As Holidays Approach, Experts Encourage Parents to Pay Attention to Recent Mental Health Study

Schools have an opportunity to help teens address the increased anxiety, sadness and grief that may surround the holiday season.

RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As the holidays approach, experts at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, School of Social Work (UNC-CH, SSW) are encouraging parents to take steps to educate themselves on mental health trends in youth and teens. The North Carolina State Board of Education Department of Public Instruction recently released the North Carolina Youth Risk Behavior Survey that examines mental health trends and experiences in teens from 2021-2023. While the numbers show a slight improvement from 2021, the numbers are still daunting: 39% of NC High School Students felt sad or hopeless almost every day for two or more weeks in a row.

Studies have shown that both adults and children tend to feel a potential increase in sadness, disappointment, loneliness, grief or anger throughout the holiday season. While the feelings are universal, teens tend to primarily relay this stress to other teens. Experts encourage parents to lean in.

"Holidays are typically viewed as a time of celebration, joy, positivity; but for some teens, it can create a lot of disruption to their routine, be a time of remembering or experiencing grief, and even cause isolation due to being away from friends and social groups. Holidays are a great time for families to reconnect with their teens and make intentional time for conversations and activities around mental health, self-care and needed support,” said Amaris Sampson, School Based MHFA Program Coordinator for Behavioral Health Springboard (BHS), a department of UNC-CH, SSW.

To help empower teens to understand signs and signals of challenges that go beyond typical holiday stress, BHS experts are encouraging schools to utilize curriculums like teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA). Teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) is an evidence-based international curriculum. It is paired with Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) which teaches adults to not only recognize signs and symptoms of challenges, but also teaches them how to be the trusted adults teens can turn to when they need guidance.

BHS urges parents to have conversations with their teens if they notice any signs of increased sadness or hopelessness, especially during the holidays. Additionally, they encourage parents to contact their local schools to see if tMHFA is offered and to encourage lawmakers to support mental health initiatives in schools.

About Behavioral Health Springboard (BHS): BHS is a department at UNC-Chapel Hill, School of Social Work that links current research to training programs across North Carolina.

Notes and links for editor:

Behavioral Health Springboard: https://bhs.unc.edu/

More about Mental Health First Aid: https://www.ncymhfa.org

Articles & Videos: https://ncymhfa.org/resources/