Adolescent mental health, Resilience and Ontario data

Youth & Drugs and Mental Health: A Resource For Professionals

On this page:

• 1.3 Adolescent mental health
• 1.3.1 Resilience
• 1.3.2 Ontario data on students’ mental health and well-being

1.3 Adolescent mental health

Young people’s ability to cope with and enjoy life and its challenges is strongly linked to their mental health and their overall sense of well-being. If they have mental health difficulties in their formative years, the effects on their ability to function may last for the rest of their lives.

Risk factors make it more likely that individuals will experience poor overall adjustment or negative outcomes such as mental health or substance use problems. Risk factors may include biological, psychological or social factors in the individual, family and environment.

Protective factors reduce the potentially negative effects of risk factors. Protective factors may include biological, psychological or social factors in the individual, family and environment (Braverman, 2001).

The DSM-IV distinguishes between substance abuse and dependence.

Substance abuse refers to:

• use that results in failure to fulfill role obligations at work, school or home and/or legal problems
• use in situations that are physically hazardous
• continuation of use despite persistent social problems.

Substance dependence refers to:

• use that leads to tolerance and/or withdrawal (see section 2.3.2)
• use of large amounts over a long period of time
• unsuccessful efforts to control the use
• a great deal of time spent on drug-use related activities
• reduction of important social, recreational and occupational activities
• continued use despite serious physical or psychological problems (Health Canada, 2002).

1.3.1 Resilience

Some consider resiliency to be a “balance” between an individual’s level of stress and adversity versus her or his coping abilities and support systems (Mangham, McGrath, Reid & Stewart, 1995). The role of service providers is to assist youth to develop resiliency by reducing risks and enhancing protective factors.

The good news is that resiliency is not a special set of characteristics or traits. It is a fairly ordinary phenomenon that stems from our innate human ability to adapt (Masten, 2001).

Young people’s natural ability to adapt is threatened by conditions that interfere with brain development, caregiver-child relationships, regulation of emotion and behaviour, and motivation to learn and engage in the environment. Fostering resilience involves ensuring that young people have positive connections with competent, caring adults, helping them develop cognitive and self-regulation skills, promoting their positive self-image and motivating them to be effective in their environment.

In order to promote resilience among young people, we have to find ways to:

• Promote their competence.
• Ameliorate their symptoms and problems.
• Build upon their strengths.
• Minimize their risks and stresses.
• Facilitate protective mechanisms and processes.
• Treat illness.
• Reduce harmful processes (Masten, 2001).

Unfortunately, according to studies in Canada and the United States (Adlaf et al., 2002) many young people experience serious mental health problems:

• About one in five children and adolescents in the United States display symptoms of a mental health disorder in any given year, and about five in one hundred experience a serious emotional disturbance with functional impairment.
• Among young children and adolescents studied in Canada, the prevalence of a mental health problem ranges from 18 to 22 per cent, and is about 25% among young adults.
• Suicide is the third leading cause of death for adolescents in Canada and the United States (after deaths from motor vehicle and other accidents).

There is evidence that the prevalence of mental health problems among young people may be increasing (Adlaf et al., 2002).

1.3.2 Ontario data on students’ mental health and well-being

The OSDUS found that a considerable minority of students reported some form of impaired well-being or functioning. The OSDUS assesses moderate functional impairment rather than psychiatric disorders that are based on clinical criteria (Adlaf et al., 2002, 5).

Some public health flags from the OSDUS:

• About one in four students report elevated psychological distress.
• About one in three females report elevated psychological distress.
• About one in four students report being bullied at school.
• About one in three students report bullying someone at school.
• About one in five males report fighting at school.
• About one in seven to ten students report either poor health, physical inactivity, visiting a mental health professional, low self-esteem, suicide ideation, engaging in three or more delinquent activities, carrying a weapon, some type of gambling problem, or concern about personal safety at school.
• About one in twenty students are at high risk for depression.
• About one in twenty males report a pathological gambling problem.
  • (Adlaf et al. 2002)

Patterns and prevalence of mental health problems vary among specific groups of young people:

• OSDUS data for 2001 indicate that young women are more likely to experience internalizing problems such as depression, psychological distress and suicide ideation (Adlaf et al., 2002).
• Male students are more likely to engage in risk behaviours (or externalizing behaviours) such as delinquent acts and pathological gambling (Adlaf et al., 2002).
• Gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered youth are at high risk for mood-related disorders, self-mutilation and suicide.

At least one in five young people entering the youth justice system experience a serious mental or emotional disorder (Trupin & Boesky, 2001.

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