Alaska's Adolescent Health Program

Key Initiatives

Current Projects

Publications & Resources

Mental Health & Wellness Promotion

Goals

Reduce the suicide mortality rate per 100,000 population, among the population aged 15-24 years from 25.0 (2010) to 23.5 by 2020.
Source: Healthy Alaskans 2020
Reduce the percentage of adolescents (high school students in grades 9-12) who felt so sad or hopeless every day for 2 weeks or more in a row that they stopped doing some usual activities during the past 12 months from 25.2% (2010) to 23% by 2020.
Source: Healthy Alaskans 2020

Important mental health habits—including coping, resilience and good judgment—help adolescents to achieve overall wellness and prepares them for positive mental health during adulthood. Although mood swings are common during this time period, approximately one in five adolescents in the U.S. have a diagnosable mental health disorder, such as depression and/or anxiety disorders. Family and friends can look for warning signs of mental health issues and encourage young people to seek help. Effective treatments exist and may involve a combination of psychotherapy and medication.

The Adolescent Health Program supports programming aimed at improving youth mental health and suicide prevention, however much of the current mental health and wellness promotion work is done through the State of Alaska Division of Behavioral Health and various community organizations.