The role of nursing in maintaining adolescent mental well-being
A mixed-methods study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14528/snr.2026.60.2.3341Keywords:
mental wellness, primary school students, secondary school students, health careAbstract
Introduction: Adolescents' mental well-being depends on the level of social support they receive from their family, peers, teachers, and healthcare professionals. Although nurses are often the first to recognise distress and provide support, their role in promoting adolescent mental health is often under-researched. This study examines the influence of social support on adolescent mental well-being, with particular emphasis on the role of nurses.
Methods: A mixed methods approach was used. The quantitative part of the research involved the KIDSCREEN-27 and WEMWBS questionnaires administered to a randomly selected sample of 2,972 adolescents from primary and secondary schools in Slovenia. The qualitative part of the research involved a focus group with adolescents.
Results: The findings indicate a significant positive correlation between adolescents' mental well-being and social support. Primary school adolescents identified parents as the most important individuals for their mental well-being, while secondary school adolescents placed greater importance on friends. Adolescents recognised nurses as trustworthy individuals who listen, offer advice, provide reassurance, and contribute to a sense of security and acceptance through their professional knowledge.
Discussion and conclusion: The results confirm that nursing is an important part of the social support network for adolescents. Nurses, through their educational, therapeutic, and supportive roles, significantly contribute to strengthening mental health. Involving nurses in preventive and supportive programmes for adolescents is essential to developing a holistic approach to mental health.
Downloads
References
Acoba, E. F. (2024). Social support and mental health: The mediating role of perceived stress. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Article 1330720. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1330720 PMid:38449744; PMCid:PMC10915202
Ali, M. M., West, K., Teich, J. L., Lynch, S., Mutter, R., & Dubenitz, J. (2019). Utilization of mental health services in educational setting by adolescents in the United States. Journal of School Health, 89(5), 393–401. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12753 PMid:30883761
Alshammari, A. S., Piko, B. F., & Fitzpatrick, K. M. (2021). Social support and adolescent mental health and well-being among Jordanian students. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 26(1), 211–223. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2021.1908375
Jönsson, J., Malm, M., Bengtsson-Tops, A., & Garmy, P. (2017). School nurses' experiences working with students with mental health problems: A qualitative study. The Journal of School Nursing, 35(3), 203–209. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059840517744019 PMid:29169289
Kodeks etike v zdravstveni negi Slovenije (2024). Zbornica zdravstvene in babiške nege Slovenije – Zveza strokovnih društev medicinskih sester, babic in zdravstvenih tehnikov Slovenije.
Loheide-Niesmann, L., Vrijkotte, T. G. M., De Rooij, S. R., Wiers, R. W., & Huizink, A. (2021). Associations between autonomic nervous system activity and risk-taking and internalizing behavior in young adolescents. Psychophysiology, 58(9), Article e13882. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.13882 PMid:34145912; PMCid:PMC8459221
MacKean, G. (2011). Mental health and well-being in postsecondary education settings: A literature and environmental scan to support planning and action in Canada. http://www.cacuss.ca/_Library/documents/Post_Sec_Final_Report
Mallya, A., Koppad, R. & Kumar, P. (2023). Depression, anxiety, and stress among urban and rural adolescents in Shivamogga, Karnataka. F1000Research, 12, Article 1583. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.139603.3 PMid:38948506; PMCid:PMC11211729
Maučec Zakotnik, J. & Drnovšek, M. Z. (2021). Nacionalni program duševnega zdravja 2018-2028, Program MIRA in Centri za duševno zdravje. In: P. Vračko & U. Kolar (Eds.). Dosežki v javnem zdravju v Sloveniji. Nacionalni inštitut za javno zdravje.
McAllister, M. (2019). Nurses need to step up to improve child and adolescent mental health globally. Contemporary Nurse, 55(4/5), 275–277. https://doi.org/10.1080/10376178.2019.1681901 PMid:31617821
Moen, Ø. L., & Jacobsen, I. C. R. (2022). School nurses' experiences in dealing with adolescents having mental health problems. SAGE Open Nursing, 8, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1177/23779608221124411 PMid:36090541; PMCid:PMC9449503
Newman, I. & Ramlo, S. (2010). Using Q methodology and Q factor analysis in mixes methods research. In: A. Tashakkori & C. Teddlie (Eds.), Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social & Behaviour research (2nd ed.). Sage.
