Contemporary Perspectives in Adolescent Mental Health


Book Description

Mental health is a cornerstone of young peoples’ well-being and increasingly a topic of concern. The foundation of mental health is largely laid in adolescence, and more than half of adult mental health disorders have their onset before the age of 14 . Mental health problems are becoming a leading cause of disease burden amongst adolescents globally, affecting their achievement of developmental tasks, socially, personally and academically. Poor adolescent mental health has been linked with poor long-term adult health morbidity and mortality. Optimal mental health requires a positive sense of wellbeing in addition to the absence of clinically significant, active mental illness. Monitoring adolescent mental health is key for understanding whether efforts to improve young people’s mental health at a national and international level are successful. The last decades have seen great changes in young peoples’ lives, including technological advancement and the COVID pandemic. In examining the pathways to adolescent mental health, the proposed research topic will contribute to a better understanding on how this ongoing crisis has affected adolescents.




Adolescent Psychiatry


Book Description

Psychiatric disorders in adolescents are an important social problem which is relevant to almost all healthcare professionals. According to the results of The National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A), the lifetime prevalence of anxiety, behavior, mood, and substance use disorders among adolescents was 31.9%, 19.1%, 14.3%, and 11.4%, respectively. Approximately 40% of participants in this survey with one class of disorder also met criteria for another class of lifetime disorder. Comorbidity is increasingly recognized as a key feature of mental disorders among adolescents. Female adolescents are more likely than males to have mood and anxiety disorders, but less likely to have behavioral and substance use disorders. Regretfully, medical professionals are not sufficiently trained about adolescent psychiatric disorders. For example, primary care providers correctly identify less than a fourth of youth with a depressive or anxiety disorder. Also, many clinicians underestimate the importance of the problem of adolescent psychiatric illnesses and suicidal behavior. Lack of skilled medical providers impedes the delivery of needed services to adolescents with mental health issues. This coupled with a lag in the ability of primary health care services to incorporate psychiatric interventions, and a failure of public health initiatives to pay attention to adolescent mental health problems has led to continuing gaps in care over decades despite the public pronouncements of needs. In this book you will find relevant information for health professionals, since we believe that the mental health of adolescents is essential for sustaining healthy and productive societies.




Understanding Youth Mental Health: Perspectives from Theory and Practice


Book Description

“This is an incredibly useful and timely resource for those studying and working in the field of youth mental health.” Sara Evans-Lacko, PhD, Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK “’Understanding Youth Mental Health’ covers the full spectrum of what is needed. ‘Understanding Youth Mental Health’ is a welcome and important building block.” Patrick McGorry, Professor of Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Australia, Executive Director, Orygen: National Centre for Youth Mental Health “This practical textbook, with contributions from established international experts, provides a comprehensive guide to contemporary theory, research and practice in youth mental health.” Dr Louise Doyle, Associate Professor in Mental Health Nursing, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland Understanding Youth Mental Health offers a new and comprehensive approach to youth mental health that highlights the significance of development during adolescence and early adulthood. The book centres on the experiences of young people as service users, drawing attention to the distinctive challenges being faced in the 21st century and emphasising the importance of supporting young people’s well-being and improving mental health literacy. In a succinct and practical way, Understanding Youth Mental Health: •Introduces students to a new conceptual model for understanding young people’s mental health •Incorporates chapters on the key features of new model services in Australia, Ireland and the UK including youth engagement, input from families and service design •Provides comprehensive epidemiological data on mental disorders and a clear focus on the importance of early intervention in psychosis •Includes chapters from leading academics working in the area of youth mental health, augmented with short accounts of personal experiences from young people and their families Written by world-leading experts from eight countries with diverse research and clinical experience, Understanding Youth Mental Health draws on findings from around the globe and equips readers with the information required to develop as researchers and practitioners with a view to improving service provision in a range of contexts. Ideal for those embarking on careers or study in this field, the book provides key learnings from theory and practice which can be deployed and developed within your own service provision. Eilis Hennessy is a Professor of Developmental Psychology in University College Dublin, Ireland. Caroline Heary is an Associate Professor in Developmental Psychology at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Maria Michail is a Marie Curie Global Fellow and an Associate Professor in the Institute for Mental Health, University of Birmingham, UK.




