Social cohesion for mental well-being among adolescents. WHO/HBSC Forum 2007

Safeguarding the mental health and wellbeing of young people in the WHO European Region requires addressing socially determined risk factors for mental disorders and creating social environments that foster protective factors for mental well-being. The Mental Health Action Plan and Declaration for Europe highlight action in these areas. For the 2007 WHO/Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Forum, countries throughout the Region analysed mechanisms for intersectoral action to promote adolescents’ mental well-being, address health inequities, ensure young people’s participation in the design, implementation and evaluation of policy and interventions, and translate research on young people’s health into policies and action.

This publication describes the Forum and presents the case studies and reviews produced for it. Representatives from 14 Member States prepared case studies: Armenia, Belgium (Flanders), Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Portugal, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovenia, Spain (Andalusia and Alcalá de Henares), and United Kingdom (England and Scotland). Evidence reviews covered cross-national HBSC data on mental well-being in school-aged children in the Region, socioeconomic inequalities in adolescents’ mental health and economic aspects of mental health in children and adolescents. The 2007 Forum was the second in a series dedicated to increasing action on the socioeconomic determinants of adolescent health.