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ArticleEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry2026

Understanding mental health and help-seeking among adolescents in Europe: a focus group-based participatory study to inform preventive interventions.

Gwendolyn Mayer, Nelli Tschobur, Aggeliki Michael, Francesca Floris, Magdalena Lesnierowska, Jan Maciejewski, Magdalena Pietrzak, Ewelina Smoktunowicz, Mel McKendrick, Helen Stocks and 21 more

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Article in European child & adolescent psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

31 authors.

Gwendolyn MayerDepartment of General Internal Medicine, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany. gwendolyn.mayer@med.uni-heidelberg.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5886-3226
Nelli TschoburDepartment of General Internal Medicine, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
Aggeliki MichaelCitizens in Power, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Francesca FlorisDepartment of Education Studies, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Magdalena LesnierowskaStresLab Research Centre, Institute of Psychology, SWPS University, Warsaw, Poland.
Jan MaciejewskiStresLab Research Centre, Institute of Psychology, SWPS University, Warsaw, Poland.
Magdalena PietrzakInstitute of Psychology, SWPS University, Warsaw, Poland.
Ewelina SmoktunowiczStresLab Research Centre, Institute of Psychology, SWPS University, Warsaw, Poland.
Mel McKendrickSchool of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.
Helen StocksSchool of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.
Rowena PiersSchool of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.
Ula KolinskaSchool of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Matthias SchwannauerSchool of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Ana LampretDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia.
Urška SmrkeFaculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia.
Izidor MlakarFaculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia.
Natassa StylianouCitizens in Power, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Angelos ParmatziasCitizens in Power, Nicosia, Cyprus.
Vincenza FrisardiGeriatric Unit, Center for clinical Research on Frailty, Casa Di Cura Villa Verde, Taranto, Italy.
Dina GuglielmiDepartment of Education Studies, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Greta MazzettiDepartment of Education Studies, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Diana MarquesFundación INTRAS, Valladolid, Spain.
Elisa Sáez MuñozFundación INTRAS, Valladolid, Spain.
Sofía Ballesteros RodríguezFundación INTRAS, Valladolid, Spain.
María José RicoFundación INTRAS, Valladolid, Spain.
Rosa AlmeidaFundación INTRAS, Valladolid, Spain.
Raquel Losada DuránFundación INTRAS, Valladolid, Spain.
Johanna HegerDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
Ali ZafarDepartment of General Internal Medicine, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
Adele DicksonSchool of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.
Jobst-Hendrik SchultzDepartment of General Internal Medicine, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.

Funding

Horizon 2020 Framework Programme No 101080923
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis multi-centre, qualitative study aimed to identify dimensions of mental health and possible determining factors of help-seeking among young people in Europe. Based on adolescent experiences, key risk factors for their mental health should be detected to inform preventive interventions. Focus group sessions were conducted in Cyprus, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, and the UK with adolescents aged 10 to 24 years, and their stakeholders (parents, school professionals and clinicians). The discussions followed a broad rationale asking about stressors, coping strategies, and barriers and facilitators of help-seeking. The recorded sessions were transcribed and analysed via thematic analysis. All seven sites conducted the analysis in local languages and final results were collated after translation. Overall, 124 adolescents and 81 stakeholders participated in 40 focus groups. Across all age groups of adolescents, pressure to perform academically and social life were core influencers of mental health. Trust was the key prerequisite for seeking support, whereby personal contacts were the foremost points of contact. Both groups recognized advantages and limitations of digital resources, although adolescents were more likely to mention positive aspects. Adolescents and stakeholders both viewed lack of trust and fear of judgment as significant barriers against accessing support services. Risk factors for the mental health of adolescents encompassed both personal and sociocultural aspects. Our findings highlight the need for mental health literacy of adolescents and their stakehoders to overcome personal risk factors. Sociocultural prevention must focus on building secure, non-judgmental relationships within school environments and professional support systems.

Indexed as

adolescentsemotional stresshelp-seeking behaviourMental healthminorspreventive health servicessocial stigma

Identifiers

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.