scholarly journals The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the mental health and well‐being of children and young people

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Cowie ◽  
Carrie‐Anne Myers
Author(s):  
Patti Ranahan

This chapter explores practice implications for youth workers attempting to support the mental health and well-being of young people as they leave care and transition to the adult system. Young people in care are more likely to experience suicidality and mental health concerns, with the transition out of care accentuating such concerns. Access to youth mental health services may also reach an expiration date, at which time young people are expected to transition to the adult mental health system at a predetermined chronological age. Specifically, this chapter examines the current research regarding mental health issues and suicidality within the youth-in-care population and the impact of transitioning out of care on the well-being of young people, and it discusses practical strategies for youth workers to enhance young people’s literacies in mental health that can lead to more positive outcomes.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. McTernan ◽  
F. Ryan ◽  
E. Williamson ◽  
D. Chambers ◽  
E. Arensman

Background: International research shows that media can increase knowledge, raise public awareness and reduce stigma relating to mental health. Methods: Following the broadcast of a documentary on national television featuring interviews with young people who had experienced mental health difficulties and suicidal behaviour, an anonymous online survey, aimed at examining public perceptions of the impact of a television documentary, was conducted, using a mixed methods approach. Results: 2311 people completed the survey. Of those who watched the documentary and answered the closed questions (n = 854), 94% stated that the documentary will positively impact young people’s mental health and well-being. The majority (91%) stated that the documentary will encourage young people to talk to someone if experiencing difficulties and 87% indicated it will help to reduce stigma associated with mental health. Viewers had a 5% higher level of intention to seek help than non-viewers. Participants indicated that the identifiable personal stories and discourse around stigma and shame, and the increased understanding and awareness gained, had the most profound impact on them. Conclusions: These findings indicate that a documentary addressing mental health and suicidal behaviour, which incorporates real life identifiable stories of resilience and recovery, has the potential to impact positively on emotional well-being and general mood, to reduce stigma related to mental health and to encourage help-seeking behaviour. Documentaries including these concepts, with a public mental health focus and a consistent message, incorporating pre- and post-evaluations, and customisation for target audiences in compliance with current media recommendations, should be considered.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-350
Author(s):  
Pat Cox ◽  
Jane March McDonald

Adopting a children’s rights perspective, a critique and analysis underpinned by documentary research methodology was undertaken in order to assess the extent to which the government’s Green Paper (Department of Health and Social Care and Department of Education, 2017. Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision-a-green-paper (accessed 7 December 2017)) addresses the mental health and well-being needs of refugee children and young people in England and Wales, identifying strengths, limitations and challenges for future policy and practice. Findings suggest that there is much of potential benefit to refugee children and young people’s future mental health and well-being. However, a paradigm shift, explicit in implications, scale and time frame, will be required, if the Green Paper is to achieve those changes in attitudes, practice and service delivery which it anticipates. We argue that this Green Paper’s overarching challenge is that it is premised on Western-centric models in its understanding of the experiences of refugee children and young people, and management of trauma and mental health. It fails to recognize the meanings and significance of culture, and of diversity and difference, and the need to invest in all communities in facilitating engagement and support for children and young people’s mental health issues.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. e042815
Author(s):  
Rhiannon Evans ◽  
Maria Boffey ◽  
Sarah MacDonald ◽  
Jane Noyes ◽  
G.J. Melendez-Torres ◽  
...  

IntroductionThe mental health and well-being of children and young people who have been in care (ie, care-experienced) are a priority. There are a range of interventions aimed at addressing these outcomes, but the international evidence-base remains ambiguous. There is a paucity of methodologically robust systematic reviews of intervention effectiveness, with few considering the contextual conditions under which evaluations were conducted. This is important in understanding the potential transferability of the evidence-base across contexts. The present systematic review will adopt a complex systems perspective to synthesise evidence reporting evaluations of mental health and well-being interventions for care-experienced children and young people. It will address impact, equity, cost-effectiveness, context, implementation and acceptability. Stakeholder consultation will prioritise a programme theory, and associated intervention, that may progress to further development and evaluation in the UK.Methods and analysisWe will search 16 bibliographic databases from 1990 to June 2020. Supplementary searching will include citation tracking, author recommendation, and identification of evidence clusters relevant to included evaluations. The eligible population is children and young people (aged ≤25 years) with experience of being in care. Outcomes are (1) mental, behavioural or neurodevelopmental disorders; (2) subjective well-being; (3) self-harm; suicidal ideation; suicide. Study quality will be appraised with methodologically appropriate tools. We will construct a taxonomy of programme theories and intervention types. Thematic synthesis will be used for qualitative data reporting context, implementation and acceptability. If appropriate, meta-analysis will be conducted with outcome and economic data. Convergent synthesis will be used to integrate syntheses of qualitative and quantitative data.Ethics and disseminationWe have a comprehensive strategy for engagement with care-experienced children and young people, carers and social care professionals. Dissemination will include academic and non-academic publications and conference presentations. Ethical approval from Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences REC will be obtained if necessary.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020177478.


Author(s):  
Аnna Khaleeva

The article defines terms on mental health and emotional well-being of adolescents and adolescents, and outlines major trends in mental health and emotional well-being of young people over the past decades. The aim of the article is to highlight and establish the importance of emotional and subjective well-being in adolescence and youth, to identify their further influence on the formation of the personality and its full life. Adolescence is seen as a critical period of development with long-term effects on the health and well-being of the individual. It is stated that the central factor in the health and well-being of adolescents is the interaction of young people with their environment, with people and attitudes in their daily lives. The most important determinants of adolescents' health are in their environment, as well as the choices and opportunities for improving the health or adverse behaviors of today's society. Factors that influence on the subjective and emotional well-being (sleep deprivation, increased stress, social relationships, the impact of violence) have been taken into account. The components and characteristics that support emotional and subjective well-being are identified, such as: self-esteem, motivation, stability, self-efficacy, hope and optimism, while high levels of anxiety, depression and stress can interfere with emotional health and well-being. In determining the factors that affect the emotional and subjective well-being of adolescents and youths, it is important to take into account the multidimensional nature of well-being and what sources and factors form it. The main sources affecting the sense of self and overall well-being of a person in adolescence and youth are family, community, peers, school environment and teachers. The modern world and the environment of human development are constantly changing, which has a significant impact on the well-being of the individual and its further development. Such changes are important elements for the continued successful interaction of adolescents and young people and their integration in society.


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