Before the age of 18, 75% of mental health problems develop. Some of these problems, such as depression and anxiety are associated with higher levels of distress and disability, future physical and psychiatric morbidity, and educational and social impairment. Due to the scarcity of financial and human resources, young people in Latin America rarely receive formal treatment when experiencing mental distress. Yet, evidence suggests that 50-60% experience symptomatic recovery within one year. This raises the question as to which individual and social resilience factors young people in these contexts can mobilize to overcome depression and anxiety, and prevent them once they occur. This understanding can be used to develop new approaches to reduce the burden of mental distress in adolescents and young people in Latin America and other low- and middle-income countries.

This research project is taking place in collaboration with researchers from Universidad Buenos Aires (Argentina), Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia), Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Peru), University College London, King’s College London and will be coordinated by Queen Mary University of London (UK). The research activities will take place in three large Latin American cities: Buenos Aires (Argentina), Bogotá (Colombia) and Lima (Peru).

This 5-year project has been split into 4 work packages (WP).

Aim:

To identify which characteristics, resources and activities help young people living in urban environments in Latin America to recover from depression and/or anxiety.

Study design:

Longitudinal cohort study with mixed-methods.

Result:

Project currently ongoing.

Contact:

Francisco Diez Canseco, MPH

fdiezcanseco@upch.pe