Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Mar 22;14(4):263.
doi: 10.3390/bs14040263.

The Research on Risk Factors for Adolescents' Mental Health

Jiayu Lin  1 , Wuyuan Guo  2
Affiliations
Review

The Research on Risk Factors for Adolescents' Mental Health

Jiayu Lin et al. Behav Sci (Basel). .

Abstract

There is a growing tendency for mental health disorders to emerge during adolescence. These disorders impair emotional, cognitive, and behavioral functioning, such as unsatisfying peer relationships, disruptive behavior, and decreased academic performance. They also contribute to vulnerability in later adulthood which negatively influences life-long well-being. Thus, research into etiology is imperative to provide implications for prevention and intervention within family and school practices. It is suggested that the onset of psychological disorders, such as depression and anxiety, is closely related to stress levels and patterns of stress reaction. Therefore, considerable research has investigated the link between hereditary factors, economic status, dispositional vulnerability, social relationships, and stress levels. The current study examines existing evidence and identifies multifaceted risk factors for adolescents' mental problems across three layers, including individual traits and personality, family status and practices, as well as peer relationships, and school climate. It is also suggested that factors from these three perspectives interact and are closely interconnected, directly or indirectly contributing to adolescent psychopathology. The implications for future development of prevention and intervention programs, as well as therapy, are discussed.

Keywords: adolescents; depression; mental health; parenting styles; self-efficacy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summary of the interaction between individual vulnerability, family environment, peer relationships and adolescents’ mental health. ① Individual vulnerability is bidirectionally predictive of peer relationships. ② Family environment is linked to individual vulnerability. ③ Peer relationships are associated with adolescents’ mental health issues. ④ Family environment is associated with adolescents’ mental health issues. ⑤ Family environment influences peer relationships. ⑥ Individual vulnerability is associated with adolescents’ mental health issues.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. World Health Organization . Mental Health of Adolescents. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2021. [(accessed on 1 May 2023)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health.
    1. Li F., Cui Y., Li Y., Guo L., Ke X., Liu J., Luo X., Zheng Y., Leckman J.F. Prevalence of mental disorders in school children and adolescents in China: Diagnostic data from detailed clinical assessments of 17,524 individuals. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry. 2022;63:34–46. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13445. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Salum G.A., Gadelha A., Pan P.M., Moriyama T.S., Graeff-Martins A.S., Tamanaha A.C., Alvarenga P., Krieger F.V., Fleitlich-Bilyk B., Jackowski A., et al. High risk cohort study for psychiatric disorders in childhood: Rationale, design, methods and preliminary results. Int. J. Methods Psychiatric. Res. 2015;24:58–73. doi: 10.1002/mpr.1459. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report 2009–2019. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Atlanta, GA, USA: 2020. [(accessed on 1 May 2023)]. Available online: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/YRBSDataSummaryTrendsRepo....
    1. Patton G.C., Sawyer S.M., Santelli J.S., Ross D.A., Afifi R., Allen N.B., Arora M., Azzopardi P., Baldwin W., Bonell C., et al. Our future: A Lancet commission on adolescent health and wellbeing. Lancet. 2016;387:2423–2478. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00579-1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.

LinkOut - more resources