Despite extensive research on the mental health of adults, children and adolescents, those aged 18 to 29 – classified as emerging adults – remain largely overlooked. Yet this period represents a critical window for mental health intervention.
That was one of the key conclusions of researcher Amanda Kellman, who presented her study, A Scoping Review on Mental Health Delivery Systems for Emerging Adults in the English-Speaking Caribbean Region, at The UWI Cave Hill’s 13th Annual Faculty of Medical Sciences Graduate Symposium in January.
Kellman, a Master of Philosophy student in Public Health and a registered clinical psychologist, explained that emerging adulthood is marked by heightened vulnerability to anxiety, depression and other mental health challenges. It is also the stage at which many mental health disorders first appear.
Although mental health is recognised globally as a priority, it accounts for less than two per cent of total health expenditure worldwide and just under four per cent in the English-speaking Caribbean. Kellman argued that this level of funding is inadequate to deliver comprehensive, modern and developmentally appropriate services for this at-risk group.
In reviewing the evidence, she used key terms in searches of multiple academic databases, including PubMed, where she identified 520 articles. However, only 12 met the criteria for inclusion, and none focused specifically on emerging adults. Instead, participants were grouped into broader categories such as children and youth or the general adult population, even when the data came from English-speaking Caribbean countries.
Kellman then pivoted by adjusting her search criteria. Then, she found that one in four young people in the English-speaking Caribbean experiences symptoms of mental health problems. One study showed that between 2005 and 2023, the youth suicide rate in Jamaica doubled to 4.8 per cent, while the prevalence of depression more than doubled to 25.6 per cent.
Kellman also highlighted structural and social risk factors, including unemployment and exposure to community violence. Clear gender differences emerged, with young women and girls experiencing higher rates of anxiety and depression, and young men and boys more affected by conduct disorders, substance misuse and self-harm.
“Many adolescents transition to adulthood with unmet health needs, reflecting delayed or inadequate access to care during earlier developmental stages,” she concluded.
“Access to developmentally appropriate and youth-friendly mental health services remains limited, particularly for young people living in rural and under-resourced communities. Gender-based inequities highlight the need for gender-sensitive mental health interventions that recognise differences in how psychological distress is experienced, expressed and responded to among Caribbean youth,” Kellman said.
