Assignment 1: Environmental Effects on Mental Health Worksheet

Your Name: 

Erjona Alija

URL link:

• Paste the hyperlink to your paper’s website on the following line:

https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/1999-00985-007.pdf?auth_token=035753baa85b7e1e3248931344985b6b40820d58

Methods:

• Paste quoted text from the Methods section of the article on the next line. Do not include quotation marks or a bullet mark:

The Youth Services Project (YSP), funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, examined 792 adolescents’ mental health needs and their use of mental health services. All were from the city of St. Louis and had used services offered by gateway service sectors: health, juvenile justice, child welfare, or education.

• Write your translation on the next line:

The National Institute of Mental Health administered funding for the Youth Services Project (YSP), which examined how 792 teenagers accessed mental health services and analyzed their mental health needs. All of the participants were from St. Louis and had received assistance from several community service organizations, such as schools, child welfare services, the juvenile justice system, and healthcare.

Introduction:

• Paste quoted text from the Introduction of the article on the next line. Do not include quotation marks:

Children and adolescents living in urban communities marked by poverty, crime, and drug related activites are likley not only to witness significant numbers of homicdied, assualts, robberies and physical fights, but to become victcims themselves. Their chronic exposure is linked with a range of childhood distress symptoms, eg., depression, anxiety, instructive thoguhts and sleep disturbances.

• Write your translation on the next line:

Children and teenagers are more likely to encounter or see violence if they are raised in areas where poverty, crime, and drug-related activities are prevalent. Long-term exposure to these stressful situations can have a detrimental effect on their mental health and may result in issues including anxiety, depression, problematic thoughts, and trouble sleeping.

Results:

• Paste quoted text from the Results section in the article on the next line. Do not include quotation marks:

Mental health was determined (47% of the variance) by perceived neighborhood environment, exposure to violence, and environmental support. All models further showed that the presence of a supportive social environment mediates the influence of violence exposure and perceived neighborhood deterioration on mental health problems

• Write your translation on the next line:

This study found that teenagers’ mental health is shaped by what they witness in their neighborhood, exposure to violence, and the support that is available to them. A supportive social environment was shown to help decrease the negative effects of experiencing violence and living in an unstable neighborhood on mental health.

Discussion:

• Paste quoted text from the Discussion section of the article on the next line. Do not include quotation marks:

This study demonstrates the critical importance of family support and stability to the well-being of children and adolescents living within deteriorating neighborhood environments. Clearly, interventions that support and strengthen the protective function of families may constitute a good investment in children health 

• Write your translation on the next line:

The study indicates that a key component of protecting the mental health of kids and teenagers who reside in difficult community settings involves providing stability and support within families. Enhancing family support structures may reduce the detrimental impacts of stressful situations and enhance the wellbeing of young people.

Future Directions:

• What future research should follow up on this work?

Future studies should explore whether these findings also apply to adolescents living in communities beyond St. Louis.

Difficult Material:

• What did you not understand about this paper that someone else may be able to help you with? Or, if you understood everything, what did you find most challenging to understand?

It was difficult for me to comprehend how people’s experiences and perspectives might alter how their surroundings affect their wellbeing. For instance, two teenagers who live in comparable communities can encounter the same environmental circumstances but interpret or react to them in different ways, which could result in disparate mental health outcomes and enhance young mental health.