Navigating Adolescent Mental Health: Factors, Theories, and Interventions

Introduction

With the recent increase in delinquency and crime rates in adolescents, there is an urgent need for the concerned parties to explore the different aspects that contribute to the phenomena. It is also important to perform correlation studies on the link between the social issues experienced and their causes. This paper will explore the different roles played by the atmospheres that one is in, the theories that explain the rise in delinquency the different contributing factors of the social phenomena, and the possible solutions.

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Theories regarding depression in teens

First, the behaviorist theory addresses the role of the environment on the people's behavioral outcomes in question. This theory, therefore, attributes depression to the environments that one is in, with positive environments resulting in positive outcomes and negative ones resulting in negative ones (Lackdawala et al., 2007). Additionally, operant conditioning argues that depression comes from the removal of positive reinforcement from the environment that one is in. Without positive reinforcement, one is left without motivation and positivity, which results in the people concerned undergoing depression. Therefore, this theory argues that depression is a result of the mental conditions associated with the lack of positive and encouraging environments. This, therefore, shows the importance of motivation and positivity in the process of fighting depression among teens.

How one’s atmosphere affects mental trauma

One's atmosphere directly affects the possibility of one getting depression. The exposure to natural disasters in society is directly linked to the possibility of one getting mental trauma. This is because the extreme conditions will result in a condition where the people in question will suffer from mental trauma, which will result in the buildup of depression (Zhang et al., 2019). Additionally, the existence of negative environmental conditions will lead to the development of mental trauma. There is a clear link between the existence of positive environmental conditions and positive mental health and the lack of mental trauma. However, negative environmental conditions such as pollution result in negative physical outcomes, which also contribute to negative mental trauma and outcomes.

Treatment/Research and Evaluation

The most effective way of addressing mental trauma and depression and teens is the use of talk therapy. Talk therapy, also known as counseling, is the process through which psychotherapists talk to their patients and help them to look at the issues they are facing from different perspectives, which will result in the patients getting out of the mental conditions and situations that affect them (Foulkrod et al., 2017). Additionally, talk therapy involves providing the patients with a platform on which they can express themselves and tell the therapists the issues that they are facing. Through talk therapy, the mental perspectives and outlooks held by the patients are addressed and changed, which is an important step towards the achievement of a stable and clear state of mind and getting rid of the mental trauma whose buildup results in depression.

Peer-to-peer engagement and how it affects mental growth and individuality among teens

Peer engagement and influence play a critical role in the mental health outcomes and individuality of the people concerned. Socialization plays a critical role in the mental well-being of an individual since it helps to shape their perspectives and attitudes. Mental health is a result of the worldview held by individuals and how they seek a way out of the challenges that they experience (Lee & Lee, 2020). The people that one associates with determine the possibility of one being positive or negative since the interactions between the people play a critical role in shaping the outcomes of their lives. Therefore, peer interaction and pressure to conform to the issues normalized by the people in society will result in the teens developing mental pressure and resulting in depression in the long run.

Delayed treatment effects

Delayed treatment for the mental issues that the people experience will result in the worsening of the situation, which poses a serious threat to their mental, physical, and emotional well-being. (Li et al., 2019) Delayed treatment will result in the increased suffering of teenagers, which worsens the possibilities of the patients seeking treatment. Irreversibility of the conditions as a result of delayed treatment is also possible since the mental conditions need to be addressed when they are still treatable, but once they have taken too long, they will result in the conditions becoming permanent, which may mean the inability to address them or extended periods being needed for the reversal and management of the conditions.

Biological factors surrounding and forming their current mental issues

Biological issues affect the mental conditions of teenagers directly. Ill physical health results in the people concerned being helpless, which results in them feeling hopeless and developing negative worldviews and attitudes toward life. This also means that the people concerned will experience mental trauma from the difficult health conditions that they experience, which will result in the buildup of depression in teenagers (Hosseini & Jalali, 2017). The need to keep up with their peers who do not have ill health will result in the teenagers feeling left out, which will, in turn, result in the people concerned having anxiety, negativity, and depression affecting them. Therefore, the existence of overall health will result in positive mental health outcomes, and negative physical health will result in negative mental health outcomes.

Physical instability and how that plays an important role in a growing child’s physical and mental development –which can lead to prolonged issues later in life.

Movement from one location to the other plays a role in the development of mental instability in children and adolescents. Children need to be raised in environments where they are assured of the environments being permanent (Bowen et al., 2013). There is also a need for the children to be raised around people that they are familiar with since the lack of familiarity will result in the children being mentally insecure and unable to develop physically and mentally. It also results in significant damage to the children’s mental development and growth, which may be experienced later in life.

Conclusion

Conclusively, One's atmosphere directly affects the possibility of one getting depression. The exposure to natural disasters in society is directly linked to the possibility of one getting mental trauma. The most effective way of addressing mental trauma and depression and teens is the use of talk therapy. Socialization plays a critical role in the mental well-being of an individual since it helps to shape their perspectives and attitudes. Mental health is a result of the worldview held by individuals and how they seek a way out of the challenges that they experience. Delayed treatment for the mental issues that the people experience will result in the worsening of the situation and therefore appropriate interventions should be staged as needed.

References

Bowen, R. C., Wang, Y., Balbuena, L., Houmphan, A., & Baetz, M. (2013). The relationship between mood instability and depression: implications for studying and treating depression. Medical Hypotheses, 81(3), 459-462.

Foulkrod, K., Griesemer, S., Banneyer, K. N., & Caemmerer, J. M. (2017). Yoga plus talk therapy for depression: a 6-week group series case study. International Journal of Integrative Psychotherapy, 7, 27-48.

Hosseini, A., & Jalali, M. (2018). The possible biological effects of long-term stress on depression. Medbiotech Journal, 2(04), 149-152.

Lakdawalla, Z., Hankin, B. L., & Mermelstein, R. (2007). Cognitive theories of depression in children and adolescents: A conceptual and quantitative review. Clinical child and family psychology review, 10(1), 1-24.

Lee, D., & Lee, B. (2020). The Role of Multilayered Peer Groups in Adolescent Depression: A Distributional Approach. American Journal of Sociology, 125(6), 1513-1558.

Li, M. S., Du, X. D., Chu, H. C., Liao, Y. Y., Pan, W., Li, Z., & Hung, G. C. L. (2019). The delayed effect of bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation in patients with treatment-resistant depression: a pilot study. BMC psychiatry, 19(1), 180.

Zhang, T., Chiu, R. L. H., & Ho, H. C. (2019). Suburban neighborhood environments and depression: A case study of Guangzhou, China. Journal of Transport & Health, 15, 100624.