Emotional life, resilience and help-seeking behaviour among youth aged 16-18 years

Abstract

This presentation, "Emotional Life, Resilience and Help-seeking Behaviour among Youth aged 16-18 years" details research commissioned by Richmond Foundation and conducted by LobesLab. The study, which took place from October 14 to November 16, 2021, involved 13-25 year olds recruited through school portals and social media. The presentation highlights that mental disorders often emerge during adolescence or young adulthood, and early intervention significantly improves long-term outcomes. However, many young people delay or do not seek professional help due to a lack of awareness among both youth and their supporters regarding early signs, available help, and access points. The presentation emphasises the importance of protective factors for resilience, such as concrete support, modeling resilience, social-relational competence, and social connectedness. It also addresses prevalent emotional issues among young people, including anxiety, loneliness, sadness, depression, self-harm, food issues, and suicidal thoughts. A significant finding is that 71.6% of young people in serious trouble did not know who to turn to. The presentation stresses the critical role of mental health literacy in promoting help-seeking behaviour and concludes with recommendations for increasing initiatives that foster student connectedness, normalising help-seeking, acknowledging preferred support systems, and implementing national mental health first aid programmes.