Understanding Mental Health amongst Adolescents in the Indian Context

A state of positive health and well-being ensures an individual's functioning in various spheres of life. There exists an urgent need to attend to mental health as it remains largely neglected, that can potentially have adverse implications for the general healthcare. The current study aims at understanding the perception of mental health amongst adolescents and various misconceptions attached to it. A pre-drafted questionnaire and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was used. For this purpose, participants between 17-19 years were selected through convenience sampling. An ex post facto design was used. Data was subjected to content analysis to elicit the broad themes. Prominent themes that emerged as findings included conception of mental health, challenges faced, factors contributing to mental health issues and mental health as a shameful and stigmatizing disease. This study brought to light certain limitations such as small sample size and use of convenience sampling. Based on the research findings, it is suggested that further attempts must be encouraged to understand various facets of mental health, and appropriate interventions be introduced by mental health professionals and policy makers at a community level, such that a larger section of our society can benefit.