August 12 has been designated by the United Nations as International Youth Day, celebrating the contributions of young people (aged 15–24) to all areas of global development. The 2025 theme, “Local Youth Action for the Sustainable Development Goals and Beyond”, highlights how youth contribute to progress as agents of change within their communities.
Young people question and transform realities they perceive as unjust. By taking a stand and engaging in dialogue spaces, they have brought attention to social issues and contributed to solutions that have led to concrete improvements in their communities.
In recent years, there has been growing attention on youth mental health, recognising it as a key pillar for their well-being and their ability to contribute to society. This has made it clear that there is a need to provide safe spaces where they feel respected, heard, and supported in addressing their mental health needs. However, some initiatives—presented as supportive of youth mental health—end up involving them only superficially or exposing them to research led by adults that excludes their voices and produces little or no real improvement in their mental health.
Actions proven to improve youth mental health share two key elements, which are also requirements for current scientific research in any field:
- Social impact – This refers to demonstrating that interventions aimed at improving youth mental health yield proven positive results. Young people have the right to access scientific knowledge about which interventions truly help their mental health, and to benefit from them. They are not test subjects for unproven ideas.
- Co-creation – This requires ongoing dialogue with young people in all processes that affect them. They themselves must determine whether an action is making a positive difference for them. This evaluation should be present throughout all stages, including interpretation and assessment, rather than being limited to answering interviews or questionnaires, for the benefit of researchers.
Research and intervention models in the mental health field that fail to meet these requirements risk not only failing to bring improvements, but also worsening young people’s mental health.
Predoctoral researcher at the University of Barcelona