July 10, 2014  Subscribe

New Report

Understanding mental wellness

The mental health challenges our country's young people face call for shifting the focus of policy and practice from illness, to promotion of wellness and flourishing. This requires using evidence-based strategies with both children and parents, and improving the quality of the environments where children and youth live, learn, play, and grow. This new Child Trends report, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, summarizes current knowledge on children's mental health and offers a more-inclusive framework for understanding mental wellness.

Contribute to the conversation about the report and children's wellness here.
Related Research

For additional information on mental health and wellness, see Child Trends' overview of the most common mental health disorders among adolescents. Because development is a cumulative process - what happens at one stage of development influences later stages - we have looked at mental wellness from early childhood to early adulthood. For example, teens who report depressive or suicidal symptoms are more likely to report violence in their later romantic relationships. We've also developed rigorous measures of "flourishing" to help focus attention on the factors that promote mental wellness and overall well-being.

Partner Resources

About one in every five teens has a diagnosable mental disorder, yet less than half of those who need mental health services receive them. The U.S. Office of Adolescent Health has fact sheets, toolkits, and trainings related to mental health disorders, access to care, and more. It also has state-specific data on the prevalence of depression, suicide, and positive social skills. Child Trends provides content for the OAH website.

Putting Research Into Practice

How can we best apply research knowledge to practice? What can be done to promote mental wellness in children and youth? Our research finds that children with caring adult mentors in their lives are less likely to bully others, and are less likely to be depressed. This brief explains funding for adolescent mental health services and identifies barriers to treatment. We've also identified the characteristics of resilience, and strategies schools and practitioners can use to promote it. And a recent blog discusses the advantages of including youth in discussions about their own mental health care.


Copyright � 2014 by Child Trends