Measuring Mental Wellness of Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Instruments

Abstract

Objective: Mental health is critical to the healthy development of adolescents. However, mental health encompasses more than the absence of mental illness; and should include indicators of mental wellness. A critical review of available mental wellness instruments for adolescents were conducted to identify operational definitions of mental wellness concepts for this population group. Method: A systematic review of literature published between 2000 and 2020 was done to identify mental wellness instruments for adolescent populations. The review followed the PRISMA operational steps. Results: We identified 2,543 articles from the search strategy and screened titles and abstracts for eligibility. After appraisal, 97 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis; of which, 79 mental wellness instruments were identified. Most studies did not provide a definition for mental wellness. We identified thirteen mental wellness concepts from 97 studies, namely: life satisfaction, mental wellbeing [general], resilience, self-efficacy, self- esteem, connectedness, coping, self-control, mindfulness/spiritual, hope, sense of coherence, happiness, and life purpose.

Description

Keywords

mental wellness, adolescents, systematic review, healthy development, mental illness, instruments, identify operational

Citation

Orth Z, Moosajee F and Van Wyk B (2022) Measuring mental wellness of adolescents: A systematic review of instruments. front. psychol. 13:835601. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.835601