Quality of Mental Health Management and Resources for Adolescents in High School

Adolescence is a transitional period between childhood and adulthood. Changes happen psychologically and physically. There are several social and academic pressures placed onto adolescents which can cause them to experience anxiety and depression. The rates of emotional and behavioral diagnoses have risen consistently in the two decades among this cohort. Previous research suggests that individuals of lower socioeconomic status are more at risk for developing an emotional disorder. In addition, research has suggested that individuals with higher socioeconomic status are more likely to regulate their Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity (ADHD) medication. The current research aims to understand the relationship between adolescent mental health management, treatment, and diagnosis in high schools through a lense of poverty and urbanity status. Participants were school counselors and social workers from two high schools in the Capital Region of Upstate New York. In addition data was extracted from the School Health Practice and Policies study (2006) to better understand mental health resources at high schools on a national scale. Results indicated that urbanity had a greater association with access to mental health resources in schools when compared to poverty. In addition, they indicated that schools with less funding are just as capable of managing students with behavioral and emotional disorders, as well as demonstrated that anxieties are different among adolescents in different socioeconomic status’.