Introduction to Addressing Mental Health on Curaçao  for Website

Recently there has been an increase in news relating to Adolescent mental health in Curacao. This attention has

brought several concerns and trends in adolescent behaviors to light. As a society, there has not been enough

attention to the necessary changes to meet the current needs of mental health, in adolescents specifically.

With the rise of worldwide depression rates in teens and the influx of social media, a question arises: How can we

as a society better understand and help our youth to manage themselves and not fall into these very negative

trends of self-doubt and loneliness in this age of technology?

The Gen-irators, being secondary school researchers of the Think To DO Institute, have taken note of this increase

in mental health issues and, hence, have done extensive research to better understand and explain this

phenomenon. In this issue brief, the root causes of these mental health issues as well as what can be done to

remedy them will be discussed. The research is focused on Curaçao and on its cultural impacts. 

Fundamental to the research is to first express the causes of mental health issues, to look at

genetic and environmental factors that contribute to mental health issues, to consider cultural contexts that

influence attitudes about mental health, and to look at best practices to intervene on these health risks by parents

and schools. Finally, it is important to consider mental health policy recommendations that can reduce the

negative consequences of mental health risks.