Mental health of the male adolescent and young man: the Copenhagen statement

TY - JOUR

T1 - Mental health of the male adolescent and young man

T2 - the Copenhagen statement

AU - Rice, Timothy R.

AU - Shah, Lesha D.

AU - Trelles, Pilar

AU - Lin, Shih-Ku

AU - Christensen, Dinne Skjærlund

AU - Walther, Andreas

AU - Sher, Leo

PY - 2018/6/1

Y1 - 2018/6/1

N2 - BackgroundMale adolescents and young men benefit when their mental health care is specialized to match their unique gendered and developmental needs. Sensitivity to the social circumstances of this population is important; additionally, the emerging ability to tailor care through knowledge gleaned from the intersection of psychiatry, neurology, and endocrinology informs care.Data sourcesThis article summarized the views of six experts in the area of the adolescent and young adult male mental health. These experts were select members of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry’s Task Force on Men’s Mental Health. They convened to present two symposia on the topic of men’s mental health at the 13th World Congress of Biological Psychiatry (WCBP) in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2017.ResultsIn these works, a special focus is paid to addictive disorders, disruptive behavior disorders, aggression, and brain development. Collectively, the authors present an argument for the merits of a male-specific model of mental health care to advance the overall well-being of this population.ConclusionsMen’s mental health should be recognized as a social issue as much as a medical issue, with special attention paid to problems such as unemployment, familial disruption, and substance abuse. These problems, and especially those of major societal impact including violence and suicide which are much more frequently the product of male youth and men, should have more male-tailored options for service provision that respond to men’s mental health needs.

AB - BackgroundMale adolescents and young men benefit when their mental health care is specialized to match their unique gendered and developmental needs. Sensitivity to the social circumstances of this population is important; additionally, the emerging ability to tailor care through knowledge gleaned from the intersection of psychiatry, neurology, and endocrinology informs care.Data sourcesThis article summarized the views of six experts in the area of the adolescent and young adult male mental health. These experts were select members of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry’s Task Force on Men’s Mental Health. They convened to present two symposia on the topic of men’s mental health at the 13th World Congress of Biological Psychiatry (WCBP) in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2017.ResultsIn these works, a special focus is paid to addictive disorders, disruptive behavior disorders, aggression, and brain development. Collectively, the authors present an argument for the merits of a male-specific model of mental health care to advance the overall well-being of this population.ConclusionsMen’s mental health should be recognized as a social issue as much as a medical issue, with special attention paid to problems such as unemployment, familial disruption, and substance abuse. These problems, and especially those of major societal impact including violence and suicide which are much more frequently the product of male youth and men, should have more male-tailored options for service provision that respond to men’s mental health needs.

U2 - 10.1007/s12519-018-0155-5

DO - 10.1007/s12519-018-0155-5

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 29679360

SN - 1708-8569

VL - 14

SP - 224

EP - 232

JO - World Journal of Pediatrics

JF - World Journal of Pediatrics

IS - 3

ER -