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Healthcare
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Social Determinants of Health/Mental Health among Youth and Young Adults
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Social Determinants of Health/Mental Health among Youth and Young Adults

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Assessments".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 2718

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Shiyou Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Social Work, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
Interests: social determinants of behavioral health (e.g., substance use, depression); interventions to reduce health and social disparities; health disparities
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yeqing Yuan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Social Work, University of Alaska Anchorage, AK 99508, USA
Interests: housing; homelessness; behavioral health; social isolation and loneliness

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Youth and young adults (YYAs) experience critical life stages of physical, psychological, and social development; their health and well-being directly impact the future of human society. Social determinants of health represent a broad spectrum of upperstream factors that have a significant impact on individuals’ health behaviors and outcomes. These determinants are largely shaped by public policy, economic status, access to healthcare, education, neighborhoods and built environments, culture and beliefs, social injustice, and disparities. With technological evolutions, increased complexities, and rapid social structural changes in today’s era, there is a pressing need for more scientific evidence on the relationship between the changing society and the health of future generations. We invite you to submit research manuscripts that are dedicated to deepening our understanding of how social factors impact the health and mental health of YYA. This Special Issue aims to highlight innovative research and reviews that align with the journal’s scope, specifically focusing on how social determinants influence the health/mental health and development of YYAs. We seek to gather a collection of works that offer new insights, methodologies, and evidence-based strategies to inform healthcare research, practice, and policy aimed to collectively tackle this challenge. We welcome submissions on the following topics:

  • Systematic reviews summarizing and synthesizing current evidence of social determinants of health and mental health among YYAs;
  • Quantitative and qualitative research that uses an intersectional approach to examine or explore social determinants of health among YYAs;
  • Papers developing or refining measurement, conceptual, or theoretical models related to the social determinants of health and mental health among YYAs;
  • Papers examining policy or programs that address social determinants among YYAs.

We look forward to receiving your contributions and to the insightful discussions that will emerge from this Special Issue.

Dr. Shiyou Wu
Dr. Yeqing Yuan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • social determinants of health
  • health
  • mental health
  • youth
  • young adults

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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15 pages, 1024 KiB  
Article
The Relationship Between Social Anxiety and Depression Among Rural High School Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Social Comparison and Social Support
by Yang Cao, Jia Wang, Ziqin Huang, Yiming Qin, Siyu Gao, Huiping Zhang, Meng Yuan and Xinfeng Tang
Healthcare 2025, 13(5), 533; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13050533 - 28 Feb 2025
Viewed by 895
Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to explore the impact of social anxiety on depression among high school students and examine the parallel mediating roles of social comparison and social support. Methods: A total of 806 rural high school students were surveyed using [...] Read more.
Objective: This study aimed to explore the impact of social anxiety on depression among high school students and examine the parallel mediating roles of social comparison and social support. Methods: A total of 806 rural high school students were surveyed using the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, the Social Phobia Inventory, the Chinese version of the Social Comparison Orientation Scale, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Results: Social anxiety and social comparison were significantly and positively correlated with depression, while social support exhibited a significant negative correlation with depression. The direct effect of social anxiety on depression was also found to be significant. Moreover, social comparison and social support both played significant parallel mediating roles in the relationship between social anxiety and depression. Conclusions: Social anxiety has a direct positive predictive effect on depression, and this effect can be indirectly mediated through the parallel roles of social comparison and social support. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Social Determinants of Health/Mental Health among Youth and Young Adults)
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Other

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15 pages, 3642 KiB  
Systematic Review
Risk and Protective Factors for Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among Asian American Young Adults: A Systematic Review
by Yong Li, Tzu-Fen Chang, Qing Zhou, Kathryn Li, Philip Baiden and Mark S. Kaplan
Healthcare 2025, 13(1), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13010018 - 25 Dec 2024
Viewed by 924
Abstract
Background: Asian American (AA) young adults, including AA college students, may experience more suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) compared to other racial and ethnic groups of the same age. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first systematic review [...] Read more.
Background: Asian American (AA) young adults, including AA college students, may experience more suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) compared to other racial and ethnic groups of the same age. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first systematic review of the risk and protective factors for STBs with a focus on AA young adults. Methods: Informed by the social-ecological perspective and the cultural model and theory of suicide, this study systematically reviews the risk and protective factors for STBs among AA young adults. Based on 22 research articles published between 1998 and 2023, we analyzed and discussed the effects of 37 risk and 15 protective factors at the individual, relationship, community, societal, and cultural levels. Results: Most risk factors are at the individual level (e.g., depressive symptoms and hopelessness), followed by factors at the cultural level (e.g., acculturation and acculturative stress), the relationship level (e.g., family problems and romantic relationship problems), the community level (e.g., verbal threats on campus), and the societal level (e.g., public stigma about mental health). Also, most protective factors are at the individual level (e.g., self-reliance and fear of suicide), followed by the relationship level (e.g., social support and family responsibilities), the community level (e.g., religious affiliations), and the cultural level (desire not to burden others). Conclusions: This systematic review emphasizes the need for future research to explore cultural factors, subgroup differences, and longitudinal designs, while advocating for culturally specific prevention and intervention strategies to improve mental health outcomes for AAYAs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Social Determinants of Health/Mental Health among Youth and Young Adults)
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