Adolescence then and now: a qualitative study on older adults' perceptions of adolescence and factors influencing mental health in adolescents today.

BACKGROUND

Among Norwegian adolescents, there have been increases in self-reported psychological ailments, consultations with health services for psychological ailments, and the use of antidepressants. At the same time, the population of Norway is getting older and is in increasingly less need of assistance in old age, and the prevalence of mental disorders among healthy older adults is probably relatively low compared to younger age groups.

AIM

This study aimed to explore older adults’ perceptions of adolescence and factors influencing mental health to increase nurse’s societal knowledge.

METHOD

The study had a phenomenological exploratory design. We conducted semi-structured interviews with eight older adults ranging from 68 to 90 years of age and analyzed their perceptions of being adolescents using systematic text condensation.

RESULTS

The conditions of being an adolescent in the past and now are significantly different, and the mentality about mental health differ. The family structure has changed, and adolescents socialize in a different way with less face-to-face interaction. The digitalization of society may give adolescents illusions about what you can expect in life, and medicalization conveys the idea that there is a cure for everything.

CONCLUSIONS

The analyzed perceptions of the participants support that medicalization, social media, and the societal structure are impacting the sense of coherence and mental health of adolescents today.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-025-24437-x.