Mental health is a major challenge in the contemporary society. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 25% of the global population has mental health problems. In 2001, WHO noted that depressive disorders are one of the leading causes of the global disease burden, outlining that approximately 40% of the countries do not have mental health policies, while 25% of the countries lack mental health legislation (WHO n.d.). In the United States, mental health is a major challenge with 44.7 million individuals reporting some form of mental health issues in 2016. Taxpayers are projected to have spent $186 billion to treat mental health disorders in 2014 (CDC 2019). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also projects that about 3.9% of adult Americans experience serious psychological distress monthly. Statistics on physician office visits related to mental health issues were projected to be 56.8 million based on the 2016 statistics. In 2017, mental health disorders were linked to 47,173 suicide deaths translating to a suicide death rate of 14.5 cases per 100,000 population (National Center for Health Statistics 2017).
While most studies have focused on mental health in adults, there are emerging patterns of suicide and mental health issues among children and adolescents. Studies point to different factors as contributors to mental health issues observed in different populations. In the era of social media, for instance, it is believed that virtual social interactions can influence the nature of relationships that adolescents build with their peers, families, and schools (Keles, McCrae, and Grealish 2019). Studies on human development, focusing on adolescent development, highlighted that this stage of development is characterized by a sense of belonging and a group mentality. This makes adolescents susceptible to influence over social media platforms. There are many cases of observed suicide triggered by online interactions between adolescents and other social media users (Arendt, Scherr, and Romer 2019). Such trends in suicide and suicide ideation as well as social media-associated depression have led to calls for online platforms to be regulated.
A comprehensive understanding of the scope of mental health issues in different populations is necessary. The analysis focuses on the association of gender, age, and social settings with the number of incidences and severity of mental health issues. Previous studies have shown that the gender of individuals can influence their likelihood of getting depressed, or their responses to depression (Salk, Hyde, and Abramson 2017). Also, previous research pointed to the significant age-based differences in social behaviors which subsequently influence the likelihood of individuals developing depression or other mental health issues (Theurel and Gentaz 2018). An understanding of the patterns and differences in response to the conditions would help to develop effective interventions to protect the patients from mental health issues.
Sonnenberg et al. note that there are more cases of depression in women compared to the number of cases reported among men. The researchers identify depression as a major healthcare problem that requires proper planning, intervention, and support. Analyses of the social lives of women indicate that they have higher expectations in social relationships and are also observed to have different degrees of social affiliations as compared to men. Also, researchers noted that older women were more sensitive to life events, compared to older men. In the absence of adequate resources for social support in the older populations, previous studies outlined that older women were more likely to be distressed while their abilities to cope with challenges were also observed to be poorer than that of older adults. Further studies also indicated that women had larger social networks compared to their male counterparts. The large social networks translate into more social support. However, older women were also noted to experience more negative impacts than men. The gender differences in the need for social support are thus a critical factor that should be taken into account when planning and executing policies focusing on mental health. The study sought to investigate the relationships between social support and the incidences of late-life depression in men and women.
The data used in the study were obtained from Longitudinal Aging Amsterdam which included a 13-year follow-up data on the onset and progression of depression in the elderly. The subjects included in the study were aged between 55 and 80 years. A total of 2823 subjects were available for the study. Based on set exclusion and inclusion criteria, the number of subjects was eventually reduced to 1928 with the subsequent follow-ups leading to samples of 1858, 1530, 1253, and 910 subjects respectively. The data were assessed for gender differences and the association between the noted differences and social support. Subsequently, the researchers examined the relationship between the social support that was availed and the cases of depression reported in the population.
The study revealed that the absence of a partner in the house and a small social network contributed to more cases of depression among men. It was also noted that low emotional support contributed to more cases of depression among men. On the other hand, women recorded higher incidences of depression when there was a higher need for affiliation. In general, however, the depression rates were more in men compared to women largely due to the limited social networks and poor social support that they received. Therefore, the researchers concluded that low social support and a high need for affiliation contributed to the cases of depression experienced among the elderly. Therefore, policymakers should develop elaborate plans for social support of the elderly.
Bipolar disorder is one of the major mental health issues that is often reported among young adults. The article points out that patients with bipolar disorder often report childhood trauma which, according to the researchers, is a complex experience. The researchers further note that there is a limited understanding of the impacts of the complex experiences of childhood trauma on bipolar patients. The researchers also noted that sexual abuse was significantly higher in patients with bipolar disorders compared to the subjects with depressive disorders. Young persons with bipolar were also noted to have a higher likelihood of engaging in cyclic drug abuse.
