Contemporary Issues and External Stressors for Adolescence
A persistent issue that affects adolescents today is their psychological well-being,
especially symptoms of anxiety and depression, with various external stressors. Depression is a
major psychiatric disorder characterized by a prolonged sense of sadness, gloom, and impaired
involvement in activities that significantly affects numerous adolescents (CDC, 2024). These
concerns often arise due to external influences associated with this issue, including academic
demands, peer influence, social media influences, bullying, body image issues, and familial
expectations, as well as the physiological and psychological changes characteristic of
adolescence. One of the research projects reveals that 20% of children and adolescents aged 3-
17 in the United States possess psychological, emotional, growing, or cognitive impairments
(Department of Health & Human Services, 2022). Furthermore, there has been an
increase of more than 40% in suicide incidents among high school teenagers over the decade
preceding 2019.
Promote students' mental health and well-being through education, prevention, and early
intervention efforts (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023). They provide an
opportunity to reach a large number of youths with strategies that can lessen the impact of
negative experiences and improve students' health and well-being. The CDC created this action
guide as an initial resource. It can assist school and district administrators in enhancing their
existing initiatives to support students' mental health and identify new tactics to address
inadequacies. The action guide defines six evidence-based in-school interventions that enhance
and sustain mental health and well-being. The guide delineates techniques for each strategy,