Adolescent Mental Health Literacy

Adolescents in the U.S. are experiencing a growing epidemic of maladaptive coping. The increasing occurrence of these behaviors make it likely that school personnel will continue to see an increase in adolescents presenting with maladaptive coping patterns, such as nonsuicidal self-injury and suicide, highlighting the urgency for continued research regarding effective education. Nonsuicidal self-injury is highly correlated with suicidal behavior, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among ten to nineteen year olds in the US. Research points to the use of a specific type of Coping Skills Training known as Mental Health Literacy that reduces the chances that maladaptive coping will become the norm in adulthood.