The meanings young people assign to living with mental illness and their experiences in managing their health and lives: a systematic review of qualitative evidence

Abstract

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background: It is estimated that less than 25% of young people in need of treatment for mental illness receive specialized services, and even fewer receive a diagnosis by their doctor. These findings are troubling given that living with a mental illness can have a significant impact on a young person's life, the lives of his/her family members, the young person's community and society generally. Objective: The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize the best available qualitative evidence on the meanings young people assign to living with mental illness and their experiences in managing their health and lives. Inclusion criteria: The current review considered both interpretive and critical research studies that drew on the experiences of young people with mental illness. Search strategy: The search for published studies included the following databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Social Sciences Full Text, PsycINFO, Social Work Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, Embase, Social Services Abstracts, Child Development and Adolescent Studies, Scopus, Web of Science and Academic Search Complete. The search for unpublished studies included conference proceedings and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Database. Methodological quality: Each paper was assessed independently by two reviewers for methodological quality. The Joanna Briggs Institute Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-QARI) was used to appraise the methodological quality of the articles. Data extraction: Qualitative data were extracted from papers included in the review using the standardized data extraction tool from JBI-QARI. Data synthesis: JBI-QARI was used to pool findings based on their similarity of meaning and developed into four synthesized findings. Results: Fifty-four research papers generated 304 study findings that were aggregated into nine categories. The nine categories were further aggregated into four synthesis statements: (1) A different way of being, (2) Getting through the difficult times, (3) Yearning for acceptance and (4) Room for improvement. Conclusion: Young people with mental illness experienced a range of feelings and thoughts that at times left them feeling uncomfortable in their body and world. Rejection by family and friends was a common fear. The changes experienced by young people required them to use a variety of strategies that were both negative and positive. The challenges young people faced in seeking and receiving care reinforce that there is a need for improvement in mental health services for youth living with mental illness.

Adolescents' Use of Digital Technologies and Preferences for Mobile Health Coaching in Public Mental Health Settings

“…The benefits to adolescents of using online technologies, including social media, reported in the literature include increased self-esteem, perceived social support, increased social capital, safe identity experimentation and increased opportunity for self-disclosure (33). Psychiatric symptoms and behavioral problems associated with emotional disturbance in adolescence can make in-person social interactions challenging and forming and maintaining friendships difficult (34, 35). The asynchronous communication afforded by social media may offer novel opportunities for adolescents who experience disabling mental health symptoms to increase their confidence interacting and connecting with others and improve communication skills in the online context of their everyday life.…”

Young Adults and Their Families Living With Mental Illness: Evaluation of the Usefulness of Family-Centered Support Conversations in Community Mental Health care Settings

“…According to Woodgate et al (2017), disclosure or non-disclosure is often grounded in the fear of being stigmatized, treated differently, and/or fear of being rejected by their family. Even though it was hard, disclosure enabled understanding and acceptance from the family and facilitated a dialogue about how to best help and support the patient.…”

“…On the other hand, family members had the opportunity to get answers to issues they did not know about or to questions they had not dared to ask earlier. Stengård and Appelqvist-Schmidlechner (2010) and Woodgate et al (2017) similarly describe how patients living with mental illness often seem to underestimate the need for help from others and try to deal with their problems on their own, experiencing difficulty communicating their thoughts at times. They expressed the need for additional pathways to share how they feel.…”

Medication management in the context of mental illness: an exploratory study of young people living in Australia

“…This can require the young person to balance autonomy in treatment decisions with the opinions and wishes of parents. Overall, young people experience a range of challenges when seeking and receiving care for mental illness [ 12 ]. Embarrassment about seeking help and poor self-worth due to the internalization of stimatizing messages about mental illness are reported [ 12 , 13 ].…”

“…Overall, young people experience a range of challenges when seeking and receiving care for mental illness [ 12 ]. Embarrassment about seeking help and poor self-worth due to the internalization of stimatizing messages about mental illness are reported [ 12 , 13 ]. The impact of discrimination and stigmatization of young people with mental illness has been found to be significant and universal, impacting on help-seeking behaviour [ 14 ].…”