TY - JOUR
T1 - Resources used by young people to overcome mental distress in deprived settings in Latin America
T2 - a qualitative study
AU - Toyama, Mauricio
AU - Vilela-Estrada, Ana L.
AU - Ariza-Salazar, Karen
AU - Osorio Jaramillo, Isabela
AU - Ramirez-Meneses, Daniela
AU - Flores, Sumiko
AU - Carbonel, Adriana
AU - Olivar, Natividad
AU - Carbonetti, Fernando Luis
AU - Fung, Catherine
AU - Stanislaus Sureshkumar, Diliniya
AU - Brusco, Luis Ignacio
AU - Gómez-Restrepo, Carlos
AU - Diez-Canseco, Francisco
AU - Priebe, Stefan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.
PY - 2025/7/4
Y1 - 2025/7/4
N2 - Background: Adolescence and young adulthood are critical stages for developing mental health problems. However, the ability to cope with adversity can help them manage emotional distress and overcome mental health conditions. This qualitative study aims to describe the resources reported by urban Latin-American young people as useful to overcome mental distress. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 112 adolescents (age 15–16 years) and young adults (age 20–24 years) who participated in a cohort study in deprived urban areas of Bogota, Buenos Aires and Lima. All of them had symptoms of depression (PHQ-8 > 9) and/or anxiety (GAD-7 > 9) at their inclusion in the cohort. The interviews took place after a 12-month follow-up. Results: To overcome mental distress, participants reported most social and personal resources, as well as recreational and leisure activities, followed by physical activities and sports, and relaxation activities. All resources were mentioned by both genders and age groups. However, several resources were reported more frequently by female and young adult participants than by male and adolescents. Social and personal resources, physical activity and sports, recreational and leisure activities, and educational activities were reported more frequently by participants who recovered from their symptoms of depression and/or anxiety after 12 months. Conversely, arts activities were reported more by participants who did not recover from their symptoms. Conclusions: The results show that young people in deprived urban settings in Latin America use a range of resources and activities they consider helpful to overcome mental distress. Policies for improving mental health of young people should consider promoting the most helpful activities and resources. Further research may explore how exactly these resources help to reduce mental distress and how they can be strengthened.
AB - Background: Adolescence and young adulthood are critical stages for developing mental health problems. However, the ability to cope with adversity can help them manage emotional distress and overcome mental health conditions. This qualitative study aims to describe the resources reported by urban Latin-American young people as useful to overcome mental distress. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 112 adolescents (age 15–16 years) and young adults (age 20–24 years) who participated in a cohort study in deprived urban areas of Bogota, Buenos Aires and Lima. All of them had symptoms of depression (PHQ-8 > 9) and/or anxiety (GAD-7 > 9) at their inclusion in the cohort. The interviews took place after a 12-month follow-up. Results: To overcome mental distress, participants reported most social and personal resources, as well as recreational and leisure activities, followed by physical activities and sports, and relaxation activities. All resources were mentioned by both genders and age groups. However, several resources were reported more frequently by female and young adult participants than by male and adolescents. Social and personal resources, physical activity and sports, recreational and leisure activities, and educational activities were reported more frequently by participants who recovered from their symptoms of depression and/or anxiety after 12 months. Conversely, arts activities were reported more by participants who did not recover from their symptoms. Conclusions: The results show that young people in deprived urban settings in Latin America use a range of resources and activities they consider helpful to overcome mental distress. Policies for improving mental health of young people should consider promoting the most helpful activities and resources. Further research may explore how exactly these resources help to reduce mental distress and how they can be strengthened.
KW - Adaptation, Psychological
KW - Adolescent
KW - Anxiety/psychology
KW - Cohort Studies
KW - Colombia
KW - Depression/psychology
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Latin America
KW - Leisure Activities/psychology
KW - Male
KW - Psychological Distress
KW - Qualitative Research
KW - Stress, Psychological/psychology
KW - Urban Population
KW - Young Adult
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105009957002
U2 - 10.1186/s40359-025-02830-w
DO - 10.1186/s40359-025-02830-w
M3 - Article
C2 - 40615934
AN - SCOPUS:105009957002
SN - 2050-7283
VL - 13
SP - 727
JO - BMC Psychology
JF - BMC Psychology
IS - 1
M1 - 727
ER -
