Listening to adolescents: Building gender-responsive mental health systems in India
What if the starting point for addressing adolescent mental health was not another program, framework, or service—but a conversation with adolescents themselves?
如果解决青少年心理健康问题的出发点不是另一个计划、框架或服务，而是与青少年本身的对话，结果会怎样？
In my 26 years of working with adolescents and young people in India, I have often seen young people struggle with mental health issues but mostly keep it to themselves or consult AI instead of accessing support from parents, peers, or professionals.
在我与印度青少年和年轻人一起工作的 26 年中，我经常看到年轻人与心理健康问题作斗争，但他们大多选择自己解决问题或咨询人工智能，而不是寻求父母、同龄人或专业人士的支持。
The scale of the global mental health challenge makes this issue even more urgent.
全球心理健康挑战的规模使这个问题变得更加紧迫。
Nearly 1.2 billion people worldwide are living with a mental disorder , nearly double the number recorded in 1990.
全球有近 12 亿人患有精神障碍，几乎是 1990 年记录数字的两倍。
Further, mental disorders disproportionately impact people aged 15-19 and women .
此外，精神障碍对 15-19 岁人群和女性的影响尤为严重。
1 in 7 adolescents aged 10-19 experience a mental health condition , yet many remain undiagnosed and unsupported .
七分之一的 10-19 岁青少年患有心理健康问题，但许多人仍未得到诊断和支持。
The prevalence of mental health concerns among Indian school-going adolescents reflects global trends, ranging from around 4 to 50% , depending on the population studied and assessment methods.
印度在校青少年心理健康问题的患病率反映了全球趋势，根据研究人群和评估方法，比例在 4% 到 50% 之间。
Some of the common concerns identified include anxiety, depression, and stress .
确定的一些常见问题包括焦虑、抑郁和压力。
The experience of mental health is also shaped by gender.
心理健康的经历也受到性别的影响。
A 2023 study of 1,213 Indian high school students found that female students reported significantly higher symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as lower well-being , than their male peers.
2023 年对 1,213 名印度高中生进行的一项研究发现，女学生的抑郁和焦虑症状明显高于男学生，但幸福感却较低。
A dolescence is a critical window for prevention and early intervention.
青春期是预防和早期干预的关键时期。
Yet, more than 90% of countries lack any mental health policy that includes children and adolescents.
然而，超过 90% 的国家缺乏任何涵盖儿童和青少年的心理健康政策。
India has legislated in this area earlier than many countries.
印度在这方面的立法早于许多国家。
In 2014, Indian policymakers established a rights-based vision for mental health care in the National Mental Health Policy , while in 2017, this right to mental health care and legal protection was further strengthened by the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 .
2014年，印度政策制定者在《国家精神卫生政策》中确立了基于权利的精神卫生保健愿景，而2017年，《2017年精神卫生保健法》进一步强化了这种获得精神卫生保健和法律保护的权利。
However, for adolescents, the translation of these commitments into meaningful, youth-centered support remains limited.
然而，对于青少年来说，将这些承诺转化为有意义的、以青少年为中心的支持仍然有限。
Shortages of trained mental health professionals and stigma around mental health in Indian society, for example , prevent young adults and adolescents from reaching for timely interventions and support .
例如，印度社会缺乏训练有素的心理健康专业人员以及围绕心理健康的耻辱，阻碍了年轻人和青少年及时寻求干预和支持。
Through my work at Pravah, which has engaged with more than 18 million people and supported around 800 youth-led initiatives, one lesson stands out: Solutions designed for young people are stronger when young people themselves help define the problem and shape the response.
我在 Pravah 的工作吸引了超过 1800 万人参与，并支持了大约 800 个青年主导的倡议，我从中学到了一个教训：当年轻人自己帮助定义问题并制定应对措施时，为年轻人设计的解决方案就会更强大。
The Mental Healthcare Act includes specific provisions for children and adolescents, but minors have been afforded a limited role in decisions concerning their own mental health care, including provisions in which guardians retain decisionmaking authority .
《精神卫生保健法》包括针对儿童和青少年的具体规定，但未成年人在有关其自身精神卫生保健的决策中的作用有限，包括监护人保留决策权的规定。
And further, young people were rarely involved in shaping these policies or putting them into practice, except for peer educators mentioned in one policy.
此外，除了一项政策中提到的同伴教育者之外，年轻人很少参与制定这些政策或将其付诸实践。
So, where do we start?
那么，我们从哪里开始呢？
The best place to enable a gender responsive mental health system in India can be schools .
在印度建立性别敏感的心理健康系统的最佳场所是学校。
Schools can help foster belongingness in adolescents and young adults, build resilience and allow them to create healthy relationships.
学校可以帮助培养青少年和年轻人的归属感、增强适应力并让他们建立健康的关系。
They can also build confidence so that they feel comfortable and safe enough to seek early support.
他们还可以建立信心，让自己感到足够舒适和安全，以便尽早寻求支持。
Yet, existing School Mental Health programmes (SMHPs) in India such as the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK), the School Health Programme (SHP), and Manodarpan, though offering structured interventions, face limitations in funding, workforce, stigma, and evaluative mechanisms .
然而，印度现有的学校心理健康计划 (SMHP)，如 Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK)、Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK)、学校健康计划 (SHP) 和 Manodarpan，虽然提供结构化干预措施，但面临资金、劳动力、耻辱和评估机制方面的限制。
Strengthening school capacity, training teachers, and engaging parents and communities would support early identification, intervention, and long-term mental well-being of adolescents .
加强学校能力、培训教师以及让家长和社区参与将支持青少年的早期识别、干预和长期心理健康。
As a 2026 Echidna Global Scholar, I am focusing my research on how adolescents’ experiences of mental health and well-being are heard and included in policy discussions, including how they vary across genders.
作为 2026 年针鼹全球学者，我的研究重点是青少年的心理健康和福祉经历如何被听取并纳入政策讨论，包括不同性别之间的差异。
I also plan to explore what these experiences suggest about building more effective, gender-responsive support for adolescent well-being in schools.
我还计划探讨这些经验对于为青少年在学校的福祉建立更有效、促进性别平等的支持有何建议。
The study will use a mixed-methods approach, surveying students from secondary schools in Hyderabad for quantitative analysis, and specially designed workshops with adolescents and interviews with key actors for qualitative insights.
该研究将采用混合方法，对海得拉巴中学的学生进行调查以进行定量分析，并专门为青少年设计研讨会，并对关键人物进行访谈以获得定性见解。
The goal is to reimagine schools as well-being ecosystems and provide adolescent evidence for gender-responsive mental health policy in Indian secondary schools.
目标是将学校重新构想为福祉生态系统，并为印度中学性别敏感的心理健康政策提供青少年证据。
The findings aim to bring adolescents’ lived experiences into public discourse and include them as decisionmakers and designers within it.
研究结果旨在将青少年的生活经历纳入公共讨论，并将他们作为决策者和设计者纳入其中。
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