Transition-Age Youth: Who Are They? What Are Their Unique Developmental Needs? How Can Mental Health Practitioners Support Them?

A Resistance Framework for Racially Minoritized Youth Behaviors During the Transition to Adulthood

“…Like any youth, racially minoritized youth are faced with many decisions, such as furthering their education or entering the workforce except they may have to navigate dynamics such as school records with disproportionately high disciplinary marks (Eitle & Eitle, 2004; Morris, 2005) and increased likelihood of discrimination as they seek employment (Pager, 2003). Transitional decisions require the guidance of supportive adults, but also the resources of those adults to shape these trajectories as they make decisions on these pathways to independence that impact their transition to adulthood (Martel, 2021). Additionally, some lack a sense of belonging on college campuses (Hussain & Jones, 2021; Jackson et al., 2022) or in the workplace (Pitcan et al., 2018) due to discrimination.…”

“…If traditional markers of transition are centered in whiteness such as separation from family and independence, school and schooling outcomes becomes a place where racially minoritized youth are pushed to adhere to those norms. In 2017, over half of noninstitutionalized youth who did not enter the military pursued their high school education; those not in school were working (Martel, 2021). Even still, racial disparities exist in high school graduation rates (Quintana & Mahgoub, 2016).…”

Real-world effectiveness of repeated intravenous ketamine infusions for treatment-resistant depression in transitional age youth

“…The age range between 18 and 25 years is crucial for developing a sense of independence, identity formation, social functioning, and achievements that may be particularly susceptible to development of depressive disorders ( Tyson and Robb, 2021 ). Early onset depression presents a greater risk of depression relapse, worsening of symptoms, and comorbid substance use disorders compared to onset after the age of 25 ( Martel, 2021 ). Moreover, with the potential risk of treatment-emergent suicidality with serotonergic antidepressants in patients under the age of 25, it is important to identify alternative treatment options that do not rely on monoaminergic mechanisms ( Li et al, 2022 ).…”