Supporting the Mental Health of At-Risk Youth
At-risk youth face various challenges that affect their mental health. Some of these challenges include poverty, bullying at school, trauma, abuse, neglect, and unstable family environments. Overall development and future success of at-risk youth require a proactive approach to support their mental health and well-being. Below are some of the most important strategies to support the mental health of at-risk youth.
Table of Contents
Supporting the Mental Health of At-Risk Youth
Encourage building social relationships
Minimize access to means of self-harm
Early intervention
Early identification of mental health struggles is crucial for the prevention of long-term psychological diseases in at-risk youth. With early identification of signs and symptoms of various mental health problems, it is necessary to be proactive and address them as soon as possible. There’s a lot that schools, families, community centers, and healthcare providers can do to manage these problems in a timely manner. Mental health resources such as therapy, counseling, and peer support programs can be of huge help. Early intervention is one of the best ways to support the mental health of at-risk youth.
Lead by example
Children and adolescents learn their behaviors from adults in their environment. That’s why it’s important to lead by example. In order to support the mental health of at-risk youth, you need to take care of your own first. More precisely, consider yourself a role model and focus on your physical and mental health so the youth can absorb those behaviors and habits as well.
For example, eating a healthy diet, regular exercise, enough sleep, and other behaviors such as limiting screen time and social media use are habits that you can adopt to take care of your overall well-being. Young people in your environment can learn from you and behave the same way too.
Moreover, adults can talk to children and adolescents about the importance of mental health and encourage them to seek help. Evidence shows that young people are reluctant to seek help due to stigma and embarrassment associated with mental health as well as negative perceptions related to help-seeking. Adults have the opportunity to show young people that mental health problems aren’t embarrassing and that seeking help is a brave thing to do.
Encourage building social relationships
Peer relationships are incredibly important for mental health regardless of the age group. Even young people need strong social relationships for optimal psychological well-being. One study confirmed that the quality of peer relationships is a major predictor of the severity of depressive symptoms in adolescents. Improved peer acceptance, dependability, and ease of making new friends are strongly associated with decreased depression symptoms.
Strong relationships with peers lower anxiety and depression while boosting self-esteem and confidence. They improve youth’s quality of life at the same time.
Encouraging children and teens to focus on social relationships is a great way to support their mental health. It is particularly important to ensure they realize quality of social relationships is more beneficial than the quantity of friends.
Teachers can emphasize the importance of social relationships by arranging activities such as after-school programs, volunteering, and workshops. Parents can encourage their children to build social relationships by signing them up for different activities, sports clubs, or camps.
Discuss social media use
Numbers show that U.S. teenagers spend an average of 4.8 hours every day on social media platforms. Girls tend to spend 5.3 hours on social media networks a day, compared to 4.4 hours for boys. For many children and teens, social media is a source of entertainment and consider it important for their social life. However, these platforms can exhibit a detrimental effect on their mental health.
Research suggests that young adults with high social media use are more socially isolated than their counterparts with lower social media use. Evidence also reveals that smartphone and social media use among teenagers may increase mental distress, self-harming behaviors, and suicidality. Education and practical problem-solving are helpful for reducing the negative effects of social media on the psychological health and well-being of youth.
In order to support the mental health of at-risk youth, it is necessary to approach this subject in a non-judgmental manner. Young people shouldn’t feel like they’re being criticized for spending time on social media. Instead, it is necessary to discuss the negative impact of social media and how to use it safely.
Minimize access to means of self-harm
In order to support the mental health of at-risk youth, it is necessary to minimize their access to means of self-harm. These include prescription medications, firearms, or any other substance that they may abuse. Without access to these items, children and adolescents won’t be tempted to use them as a potential escape from symptoms or emotions they’re experiencing. For that reason, it is also necessary to inform youngsters about substance abuse and the dangers associated with it.
After all, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that young people are particularly vulnerable to substance use patterns that can persist across their lifespan. For example, in 2019, the prevalence of alcohol use in adolescents ages 15 to 19 worldwide was high (22%). Misuse of other substances such as cannabis is also high within the same age group. This just goes to show that sometimes youth turn to risk-taking behaviors to process their emotions.
In addition to minimizing their access to means of self-harm, it is important to educate youth on healthy coping mechanisms. Adults should show the youth that negative emotions and experiences are possible to manage in a healthy manner. As they learn to handle negative situations more effectively, their mental health improves, and they become more resilient.
Conclusion
At-risk youth are vulnerable to mental health distress and similar problems, but it’s possible to decrease their influence. Simple approaches and strategies can be very helpful in improving the mental health of vulnerable children and adolescents. Adults should lead by example and take care of their physical and mental health as well. They should encourage young people to ask for help and that the act of help-seeking is a sign of bravery, not weakness. Strong social relationships and open discussions on social media and substance abuse are important approaches for supporting the mental health of at-risk youth.
References
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7932953/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8761859/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1451257/us-teens-hours-spent-social-networks-per-day/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5722463/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10476631/
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health