Assisting adolescents toward mental health.

The developmental stage of adolescence may be so turbulent as to require psychiatric intervention. The adaptive difficulties experienced by Offer's tumultuous group of adolescents were once considered normal problems for that age group. Now they are considered to be a precursor to more serious psychosocial problems and require entry into the mental health care system. The adolescent psychiatric patient may experience adaptive difficulties, such as delinquency, substance abuse, and sexual acting out, or a diagnosed psychiatric disorder. The level of care an adolescent requires depends upon the type and severity of his dysfunction. Early detection and prevention is largely accomplished through education. Assessment and crisis intervention require the structure of an acute care inpatient setting. Long-term treatment may be necessary to provide a corrective emotional experience for the severely dysfunctional adolescent. Research endeavors should be directed toward further exploration of the relationship between adaptive difficulties and adult psychiatric disorder. Outcome studies would be helpful in evaluating the success of psychiatric nursing intervention at multiple levels of complexity.