Towards a youth mental health paradigm: a perspective and roadmap
journal contribution
posted on 2023-09-25, 03:59 authored by Peter J Uhlhaas, Christopher G Davey, Urvakhsh Meherwan Mehta, Jai Shah, John Torous, Nicholas B Allen, Shelli Avenevoli, Tolulope Bella-Awusah, Andrew Chanen, Eric YH Chen, Christoph U Correll, Kim Q Do, Helen L Fisher, Sophia Frangou, Ian B Hickie, Matcheri S Keshavan, Kerstin Konrad, Francis S Lee, Cindy H Liu, Beatriz Luna, Patrick D McGorry, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Merete Nordentoft, Dost Öngür, George C Patton, Tomáš Paus, Ulrich Reininghaus, Akira Sawa, Michael Schoenbaum, Gunter Schumann, Vinod H Srihari, Ezra Susser, Swapna K Verma, T Wilson Woo, Lawrence H Yang, Alison YungAlison Yung, Stephen J WoodAbstractMost mental disorders have a typical onset between 12 and 25 years of age, highlighting the importance of this period for the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of mental ill-health. This perspective addresses interactions between risk and protective factors and brain development as key pillars accounting for the emergence of psychopathology in youth. Moreover, we propose that novel approaches towards early diagnosis and interventions are required that reflect the evolution of emerging psychopathology, the importance of novel service models, and knowledge exchange between science and practitioners. Taken together, we propose a transformative early intervention paradigm for research and clinical care that could significantly enhance mental health in young people and initiate a shift towards the prevention of severe mental disorders.
