The Epidemic Before the Pandemic: Conceptualizing Youth Mental Health through the Social Determinants of Mental Health Framework

Abstract

This thesis examines youth mental health before and after the pandemic to find out how social determinants influence rates of depression and anxiety in children and adolescents. It aims to inform policymakers about the social factors responsible for exacerbating mental illness so that proposed interventions target the fundamental causes. The researcher achieved these aims by conducting a cross-sectional time-series study of 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 National Survey of Children's Health data (NSCH). The findings substantially support an association between social factors and youth mental illness diagnoses. Therefore, social factors drive mental illness in youth regardless of the pandemic. Policymakers must design multidisciplinary solutions that target multiple social determinants concomitantly to rectify the current situation, prevent future mental health crises, and promote mental health equity.