Sonal Daftuar

Centre for Catalyzing Change (C3), India

Title: A quasi-experimental study on the challenges of mental health and access to care for marginalized adolescents in Bihar and Uttarakhand, India

---

Biography

After obtaining MA degree in Rural Development, and Post Grad in Counselling, both from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Sonal has been working as a development professional for eight years in the fields of adolescent wellbeing, gender and mental health. Her specialization lies in project management, on-ground implementation, facilitation, and research work. Prior to joining C3 in 2022 as a Program Officer, she worked with various education and mental health sector associated organizations, engaging with socio-economically marginalized communities, adolescents, and schools.

Abstract

With 253 million adolescents, India has the largest adolescent population. At any point of time, 8-11 million adolescents are in need of mental healthcare, which becomes increasingly complex due to socio-economic determinants. Hence, to understand mental health (MH) challenges, and develop an intervention, a baseline was conducted with adolescents from marginalized communities in one district each of Bihar and Uttarakhand, India. The quasi-experimental study adopted mixed-method approach by administering five standardized psychometric tools with 4,959 government school students aged 10-19 years, and carrying focus group discussions and interviews with 250 adolescents, parents, teachers, principals, healthcare service providers and government officials. It was found that 9.7%-17% [Bihar-Uttarakhand] adolescents reported internet addiction, 2.4%-0.19% (substance abuse), 7%-13% (life dissatisfaction), 16%-18% (low wellbeing), and 17%-22% (life difficulties). Moreover, the analysis showed that increase in internet addiction causes reduced life satisfaction, and that girls are also likely to engage in substance-use, contrary to community’s perception. Through discussions, adolescents shared that in an event of MH issue, they did not know who to turn to. All stakeholders voiced concerns about their lack of knowledge and support to effectively address adolescent issues. To address this, C3 is working with schools, leveraging Indian Government’s School Health and Wellness Program. Teachers and frontline workers’ capacities are being built to recognize and refer adolescents requiring MH support along with structured sessions on MH, safe internet and substance-misuse. The findings of the study bring out the urgent need for larger policy action to address the growing adolescent MH issues in India.