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Mental Health: Young People's Social and Emotional Wellbeing
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Mental Health: Young People's Social and Emotional Wellbeing

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Behavior, Chronic Disease and Health Promotion".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 12721

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Grace Spencer

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
Interests: health promotion; young people’s health and wellbeing
Dr. Jill Thompson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Health Sciences School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2LA, UK
Interests: young people’s health and wellbeing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Globally, the World Health Organisation estimates that 1 in 7 young people experience a mental health condition, and supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people has become a  global public health priority. Young people’s mental health is shaped by a complex range of vulnerabilities and protective factors, including peer and family relationships, and education, socio-economic, political and environmental influences, as well as the physical, emotional and relational changes associated with adolescence. The impacts of social media and global challenges, such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, are increasingly recognised for their adverse effects on young people’s social and emotional wellbeing.  Young people with mental health conditions are at a greater risk of experiencing poorer outcomes and are more likely to encounter social exclusion, discrimination and stigma.  Thus, identifying effective ways to support young people’s mental health is much needed. 

This Special Issue invites contributions that directly focus on young people’s mental health and wellbeing, including the importance of young people’s social relationships and contexts in shaping their emotional wellbeing.  Examples of approaches that draw upon young people’s assets and agency in the promotion of their mental health are particularly welcomed, along with papers that directly engage with young people’s own perspectives and experiences of mental health.

Dr. Grace Spencer
Dr. Jill Thompson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • young people
  • mental health
  • social relationships
  • social support
  • assets
  • resilience
  • risk factors
  • emotional wellbeing
  • social determinants of mental health

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 360 KiB  
Article
Creative Mental Health Literacy Practices: A Qualitative Study Exploring How Students Use Literacy to Promote Wellbeing and Manage Mental Health Conditions While at University
by Emily Peach
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(15), 6475; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20156475 - 31 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3333
Abstract
Understanding how students manage their mental health while at university is more important than ever, given the increasing number of undergraduate students experiencing poor mental health and seeking support from their universities. This paper reports on an exploratory qualitative study and discusses how [...] Read more.
Understanding how students manage their mental health while at university is more important than ever, given the increasing number of undergraduate students experiencing poor mental health and seeking support from their universities. This paper reports on an exploratory qualitative study and discusses how students with mental-health conditions use literacy (reading, writing, and the use of texts) to manage their mental health, focusing on reading for pleasure, creative writing, and bullet journaling. Through in-depth qualitative interviews across the academic year of 2018–2019, 11 students’ reflective accounts of their practices in managing their mental health were collected and then thematically analysed. This paper focusses on the experiences of three students as case studies of how students use literacy to manage times of mental health distress and promote wellbeing through relaxation, the expression of emotions, and the recording of their mental health. These practices enabled the processing of emotions, engagement in supportive relationships, development of a sense of self, and reflection of mental health progress. These findings demonstrate that supporting students to engage in self-directed creative literacy practices could help students to manage their mental health and develop on-going positive strategies while helping universities manage the increased demand for help from students. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mental Health: Young People's Social and Emotional Wellbeing)
16 pages, 1272 KiB  
Article
Understanding How School-Based Interventions Can Tackle LGBTQ+ Youth Mental Health Inequality: A Realist Approach
by Elizabeth McDermott, Alex Kaley, Eileen Kaner, Mark Limmer, Ruth McGovern, Felix McNulty, Rosie Nelson, Emma Geijer-Simpson and Liam Spencer
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(5), 4274; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054274 - 28 Feb 2023
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 8219
Abstract
Globally, research indicates that LGBTQ+ young people have elevated rates of poor mental health in comparison with their cisgender heterosexual peers. The school environment is a major risk factor and is consistently associated with negative mental health outcomes for LGBTQ+ young people. The [...] Read more.
Globally, research indicates that LGBTQ+ young people have elevated rates of poor mental health in comparison with their cisgender heterosexual peers. The school environment is a major risk factor and is consistently associated with negative mental health outcomes for LGBTQ+ young people. The aim of this UK study was to develop a programme theory that explained how, why, for whom, and in what context school-based interventions prevent or reduce mental health problems in LGBTQ+ young people, through participation with key stakeholders. Online realist interviews were conducted in the UK with (1) LGBTQ+ young people aged between 13–18 years attending secondary schools (N = 10); (2) intervention practitioners (N = 9); and (3) school staff (N = 3). A realist retroductive data analysis strategy was employed to identify causal pathways across different interventions that improved mental health outcomes. The programme theory we produced explains how school-based interventions that directly tackle dominant cisgender and heterosexual norms can improve LGBTQ+ pupils’ mental health. We found that context factors such as a ‘whole-school approach’ and ‘collaborative leadership’ were crucial to the delivery of successful interventions. Our theory posits three causal pathways that might improve mental health: (1) interventions that promote LGBTQ+ visibility and facilitate usualising, school belonging, and recognition; (2) interventions for talking and support that develop safety and coping; and (3) interventions that address institutional school culture (staff training and inclusion polices) that foster school belonging, empowerment, recognition, and safety. Our theoretical model suggests that providing a school environment that affirms and usualises LGBTQ+ identities and promotes school safety and belonging can improve mental health outcomes for LGBTQ+ pupils. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mental Health: Young People's Social and Emotional Wellbeing)
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