Adolescent Perception of Mental Health: It’s Not Only about Oneself, It’s about Others Too

Abstract

Adolescents are at an increased risk of mental health problems due to the natural processes of development and maturation. Given that their mental health is mainly assessed by adults and not by the adolescents themselves, the purpose of this study is to reveal adolescents’ perceptions of mental health. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted, and an inductive qualitative approach with thematic analysis was used. The qualitative study consisted of 19 adolescents aged 11–17 years. Five themes were identified: (1) What does mental health mean to you? (subthemes: realm of emotions, customary behavior, and relationships with others); (2) needs (subthemes: communication and support, self-expression and freedom of decision-making, and a safe and personal environment); (3) risk factors (subthemes: un-healthy relationships and social media dangers); (4) red flags (subthemes: self-exclusion from social life and self-destructive behavior); and (5) role of mental health professionals (subthemes: attentiveness to and proper pace for adolescent and acceptance of adolescent’s life in its entirety). This study revealed that adolescents view their mental health not only from their own emotional and behavioral perspectives but also through the prism of relationships with other people.