scholarly journals Resist or Adapt? A Narrative Analysis of Endeavors for Belonging Among Young Adults with Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Health Problems

Author(s):  
Randi Semb ◽  
Knut Tore Sælør ◽  
Marit Borg

AbstractThe article explores how young adults with co-occurring substance use and mental health problems experience and describe their own and others’ contributions to their sense of community belonging. This article is part of a larger qualitative interview study of young adults. The data for this report were the individual interviews with two study participants. These participants were chosen because they offered in-depth understandings relating to various aspects of community belonging. A thematic narrative analysis of the interview data was carried out. Central to this model of analysis is to transform unstructured qualitative interview data into a unified narrative for each participant, structured around a thematic plot. The analysis revealed two plots: ‘Having to go against yourself to be an insider', and ‘You have to realize that you have problems and try to do something about them'. We interpreted the first narrative as an expression of marginalized people feeling they deserve recognition from society, while the second narrative reflected the idea that each person has a personal responsibility for being valued. We conclude that the narratives expressed the importance of helping young adults to place their lived experiences in a larger social context.

Author(s):  
Katherina Heinrichs ◽  
Victoria Hermülheim ◽  
Laura Pilz González ◽  
Adrian Loerbroks

University dropout is often preceded by a phase of doubt whether to continue studying, either in general or just the given subject. Mental health problems might be interrelated with this phase of doubt. Counselling services at German universities could provide help, but do not seem to reach students in need. To explore the phase of doubt and possible (inter-)relationships with mental wellbeing among university students in Germany as well as their consultation-seeking behaviour, a qualitative interview study was conducted (2017–2018). Participants were students casting doubts on their studies (n = 14) and counsellors (n = 16) working with this target group. Examples of reasons for doubts were insufficient information, unfulfilled expectations concerning the subject, subjectively poor study conditions, performance problems, and lacking future perspectives. Mental health problems were subjectively intertwined with doubts, considered as both cause and effect. Counselling services were evaluated as hardly helpful by students, and as being in need of improvement by counsellors. Suggestions as how to improve such services comprise a more specific and proactive way to approach students. By considering the phase of doubt before dropout, German universities can improve their support services to be more responsive to students and, thus, prevent dropout and mental health problems.


Author(s):  
Kennedy Amone-P'Olak ◽  
Boniface Kealeboga Ramotuana

In Africa, the structure of the family is changing rapidly. The effects of this change on mental health remain unknown. This study investigated the extent to which different family types (intact, single-mother, and multiple) predict mental health problems in young adults in Botswana (N = 264, mean age = 21.31, SD = 2.40). In a cross-sectional design, the study sampled students registered at various faculties at the University of Botswana. The revised symptoms checklist (SCL-90-R) was used to assess symptoms of mental health problems (depression, anxiety and hostility). Binary logistic regression analyses were performed to obtain odds ratios (ORs) and 95 per cent confidence intervals (CIs) of mental health problems for mother-only and multiple family types relative to the intact family type. Compared to the intact family type, single-mother (OR = 2.34; 95% CI: 1.21, 4.51) and multiple family types (OR = 1.56; CI: 0.88, 2.78) were associated with an increased risk of depression. For anxiety, the ORs were 2.27 (CI: 1.18, 4.38) and 1.10 (CI: 0.56, 1.82) for single-mother and multiple family types respectively. For hostility, the ORs were 2.60 (CI: 1.34, 5.04), and 0.79 (CI: 0.44, 1.42) for single-mother and multiple family types, respectively. Family types predict mental health problems in young adults and therefore the interventions to mitigate the effects should consider family backgrounds and the ramifications of family types for treatment and care.


Author(s):  
Rachel A. Fusco ◽  
Yan Yuan ◽  
Hyunji Lee ◽  
Christina E. Newhill

Low-income young adults are more likely to have exposure to trauma, which increases risk for mental health problems. Although adequate sleep promotes good health, people with histories of trauma are more likely to have sleep problems. The current study explored whether poor sleep mediated the relationship between trauma exposure and mental health. A sample of 143 low-income 18–24-year-old young adults completed depression, anxiety, and trauma exposure measures and wore sleep monitors for four nights. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine both direct and indirect effects of variables. Results showed that higher trauma exposure was associated with depression and anxiety. Mean sleep hours per night was fewer than six, far below recommended guidelines for optimal health and functioning. Fewer sleep hours partially mediated the relationship between both trauma exposure and depression and anxiety, and the direct effect from trauma remained significant after adjusting for the partial mediation from sleep.


Author(s):  
Julie Høgsgaard Andersen ◽  
Tine Tjørnhøj-Thomsen ◽  
Susanne Reventlow ◽  
Annette Sofie Davidsen

The international literature shows that primary care is well placed to address mental health problems in young people, but that primary care professionals experience a range of challenges in this regard. In Denmark, young adults who have complex psychosocial problems, and who are not in education or work, cause political and academic concern. They are also in regular contact with their general practitioners, the Danish municipalities and psychiatric services. However, little is known about general practitioners’ perspectives on caring for this vulnerable group of patients. In this article, we investigate how general practitioners’ care work is shaped by the bureaucratic management of care in a complex infrastructure network comprising the general practitioners, psychiatry, the municipalities and the young adults. The analysis is based on interviews and focus groups with general practitioners, psychiatric nurses and social workers. We employ Tronto’s concept of care and the concept of boundary work as a theoretical framework. We argue that general practitioners strive to provide care, but they are challenged by the following: contested diagnostic interpretations and the bureaucratic significance of diagnoses for the provision of care from psychiatry and the municipalities, systemic issues with handling intertwined social and mental health problems, and the young adults’ difficulties with accessing and receiving available care.


2016 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 47-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Cadman ◽  
J. Findon ◽  
H. Eklund ◽  
H. Hayward ◽  
D. Howley ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundADHD in childhood is associated with development of negative psychosocial and behavioural outcomes in adults. Yet, relatively little is known about which childhood and adulthood factors are predictive of these outcomes and could be targets for effective interventions. To date follow-up studies have largely used clinical samples from the United States with children ascertained at baseline using broad criteria for ADHD including all clinical subtypes or the use of DSM III criteria.AimsTo identify child and adult predictors of comorbid and psychosocial comorbid outcomes in ADHD in a UK sample of children with DSM-IV combined type ADHD.MethodOne hundred and eighteen adolescents and young adults diagnosed with DSM-IV combined type ADHD in childhood were followed for an average of 6 years. Comorbid mental health problems, drug and alcohol use and police contact were compared for those with persistent ADHD, sub-threshold ADHD and population norms taken from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Study 2007. Predictors included ADHD symptomology and gender.ResultsPersistent ADHD was associated with greater levels of anger, fatigue, sleep problems and anxiety compared to sub-threshold ADHD. Comorbid mental health problems were predicted by current symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity, but not by childhood ADHD severity. Both persistent and sub-threshold ADHD was associated with higher levels of drug use and police contact compared to population norms.ConclusionsYoung adults with a childhood diagnosis of ADHD showed increased rates of comorbid mental health problems, which were predicted by current levels of ADHD symptoms. This suggests the importance of the continuing treatment of ADHD throughout the transitional years and into adulthood. Drug use and police contact were more common in ADHD but were not predicted by ADHD severity in this sample.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 835-846
Author(s):  
Julie H. Levison ◽  
Margarita Alegría ◽  
Ye Wang ◽  
Sheri L. Markle ◽  
Larmiar Fuentes ◽  
...  

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