O'Reilly, M., Dogra, N., Hughes, J., Reilly, P., George, R., & Whiteman, N. (2019). Potential of social media in promoting mental health in adolescents. Health Promotion International, 34(5), 981–991. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/day056 PMid:30060043; PMCid:PMC6904320
Polit, D. F. & Beck, C. T. (2017). Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice (10th ed.). Walters Kluwer.
Qualtrics. (2018). Calculating sample size. https://www.qualtrics.com/articles/strategy-research/calculating-sample-size/
Ravens-Sieberer, U., Auquier, P., Erhart, M., Gosch, A., Rajmil, L., Bruil, J., Power, M., Duer, W., Cloetta, B., Czemy, L., Mazur, J., Czimbalmos, A., Tountas, Y., Hagquist, C., Kilroe, J., & the European KIDSCREEN Group (2007). The KIDSCREEN-27 quality of life measure for children and adolescents: Psychometric results from a cross-cultural survey in 13 European Countries. Quality of Life Research, 16(8), 1347–1356. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-007-9240-2 PMid:17668292
Ringdal, R. et al. (2018). Validation of two versions of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale among Norwegian adolescents. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 46(7), 718–725. https://doi.org/10.1177/1403494817735391 PMid:29017402
Roach, A. (2018). Supportive peer relationships and mental health in adolescence: An integrative review. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 39(9), 723–737. https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840.2018.1496498 PMid:30252560
Scardera, S., Perret, L. C., Ouellet-Morin, I., Gariépy, G., Juster, R.-P., Boivin, M., Turecki, G., Tremblay, R. E., Côté, S., & Geoffroy, M.-C. (2020). Association of social support during adolescence with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation in young adults. JAMA Network Open, 3(12), Article e2027491. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.27491 PMid:33275154; PMCid:PMC7718598
Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia. (2017). Statopis: statistični pregled Slovenije 2017. https://www.stat.si/StatWeb/File/DocSysFile/9743
Stekhoven, D. J. (2016). Package ‘missForest'. https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/missForest/missForest.pdf
Strauss, A. L. & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Sage.
Swann, C., Telenta, J., Draper, G., Liddle, S., Fogarty, A., Hurley, D., & Vella, S. L. (2018). Youth sport as a context for supporting mental health: Adolescent male perspectives. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 35, 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2017.11.008
The Government Office for Science. (2008). Mental capital and well-being: Making the most of ourselves in the 21st century. The Government Office for Science.
US National Institute for Health. (2019). What is mental health? www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health
Vrkić, A. (2018). Tjelesna aktivnost i kvaliteta života studentica završnih godina učiteljskog fakulteta [magistrska naloga, Sveučilište u Zagrebu].
World Health Organization (WHO). (2014). Adolescent health. http://www.who.int/topics/adolescent_health/en/
World Health Organization (WHO). (2023). Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents (AA-HA!): Guidance to support country implementation. World Health Organization.
World Medical Association. (2013). World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. Journal of the American Medical Association, 310(20), 2191–2194. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.281053 PMid:24141714
Wright, K. M., & McKeown, M. (Eds.). (2018). Essentials of mental health nursing. Sage.
Zheng, M. (2015). Conceptualization of cross-sectional mixed methods studies in health science: A methodological review. International Journal of Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods, 3(2), 66–87. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.24477.33763
Žnidaršič, A. (2013). Vodnik po SPSS-u: delovna verzija. http://doczz.net/doc/6893519/vodnik-po-spss-u-delovna-verzija--2--anjaznidaršic
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Slovenian Nursing Review
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
As the author undersigned hereby, I transfer, assign, or otherwise convey the following authorship rights as comprised in the Copyright and Related Rights Act (CRRA) to the Slovenian Nursing Review, Ob železnici 30A, 1000 Ljubljana: the right of reproduction - the exclusive right to fix the work in a material medium or in another copy directly or indirectly, temporarily or permanently, by any means and in any digital form, in whole or in part (CRRA, Article 23); the right of distribution (CRRA, Article 24); the right of making a work available and accessible through the internet (CRRA, Article 32a); the right of transformation, especially the exclusive right to translate a pre-existing work (CRRA, Article 33). The transfer of author rights applies to the article in its entirety, including pictorial and/or graphic works and possible supplements. The transfer of rights is exclusive and unlimited in duration or territory.
