we have poor measures to assess the emotional health and wellbeing of adolescents. Without being able to accurately identify those who have most significant mental health problems, we are handicapped in being able to meet their needs.

The lack of data on adolescents' mental health has spurred several initiatives to address this gap. This supplemental issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health includes commentaries, protocols, and original studies that focus on the generation of population-level data that can inform programs and policies aimed at improving mental health outcomes among adolescents...

Language: en