Addressing the Youth Mental Health Epidemic

• Published in: Academic psychiatry 2024-06, Vol.48 (3), p.217-221
• Main Authors: Beresin, Eugene V., Guerrero, Anthony P. S., Morreale, Mary K., Thomas, Lia A., Castillo, Enrico G., Aggarwal, Rashi, Balon, Richard, Louie, Alan K., Coverdale, John, Brenner, Adam M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Beliefs; Bisexuality; Caregivers; Child; Children; Climate change; Clinical Diagnosis; Community involvement; Community Relations; Coping; Discrimination; Drug Education; Editorial; Educational Environment; Epidemics; Ethics; Family Counseling; Formative Evaluation; Genetics; Graduate Medical Education; Green infrastructure; Health care; Health Education; Health Personnel; Health Programs; Humans; Labor Force; Medical Education; Medical Services; Medical Students; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental disorders; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Mental Health; Mental Health Programs; Mental Health Services; Natural disasters; Neighborhoods; Parents; Peer Relationship; Psychiatry; Racism; Substance use; Suicide; Teenagers; Young adults
• ISSN: 1042-9670; 1545-7230
• DOI: 10.1007/s40596-024-01967-x

The Surgeon General’s Advisory [1] noted that the factors associated with increases in psychiatric disorders are multifaceted and clearly shaped (for better or worse) by a combination of variables as follows ([1], p. 7): Individual: Age, genetics, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, coping skills Family: Relationships with parents, caregivers, and siblings; family mental health; financial stability; domestic violence; trauma Community: Relationships with peers, teachers, and mentors; faith community; school climate, academic pressure, community support Environment: Neighborhood safety, access to green spaces, healthy food, housing, health care, pollution, natural disasters, climate change Society: Social and economic inequalities, discrimination, racism, migration, media and technology, popular culture, government policies Compounding this crisis is the well-documented shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists [3, 4], along with difficulties filling all the graduate medical education slots available [5, 6]; difficulties in access to care [7]; distrust of the health care system, largely by people of color; people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (or questioning), asexual (or allied), intersex, and other identities; immigrants; and other populations that have experienced health care discrimination and marginalization [8, 9]; persistence of stigma of having a child with a psychiatric disorder [10]; and the relatively longstanding comorbid problem of loneliness that has significant implications for increased rates of depression, anxiety, stress, suicide, and substance use disorder, as well as other medical consequences [11]. [...]this is a difficult and troubling situation with negative repercussions for both the present and future. Child and adolescent psychiatrists support the principle that competent mental health care and a full array of services should be available for all children, adolescents, and their families, and support efforts to improve access to care at the individual, local community, national, and international levels… In another interesting article, Ramaraj and colleagues [25] described the feasibility, acceptability, and self-reported effectiveness of a 3-year Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) teleconferenced educational program in teaching geographically dispersed obstetrics, primary care, and mental health clinicians about perinatal mental health and su