O'Neill, Alisha;
Stapley, Emily;
Stock, Sarah;
Merrick, Hannah;
Humphrey, Neil;
(2021)
Adolescents' Understanding of What Causes Emotional Distress: A Qualitative Exploration in a Non-clinical Sample Using Ideal-Type Analysis.
Frontiers in Public Health
, 9
, Article 673321. 10.3389/fpubh.2021.673321.
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Abstract
Background: There is increased interest in early intervention and prevention of mental health difficulties during adolescence; thus, we are seeing increased efforts to optimize well-being during this epoch. Positive emotional experiences are a central component of overall well-being. However, research exploring what adolescents perceive to be the cause(s) of their emotional difficulties is lacking. Improving understanding of this issue within non-clinical adolescent groups may provide useful insight into how to develop strategies to support young people as they navigate emotional difficulties. / Objectives: The aim of this research was to explore if meaningful categories of perceived cause(s) for emotional distress exist for non-clinical adolescent groups. / Methods: The data for this study were drawn from interviews across 6 sites in England conducted as part of the 5-year national evaluation of the HeadStart Learning Programme. The sample comprised of 32 young people aged 11-12 years from the first annual wave of qualitative data collection in 2017. Ideal type analysis-a qualitative form of person-centered analysis-was used to construct a typology of adolescents perceived cause(s) for emotional distress. / Findings: We identified five distinct categories of perceived cause: (1) perceived lack of control; (2) unfair treatment; (3) others, their actions and judgements as the catalyst; (4) concerns for self and others; and, (5) self as cause. / Conclusions: Our findings illustrate that distinct categories for perceived cause of emotional distress exist among adolescents considered to be "at risk" of developing mental health difficulties, which provides a foundation for future necessary work seeking to investigate the possible link between perceived cause for emotional distress and help-seeking behavior among sub-clinical groups.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Adolescents' Understanding of What Causes Emotional Distress: A Qualitative Exploration in a Non-clinical Sample Using Ideal-Type Analysis |
| Location: | Switzerland |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fpubh.2021.673321 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.673321 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2021 O'Neill, Stapley, Stock, Merrick and Humphrey. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
| Keywords: | emotional distress, adolescence, perceived cause, causal attribution, help-seeking, non-clinical, at risk adolescents |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10158585 |
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