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The researchers also observed more cases of suicide attempts, cognitive impairment, and a lifetime functioning impairment as well as low adherence to treatment in individuals with bipolar disorders as compared to those without bipolar disorders. Since childhood trauma was likely to contribute to the development of bipolar disorder, the researchers noted the need to understand the specific impacts of trauma at an early age on the early stages of bipolar disorder. The study aimed to assess the association between childhood trauma and bipolar disorder and the associated clinical outcomes in young adults in community settings.
The researchers adopted a cross-sectional study design, focusing on a population of young adults aged between 23 and 30 years. The subjects were recruited from among individuals with bipolar disorder. Both subjects who reported and those that did not report childhood trauma were recruited for the study. The researchers assessed the childhood trauma experiences of young adults using the childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ). In addition, the researchers assessed the global functioning using the functioning assessment short test (FAST). The six domains assessed by the FAST- included financial issues, autonomy, occupational functioning, interpersonal relationships, cognitive functioning, and leisure time. Lastly, the researchers assessed the severity of the maniac symptoms using the young mania rating scale (YMRS).
The results were statistically analyzed for correlation between variables The study helps to understand the impacts of childhood and parenting on clinical outcomes in later stages of development. In this case, it is notable that the clinical outcomes associated with bipolar disorder are significantly influenced by childhood trauma. This observation, therefore, points to the need to develop better interventions focusing on addressing mental health issues among children. It also outlines the critical need to eliminate environmental promoters of trauma among children. If elaborate measures are put in place, then the effective development of children will be realized. Consequently, depressive symptoms and mental health issues reported in adulthood will be less severe.
The Moon and Rao article identifies adolescence as a challenging and stressful stage of human development. It is characterized by rapid physical and biological changes as well as transitions in the social relations of minors. In particular, adolescence is associated with changes in the interactions between youngsters and their peers, parents, and other members of their families. The changes that occur in this stage of development are likely to result in mood disorders that are more pronounced in girls. While previous studies had analyzed the changes that occur in adolescents, there was limited focus on the associations between the relationships of adolescents with their schools and families in the context of ethnic and racial affiliations. The researchers also sought to test the power of the adolescent-family and adolescent-school relationships and how such links could explain patterns of depressive symptoms observed in the developmental stage.
A sample of 4783 adolescents was used in the study. The data used was obtained from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescents (Add Health) database. The choice of the database was informed by the fact that it was large and national, it contained longitudinal data of the adolescents, it provided the multiple contexts required for the study, and was the only database that focused on the social environments. A total of 2287 boys and 2496 girls were included with the mean age of the subjects being 16.01 years and a range of 11 to 21. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to assess the depressive symptoms noted in the subjects. The results were then assessed for correlation in different social contexts.
The researchers established that the relationships between the youths and their schools and the youths and their families could reliably predict the likelihood of depression. Moreover, the researchers noted that the influences of youth-family and youth-school relationships on the clinical symptoms and outcomes varied relative to the social backgrounds of the adolescents. Therefore, the study pointed out the need to take into account the cultural contexts of each racial and ethnic group when predicting the risk of depression and when developing interventions to tackle the problem. The findings imply that certain interventions adopted within the school settings or the family settings cannot be universally adopted in other societies.
In summary, mental health is a major challenge in various age groups. It is not limited to adults and the elderly but is also prevalent among adolescents. There are many factors that are observed to contribute to the various types of mental health problems. For instance, limited social support, social affiliations, and gender are all observed to contribute to the challenge. Among youths, it is noted that cases of bipolar disorder and the clinical outcomes associated with the condition were linked to childhood trauma. Therefore, identification of the causes of mental health issues is key to preventing adverse clinical outcomes. For instance, addressing the causes and impacts of childhood trauma could help to reduce the severity of bipolar disorder hence minimizing the likelihood of suicide or suicide ideations.
Also, it is necessary to develop elaborate support systems that could help to identify the populations or individuals at risk of developing the disorders. This would make it possible to implement preventive measures that could prevent further escalation of mental health issues in the subjects. Due to the influence of sociocultural backgrounds on the susceptibility of individuals to depression, it is also important to factor in diversity when developing plans for intervention. Future studies should focus on the specific techniques that can be used to prevent childhood trauma and associated depression in different social contexts. In addition, there is a need to study the best measures to cultivate positivity in social networks developed by adolescents in schools or away from schools. This would help to prevent peer-influenced suicide ideations or other mental issues associated with peer pressure.
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