Up to one fifth of Irish young Irish Adults have been shown to suffer from a mental disorder on surveys. Not much research has been done to explore the cause of this alarmingly high figure. One thing that is common knowledge however is that adolescence can be a stressful and vulnerable time. Maybe stressful life events could have a link to mental illnesses?
The HORIZONS study would like to explore if there is a link between stressful events in teenager’s lives (such as exams, a family death etc) and mental disorders. The study would examine 1122 teenagers aged between 18 and 19 years from counties Cork and Kerry who have been involved in a previous European psychiatric study called SEYLE in 2010.
These young adults would be asked questions in an anonymous on-line survey asking whether they have ever felt stressed and if so when. The survey would also ask questions related to psychotic symptoms, for example, have they ever felt depressed, or do they ever have wild mood swings etc.
The HORIZONS study would then collect the data from these surveys and check if the teenagers had developed any psychiatric symptoms or if they have had a stressful life event since the SEYLE survey. The pattern of occurrence for both would be examined and the study would aim to see if there is a pattern between the two elements.
The aim of my study would be to provide importance about the causes of mental illness in Irish young people.
