University Psychology Report: Adolescent Mental Health and Community

This psychology report delves into the critical aspects of adolescent mental health, emphasizing the importance of mentally healthy communities and effective family partnerships. It explores how community environments, including the presence of violence and the availability of community schools, significantly impact adolescents' psychological well-being, potentially leading to issues like PTSD and externalizing behaviors. The report also highlights the crucial role of family partnerships in supporting adolescent mental health, detailing how strong family bonds and effective parenting skills can mitigate mental health challenges. The discussion is supported by a review of relevant literature, underscoring the necessity of both community and family support systems for fostering resilience and promoting the healthy development of adolescents into well-rounded adults. The report concludes that a combined approach of healthy communities and family partnerships is essential for ensuring the effective mental development of adolescents.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The emotional wellbeing of the children is equally crucial as their physical health.
Effective metal health allows the adolescents to develop effective resilience that in turn helps
them to cope with adverse situations and develop themselves as well rounded and healthy adults.
In the following paragraph, review of relevant literature on two major topics associated with the
mental health of the adolescents that is mentality healthy communities as well as family
partnerships has been performed.
Discussion
A community is defined as a familiar thread that is used for bringing people closer for
advocating as well as supporting each other. According to Jacquez, Vaughn and Wagner, (2013),
a healthy community provides a human being with the sense of belonging that connects them to
good number of relationships that they develop with time. According to researchers, school
connectedness of adolescents imposes positive impact on the mental health of the adolescents
(Gracious et al., 2012). Considering the fact that high literacy and higher number of academic
institution is a major characteristic for a mentally healthy community, it has been found that
adolescents who are able to connect properly with their peers as well as educators are less likely
to suffer from psychological issues like depression as well as anxiety. Balázs et al., (2013) have
stated that communities that experiences frequent violence, impose adverse impact on the
psychology of the children as well as the adolescents. It has been pointed out that community
violence plagues American youths living in ban communities. Approximately 50 to 96 percent of
the adolescents as well as children who resides in urban areas are subjected or exposed to some
sort of violence by their neighbours. The researchers have pointed out that exposure to a

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community where the mental peace of the members are being distorted due to violence, both
children and adolescents are found to be suffering from PTSD (Post traumatic Stress Disorder)
(Bachman, Coley & Carrano, 2012). Some of the major symptoms faced by the adolescents who
experience violence in their community include externalizing issues like development of deviant
as well as aggressive behaviour as well as depression and anxiety. This in turn imposes negative
impact on their live as an adult.
Bryan and Henry, (2012) have stated that a mentally healthy community is one of the
most crucial as well as basic need of children and adolescents since it possess the potential to
impose major impact on their thought process, cognitive development, sense of being and
belonging and other factors that will help them to grow up as an efficient adult. Community
schools are found to be a major aspect that imposes impact on the mental health of the children.
In order to ensure an effective mental development along with physical growth, it is highly
crucial for the management of the schools to incorporate anti discriminatory policies. Along with
these schools that helps student to underhand the adverse impact of racism, colorism and other
incriminatory factors are found to be more likely to be major contributors a mentally healthy
community. According to the Social development as well as stress process theories, the
participation of the adolescents in the community can function as a protective factor for mental
health, especially for the youths from socioeconomically disadvantaged regions (Bachman,
Coley & Carrano, 2012).
Along with the community, family partnerships also possess the potential impose impact
on the mental development of the adolescents. The term family partnership can be defined as the
process of developing an effective bondage of trust between the parts as well as the child.
According to Bachman, Coley and Carrano, (2012), effective family partnership, helps an

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adolescent to identify the family goals, strengths as well as other necessary services and
supports. Adolescents who evidence lack of family partnership are more likely to develop
different kinds of mental issues that include depression, anxiety as well as detachment with
family. The researchers have pointed out that it is highly crucial for the patents to understand as
well as acknowledge the importance of their role and develop effective parenting skills to
eradicate the negative impact of lack of family partnership on children and adolescents (Bryan &
Henry, 2012).
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be clearly understood that both the aspects that is
mentally healthy community as well as effective family partnership is required in order to ensure
an effective development of mental health of the adolescents. This is highly crucial since
adolescents with a well-developed mental health and stability is more likely to become a well-
rounded and healthy adult.

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Reference list
Bachman, H. J., Coley, R. L., & Carrano, J. (2012). Low-income mothers' patterns of partnership
instability and adolescents' socioemotional well-being. Journal of family
psychology, 26(2), 263. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027427
Balázs, J., Miklósi, M., Keresztény, Á., Hoven, C. W., Carli, V., Wasserman, C., ... & Cotter, P.
(2013). Adolescent subthreshold‐depression and anxiety: Psychopathology, functional
impairment and increased suicide risk. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, 54(6),
670-677. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12016
Bryan, J., & Henry, L. (2012). A model for building school–family–community partnerships:
Principles and process. Journal of Counseling & development, 90(4), 408-420. Retrieved
from:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Julia_Bryan/publication/278847845_A_Model_for_
Building_School-Family-Community_Partnerships_Principles_and_Process/links/
59de04290f7e9bec3bae09aa/A-Model-for-Building-School-Family-Community-
Partnerships-Principles-and-Process.pdf
Gracious, B. L., Finucane, T. L., Friedman-Campbell, M., Messing, S., & Parkhurst, M. N.
(2012). Vitamin D deficiency and psychotic features in mentally ill adolescents: a cross-
sectional study. BMC psychiatry, 12(1), 38. DOI: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2012.00052.x
Jacquez, F., Vaughn, L. M., & Wagner, E. (2013). Youth as partners, participants or passive
recipients: A review of children and adolescents in community-based participatory
research (CBPR). American journal of community psychology, 51(1-2), 176-189. DOI
10.1007/s10464-012-9533-7