Family Communication and Youth Mental Health

Mental health in young adults has been a prevalent issue, leading to increased utilization of services across the United States for the past 10 years. “An estimated one in three students meets criteria for a clinically significant mental health problem.”

 

My colleagues and I conducted research last year with young adult Seventh-day Adventist college students using a survey and some follow-up focus groups. Results from the survey show when young adults feel comfortable talking to their parents about drugs, sex and alcohol not only are they less likely to do those things, but they are also less likely to be depressed, have thoughts about suicide in the last six months, and are less lonely. Some common themes were discovered from the focus groups in relation to parents and mental health. The young adult Adventist participants want their parents to better understand the unique challenges they face growing up as Adventists in a post-modern American world and for parents to be there when needed.  

 

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