How Parents Can Support Teen Mental Heath

Parents and caregivers are a critical link in addressing the urgent mental health crisis among teens.

5 MIN READ

Jan 16, 2023

无码视频 than 44% of teens reported in the first half of 2021, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The early 2022 report, which was based on an online survey, also found that nearly 20% had seriously considered suicide, and 9% attempted suicide.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a likely contributor to these startling figures, but rates of teen mental illness have been .

One crucial factor that has received little attention in supporting teen mental health is the role parents can play.

This is surprising, since research has clearly established that in their child鈥檚 mental health treatment is directly related to a successful outcome. A key reason for this is that parents generally interact with their teen on a daily basis and can model and cultivate coping skills.

What’s Working

How Gen Z Is Fighting Back Against Big Tech

A growing Generation Z movement is pushing back against social media companies and the pervasiveness of technology in young people鈥檚 lives, which can negatively impact mental health. One organization, LookUp, has launched initiatives that include a youth summit that drew 1,200 people, apps that help people manage their social media usage and identify the connections to their wellbeing, and NoSo November, which urges young people to log off or delete all social media apps for the month of November as a group experience rather than an isolating one.
Read Full Story

Yet, for mental health professionals, it can be challenging to integrate parents into teens鈥� treatment when there are discrepancies between the perspectives, goals, and expectations of teens and parents. In addition, laws sometimes limit providers鈥� abilities to disclose key details about a teen鈥檚 mental health to parents.

As researchers and , we see parents and caregivers as a critical link in addressing the urgent mental health crisis among teens.

The Teenage Years Can Be Brutal

Parents often , anticipating mood swings, risk-taking behaviors, and endless arguments. Some of this is developmentally normal: Teens are developing their identities, testing limits, and . These combined factors can lead to hostility and a parent-teen relationship.

Physically, , in part due to and hormonal changes associated with puberty. As a result, teens can be irritable and sensitive to stressors. They also haven鈥檛 developed the .

And it鈥檚 important to note that half of all mental illness emerges , making adolescence a and treatment of mental health problems.

Signs and Symptoms of a Mental Health Concern

Mental health problems in teens can sometimes take unexpected forms. Depression and anxiety can manifest as irritability and noncompliance, which parents may reasonably view as disrespect and laziness. Understanding what is beneath those behaviors is challenging. Teens are quite secretive, so they may not disclose the extent of their struggles.

Traumatic experiences, like , , and , are unfortunately too common in adolescence and can cause drastic changes in behavior and affect.

Although anxiety is a normal emotional response at any age, about a third of adolescents , and about 10% experience severe impairment as a result. Teens struggling with chronic anxiety may experience agitation or irritability, issues with sleep, or perfectionist tendencies, or may try to avoid stressful things altogether.

Among teens, . Depression generally involves a loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities, but it is more than feeling blue. For teens, symptoms of depression may look like withdrawing from family or social activities, shutting down during conversations or conflict, lethargy, difficulty concentrating, hopelessness about the future, or negative feelings of self-worth.

Depression can also be associated with and suicide.

In determining whether a teen is experiencing a mental illness, parents should consider how behaviors are affecting their teens鈥� everyday lives and plans for the future. Those who are falling behind in school, damaging important relationships, or engaging in high-risk behaviors may be most likely to be experiencing a mental health issue鈥攁s opposed to typical teenage challenges.

A Shortage of Mental Health Care

Despite the growing need for mental health care, the U.S. has a to meet the demand. Insurance companies create barriers to accessing mental health care by restricting the numbers of and approved sessions. As a result, many providers prioritize patients who will .

Parents and teens may wait months for an appointment, and the quality and effectiveness of the services they receive are highly variable. All the while, symptoms may worsen, straining the family and compromising teens鈥� social and academic opportunities.

The Powerful Role Parents Can Play

This is where parents come in, since they can for teens鈥� coping and emotional development.

While good sleep, consistent exercise, and quality meals can often be the first line of defense in preventing and managing symptoms of mental health problems, there are several behavioral strategies for parenting struggling teens. Indeed, foster parents care for children with complex histories of trauma, and many of the taught to foster parents may be useful for traditional family settings as well.

When teens are unkind or disrespectful, parents may take it personally. But parents who are aware of and able to manage their own triggers can react calmly to challenging behavior, creating opportunities for effective communication with their teen.

Building and maintaining the parent-teen connection, such as by watching a TV show together or doing other low-pressure activities together, is key. These experiences to communicate about difficult emotions or situations. Parents who assist teens in recognizing, talking about, and dealing with difficult thoughts and feelings help them understand how their thoughts and feelings can affect their behavior.

Parents can also help their teens manage negative emotions by and strengths and encouraging self-efficacy. Parents who offer praise to their teens who are working hard to overcome challenges鈥攁s opposed to focusing solely on the outcome鈥攃an help teens see their worth beyond their accomplishments.

At the same time, teens require boundaries that allow them to build self-reliance, exercise independence, and practice compromise in certain situations. Behavior contracts鈥攊n which teens and their parents agree to certain conditions in writing鈥攃an provide a structured way to establish shared expectations.

When consequences are necessary, natural consequences allow teens . For example, if a teen stays up late the night before a big softball game, their coach may bench them for playing poorly. Parents can help teens connect the frustration and disappointment they experience to their choices regarding sleep, which can be more helpful for their future decision-making than getting into an argument with a parent about their decision or receiving a parent-imposed consequence, such as removing phone privileges.

When natural consequences are not an option, discipline should be specific, time-limited, and focused on a specific outcome, such as not allowing preferred activities until homework and chores are complete.

It is also important that parents with their teens by modeling respectful communication without trying to manage the teen鈥檚 reaction or perspective. Teens are unlikely to admit to being wrong鈥攑articularly in a heated moment鈥攁nd if the point is made, there is rarely a benefit to insisting upon a particular reaction, such as a forced apology.

Parents can best support their teens by maintaining connection alongside enforcing structure and discipline. While challenging behaviors can be the status quo of adolescence, parents should be on the lookout for signs that might reflect a pervasive mental health issue, since early detection and treatment is crucial.

This article was originally published by . It has been published here with permission.

Toria Herd is a postdoctoral researcher in Psychology at Penn State.

Sarah A. Font is an associate professor of Sociology and Public Policy at Penn State.