A Study on Pathways of Adolescent Mental Health Promotion from the Perspective of Ecosystem Theory
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65514/kwptj097Keywords:
Adolescent; Mental health; Ecological systems theory; PathwaysAbstract
Adolescent mental health serves as an essential foundation for building a powerful country in education and advancing the Healthy China Initiative. To address the dynamic challenges arising from the increasing complexity of adolescent mental health issues and the continuous emergence of new influencing factors, this study adopts the perspective of ecological systems theory and examines three dimensions: school, family, and society. It focuses on identifying adolescent mental health problems, clarifying relevant influencing factors, illustrating the interactive relationship between the social environment and adolescent mental health, and exploring how different ecological subsystems influence adolescent mental health. Based on this analysis, it is essential to build a school-centered safeguarding system supplemented by out-of-school support and to explore practical pathways for adolescent psychological crisis intervention that fit China's national context. These efforts can strengthen the foundation for prevention, broaden intervention pathways, and provide continuous support for adolescent mental health, thereby improving adolescents' overall mental health.
References
1.Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In W. Damon & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 1. Theoretical models of human development (6th ed., pp. 793–828). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470147658.chpsy0114
2.Chapman, R. L., Buckley, L., Sheehan, M. C., & Shochet, I. M. (2013). School-based programs for increasing connectedness and reducing risk behavior: A systematic review. Educational Psychology Review, 25(1), 95–114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-013-9216-4
3.Dong, W., Liu, Y., Bai, R., Zhang, L., & Zhou, M. (2025). The prevalence and associated disability burden of mental disorders in children and adolescents in China: A systematic analysis of data from the Global Burden of Disease Study. The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific, 55, 101486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2025.101486
4.Fan, S., & Che, B. (2023). Research on the influence of weight stigma on mental health of obese college students and countermeasures. Journal of Jilin Sport University, 39(3), 103–108.
5.Li, F., Cui, Y., Li, Y., Guo, L., Ke, X., Liu, J., Luo, X., Zheng, Y., & Leckman, J. F. (2022). Prevalence of mental disorders in school children and adolescents in China: Diagnostic data from detailed clinical assessments of 17,524 individuals. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 63(1), 34–46. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13445
6.Li, J., & Song, Y. (2025). Exploration on mental health promotion paths for children and adolescents oriented to Chinese practice. Chinese Journal of School Health, 46(9), 1217–1221, 1231.
7.Liu, P., Hong, W., & Niu, L. (2012). Depression status and influencing factors of adolescents in suburban Beijing. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 20(5), 668–669, 742.
8.Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56(3), 227–238. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.227
9.McGrath, J. J., Al-Hamzawi, A., Alonso, J., Altwaijri, Y. A., Andrade, L. H., Bromet, E. J., Bruffaerts, R., Caldas de Almeida, J. M., Chardoul, S., Chiu, W. T., Degenhardt, L., Demler, O. V., Ferry, F., Gureje, O., Haro, J. M., Karam, E. G., Karam, G., Khaled, S. M., Kovess-Masfety, V., … Zaslavsky, A. M. (2023). Age of onset and cumulative risk of mental disorders: A cross-national analysis of population surveys from 29 countries. The Lancet Psychiatry, 10(9), 668–681. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(23)00193-1
10.Peng, M., & Huang, Y. (2023). Home-school-community collaborative promotion of adolescents’ mental health education: Problem review and mitigation paths—An analysis based on the interaction ritual chain theory. Contemporary Education Forum, (6), 96–104.
11.Ren, X.-Y., Jiang, Q., Chen, H., & Tang, J. (2025). Mental disorder spectrum in children and adolescents from 2014–2022: A nine-year epidemiological and clinical trend. Current Medical Science, 45(1), 146–153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-025-00007-5
12.Roberts, S., Arseneault, L., Barratt, B. M., Beevers, S. D., Danese, A., Odgers, C. L., Moffitt, T. E., Reuben, A., Kelly, F. J., & Fisher, H. L. (2019). Exploration of NO₂ and PM₂.₅ air pollution and mental health problems using high-resolution data in London-based children from a UK longitudinal cohort study. Psychiatry Research, 272, 8–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2018.12.050
13.Rothon, C., Goodwin, L., & Stansfeld, S. (2012). Family social support, community “social capital” and adolescents’ mental health and educational outcomes: A longitudinal study in England. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 47(5), 697–709. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-011-0391-7
14.Wang, M., Fan, C., Zhou, Z., & Chen, W. (2014). Parental conflict affects adolescents’ depression and social anxiety: Based on cognitive-contextual and emotional security theories. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 46(1), 90–100. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1041.2014.00090
15.Yu, G., Li, J., & Wang, Q. (2018). Ecosystem theory and adolescents’ mental health education. Educational Research, 39(3), 110–117.
16.Yu, G., & Wang, Q. (2015). Development paths of adolescents’ mental health education and services from a comparative perspective. Educational Journal of Renmin University of China, (2), 5–15.
17.Yu, G., & Wang, Q. (2016). Social transformation: A social psychological analysis of adolescents’ role model selection. Educational Science Research, (5), 59–64.
18.Yuan, W., Yang, T., Song, Y., Dong, Y., & Ma, J. (2023). Research progress on comorbidity burden and etiological mechanisms centered on children and adolescents’ mental health. Chinese Journal of School Health, 44(9), 1423–1427. https://doi.org/10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2023.09.032
19.Zhao, J., Liu, X., & Zhang, W. (2013). Peer rejection, peer acceptance and psychological adaptation of rural left-behind children: The roles of parent-child cohesion and adversity belief. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 45(7), 797–810.
20.Zheng, D., Wu, H., Chen, Q., Li, Y., Yin, X., & Cao, J. (2020). Correlation between muscular strength index and psychological sub-health in Chinese adolescents. Chinese Journal of School Health, 41(12), 1831–1834, 1839.