Adolescent Psychiatry


Book Description

Psychiatric disorders in adolescents are an important social problem relevant to almost all healthcare professionals. The prevalence of mood, anxiety, substance use and other psychiatric disorders among adolescents is high. Multiple clinical, neurobiological, cultural and legal aspects of psychiatric disorders in adolescents are discussed in this book.




Modern Perspectives in Adolescent Psychiatry


Book Description

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) presents the full text of a report entitled "Workshop on the Medical Utility of Marijuana," by the Ad Hoc Group of Experts at the institute. The NIH held a two day scientific meeting on February 19-20, 1997, to review the scientific data concerning the potential therapeutic uses for marijuana and the need for and feasibility of additional research. The group recommends more research on the functional roles of cannabinoid receptors and that risks associated with marijuana should be considered.




The Promise of Adolescence


Book Description

Adolescenceâ€"beginning with the onset of puberty and ending in the mid-20sâ€"is a critical period of development during which key areas of the brain mature and develop. These changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity mark adolescence as a period of opportunity to discover new vistas, to form relationships with peers and adults, and to explore one's developing identity. It is also a period of resilience that can ameliorate childhood setbacks and set the stage for a thriving trajectory over the life course. Because adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. population, the nation needs policies and practices that will better leverage these developmental opportunities to harness the promise of adolescenceâ€"rather than focusing myopically on containing its risks. This report examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and outlines how this knowledge can be applied, both to promote adolescent well-being, resilience, and development, and to rectify structural barriers and inequalities in opportunity, enabling all adolescents to flourish.







Life Values and Adolescent Mental Health


Book Description

Arising from the Cohens' work on the epidemiology of childhood psychopathology, this book explores the two aspects of motivational structure--ideas and values--that underlie the development of maladaptive functioning and symptoms. The first aspect is a measure of what children admire in their peers; this measure is seen as an operationalization of personal ideals. The second is a measure of life goals, seen as a representation of the contemporary structure of long-term personal values. Despite the considerable amount of attention given in the popular press and among social critics and politicians, values have been relatively neglected as a topic of empirical research in this country. To fill the void, this work uses data from a large cohort of young people who have been studied longitudinally since early childhood to elucidate three aspects of life goals and values: * What are the demographic, family, peer, school, and intrapersonal influences that shape values and life goals of adolescents? * How do they change over the course of adolescence? * What impact do these values have on the lives of adolescents and young adults? Decisions about what we find most admirable and which of the many apparently good things in life we will take on as our top priorities are consequential both for the contemporary and for the future emotional and behavioral well-being of the individual. Thus, this book explores systematically the environmental origins of ideals and values, using deprivation and attainment hypotheses to examine a variety of influences on the development of differences in values. This book also examines the relationship between the measures of children's values and psychopathology, examining both the "Axis 1" diagnosis, including disruptive behavior disorders, depression, and anxiety, and the "Axis 2" personality disorders. Providing an extensive study of the life values of adolescents and the state of their mental health, this monograph will be of interest to developmental psychologists specializing in adolescence, child clinical psychologists, and psychiatrists.







Adolescent Mental Health


Book Description

Adolescence is a period of rapid growth, maturing individuality, vulnerabilities and fortitude. Fortunately, most youths go through this period of life in a healthy way, but some do not. Adolescent Mental Health: Prevention and Intervention is a concise and accessible overview of our current knowledge on effective treatment and prevention programs for youths who have developed, or are at risk of developing, mental health problems. Ogden and Hagen’s introduction to "what works" in the promotion of adolescent mental health addresses some of the most common mental health problems among young people, and how these problems might be prevented or ameliorated through professional and systematic efforts. The volume illustrates contemporary and empirically supported interventions and prevention efforts through a series of case studies, and covers some of the most prevalent mental health conditions affecting today’s youth; externalizing, internalizing and drug use problems. Within an ecological and transactional framework, the book discusses how psychopathologies may develop and the risks and protective factors associated with these. The problem-oriented perspective on risk and mental health problems is combined with a focus on social competence and other protective factors. Adolescent Mental Health: Prevention and Intervention will be essential reading for students and practitioners in the fields of child welfare and mental health services, and any professionals working with adolescents at risk of developing mental health problems.