Mental health during adolescence can affect an individual’s long-term quality of life. However, the effects of family and school contexts on students’ mental health have been little explored. This study aims to analyze the relationships between family and school life and feelings of loneliness and trouble sleeping owing to worries in adolescents. The data from this cross-sectional study were obtained from Brazil’s National School Health Survey (PeNSE), which obtained its data through questionnaires. This study’s sample consisted of 102,072 ninth-grade students aged between 11 and 19 years, 52,782 (51.7%) of whom were female, enrolled in public and private schools throughout Brazil. The methodology consisted of an analysis using the Poisson regression model. Regarding the family context, mental health issues were associated with hunger, distant relationships with parents, and family violence. Regarding the school context, feelings of loneliness and trouble sleeping were associated with poor peer relationships, insecurity at school, and schools in more violent areas. This study contributes to the elaboration of public policies aimed at bringing awareness to family members and school bodies that indicators of mental health in adolescents are influenced by the quality of bonds established within these environments.

Adolescence, which is the transition from childhood to adulthood, is marked by emotional sensitivity and inconsistency and may be affected by mental health problems. In order to fill the gap related to the risky behaviors in students in Brazil, our cross-sectional study aimed to analyze the relationship between risky behaviors and indicators of mental health of Brazilian students. We used the data from the National School Health Survey to analyze the relationship between risk behaviors and three symptoms of mental health issues: feeling of being alone, number of close friends, and trouble sleeping due to worries. The sample consisted of 102,072 students in Brazil (48.3% boys and 51.7% girls), aged between 11 to 19 years. The risk behaviors evaluated were substance use, sedentary lifestyle, sexual behavior, and suffering violence and bullying. We have performed a multivariate analysis based on the Poisson regression model, and the measure of effect used was the prevalence ratio (PR) with confidence intervals (CI) of 95%. Our results showed that students with symptoms of mental health issues were involved in risky behaviors, including drug use and unsafe sex. Thus, mental illness outcomes may be associated with risky behaviors, or mental health may be impaired by them. Given these findings, in-school programs focused on improving mental health outcomes should be developed.

The Research Group on Children and Adolescents' Health (GPSaCA) contributes to the construction and socialization of public knowledge by developing scientific research on child and adolescent health. This is an important topic because of the serious lack of attention to the healthcare of these individuals in many parts of the world. The group researches and implements activities to improve healthcare education at its institution. Rigorous studies and activities contribute to the educational process and foster healthy habits.