Blog Post #2 – Project Plan & Sub Questions; The Impact of Mental Health On Adolescents

Hello everyone! Welcome to my second blog post of the year! For this post, I will research and identify my three sub-questions which connect to my main inquiry question “How do mental health disorders impact academic performance, social interactions and the overall well-being of high school students?”. Answering these sub-questions will help me better understand my main inquiry topic and lead to a better overall conclusion. I will also elaborate on these sub-questions and express how they relate to my overall inquiry.

1. What is the relationship between mental health issues and academic performance indicators (tests/grades etc.) in high schoolers? 

This sub-question focuses on the overall effect of mental health issues on the academic performance of high schoolers. By addressing it, I aim to understand specific connections between mental health challenges, performance indicators, and academic stressors. I also hope to understand how mental health issues impact a student’s academic success and explore possible solutions to support students facing these challenges. Mental health is a topic that schools make an effort to address, however finding effective solutions for students remains challenging. As we know, stress, anxiety and depression are known to impact the academic performance of students directly, but understanding the exact ways they do so is critical. How does stress affect a student’s overall success? What are the specific effects of academic burnout and stress? What could they lead to in terms of academic performance? I hope to answer these questions and understand the overall relationship between mental health issues and academic performance indicators in high schoolers. This connects to my main question as it helps me understand the impact of mental health on a students academic performance throughout high school.

2. How can mental health disorders affect students’ participation in group activities, clubs, or sports, which are vital for social development?

In addition to the relationship between mental health issues and academic performance, I also want to address the impact of mental health on a student’s social life. This includes their participation in extracurricular activities, social gatherings, group activities and sports. As we know, mental health plays a crucial role in an adolescent’s life. These activities play a vital role in a student’s success. When a student feels anxious and worried that someone will judge them for joining a certain club or movement, it restricts them from trying new things. That often leads to missed opportunities and fewer social interactions with their other peers. People with mood disorders and other mental “disorders” may find it difficult to attend their extracurricular activities due to exhaustion and lack of motivation. This often demotivates students from participating in things they love and feel disengaged in their communities. Due to these factors, I believe mental health disorders do impact a student’s participation in group activities, clubs and sports but I would like to further explore the ways it impacts their social development. I hope to understand why social interactions and group activities impact a student’s sense of belonging and whether there are tools they can use to help them overcome these fears. Additionally, I hope to explore the various strategies people can use to make these activities more inclusive and supportive for students facing these challenges. This connects to the impact on a student’s social life and their overall well-being in their school communities.

3. How do untreated mental health issues impact a student’s future in relation to future mental health issues and personal development? H

Teenagers in high school who have untreated mental health issues face the risk of no personal growth and the risk of new mental health issues occurring. These issues such as chronic stress and weakened resilience cause them to lose focus and make it challenging for them to start new things in the future. As these issues worsen, they slowly impact their entire life, which leads to social disengagement, academic decline and a lower life quality overall. This ties in with my main inquiry about the overall impact on a student’s success which is why I believe it is an important topic of discussion. I hope to understand how it can impact a student’s life and find solutions to help them push through these challenges to achieve greatness.

Resources I will be using to help me answer this question include;

1. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41390-024-03098-3#:~:text=The%20key%20findings%20suggested%20that,was%20not%20bidirectional%20as%20expected.
2. https://valleyoaks.org/health-hub/the-link-between-mental-health-academic-performance/#:~:text=Student’s%20mental%20health%20has%20a,the%20best%20of%20their%20ability.
3. https://systematicreviewsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13643-023-02264-8
4. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9159603/
5. https://sprc.org/settings/colleges-and-universities/consequences-of-student-mental-health-issues/#:~:text=Mental%20health%20problems%20can%20affect%20a%20student’s%20energy%20level%2C%20concentration,%2C%20and%20optimism%2C%20hindering%20performance.&text=Research%20suggests%20that%20depression%20is,anxiety%20can%20increase%20this%20association.

This question will have an impact and implications for members of my community as it impacts every student. My question focuses on students and how they’re impacted by mental health in their daily lives. This relates and connects to the life of many people in my community including students, parents and young adults. Mental health not only impacts youth and adolescents but also creates a risk for future mental health challenges. By researching and understanding this question, I will be able to find coping mechanisms for adolescents to use to help better their overall quality of life. This can also help guide parents on ways they can help their children, and find tools to support them during this time. This includes speaking with them, finding a counsellor to help them and giving them support tools. As it involves multiple people in my community, I also believe it will have a huge impact on my community as a whole.