IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v143y2022ics0190740922002961.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Feeling mentally unwell is the “new normal”. A qualitative study on adolescents’ views of mental health problems and related stigma

Author

Listed:
  • Hermann, Veronica
  • Durbeej, Natalie
  • Karlsson, Ann-Christin
  • Sarkadi, Anna

Abstract

Young people suffering from mental health problems is a public health issue, and it is important to listen to adolescents’ views on the issues that affect their lives. This qualitative study describes adolescents’ perceptions of the prevalence of and public stigma towards mental health problems among young people. A total of 32 Swedish adolescents, aged 15–18 years old, took part in either semi-structured focus groups or individual interviews. The data were analyzed using systematic text condensation, resulting in three themes: Having mental health problems is the new normal; What others think of you affects you; If others lack experience and knowledge, they don’t respond well. The adolescents considered mental health problems to be common in young people and a normal feature of their lives. They displayed an in-depth understanding for reasons of the increase in mental health problems in young people, and factors such as pressure from school, stereotypical gender norms, rumors and prejudice were suggested as possible explanations for the increase, alongside improved openness about mental health problems. The adolescents’ perceptions of the stigmatization of mental health problems were consistent with a trifold definition of stigma, comprising stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. The adolescents suggested that better education about mental health problems, and more inclusive gender norms, would help reduce stigma and improve young people’s mental health.

Suggested Citation

  • Hermann, Veronica & Durbeej, Natalie & Karlsson, Ann-Christin & Sarkadi, Anna, 2022. "Feeling mentally unwell is the “new normal”. A qualitative study on adolescents’ views of mental health problems and related stigma," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:143:y:2022:i:c:s0190740922002961
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106660
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740922002961
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106660?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas Potrebny & Nora Wiium & Margrethe Moss-Iversen Lundegård, 2017. "Temporal trends in adolescents’ self-reported psychosomatic health complaints from 1980-2016: A systematic review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(11), pages 1-24, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xiaojie Cao & Siduo Ji, 2024. "Bidirectional relationship between self-rated health and the big five personality traits among Chinese adolescents: a two-wave cross-lagged study," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Katrin Häggström Westberg & Maria Nyholm & Jens M. Nygren & Petra Svedberg, 2022. "Mental Health Problems among Young People—A Scoping Review of Help-Seeking," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-15, January.
    3. Högberg, Björn & Strandh, Mattias & Hagquist, Curt, 2020. "Gender and secular trends in adolescent mental health over 24 years – The role of school-related stress," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    4. Tide Garnow & Eva-Lena Einberg & Anna-Karin Edberg & Pernilla Garmy, 2021. "Sadness and Other Health Complaints among Swedish Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-10, April.
    5. Jose Marquez & Emily Long, 2021. "A Global Decline in Adolescents’ Subjective Well-Being: a Comparative Study Exploring Patterns of Change in the Life Satisfaction of 15-Year-Old Students in 46 Countries," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(3), pages 1251-1292, June.
    6. Cashman, Matthew & Strandh, Mattias & Högberg, Björn, 2023. "Have performance-based educational reforms increased adolescent school-pressure in Sweden? A synthetic control approach," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    7. Regina Winzer & Kimmo Sorjonen & Lene Lindberg, 2018. "What Predicts Stable Mental Health in the 18–29 Age Group Compared to Older Age Groups? Results from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort 2002–2014," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-14, December.
    8. Högberg, Björn, 2021. "Educational stressors and secular trends in school stress and mental health problems in adolescents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    9. Vilija Malinauskiene & Romualdas Malinauskas, 2021. "Predictors of Adolescent Depressive Symptoms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-13, April.
    10. Dimitris Ballas & Ilias Thanis, 2022. "Exploring the Geography of Subjective Happiness in Europe During the Years of the Economic Crisis: A Multilevel Modelling Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 105-137, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:143:y:2022:i:c:s0190740922002961. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.