W08-04 - Strenghts and Challenges of Mental Health Promotion Through the Internet

Abstract

There is no health without mental health. This WHO slogan symbolizes that that any health promotion should include mental health components. It is evident that effective mental health promotion techniques are successful in increasing improved mental health and well-being among adolescents. Research has demonstrated that the Internet and the media are effective tools to disseminate mental health information and education to adolescents; however, fundamental issues still remain in this procedure. If used improperly, the information disseminated on the Internet can result in serious detrimental consequences on adolescents’ mental health and well-being. On the other hand, if the information is supportive, informative and educational, the effects can be positive. Many adolescents that suffer from social isolation reach out on the Internet as a way to cope with feelings of loneliness and social exclusion. Therefore, there is a unique opportunity to utilize the Internet as a means of communication to reach vulnerable adolescents who suffer from social exclusion, in which cases otherwise go undetected. Moreover, given that Europe, as a whole, is an extensive multicultural environment, requires considerable thought in preparing and adapting culturally-specific interventions that can be implemented in each respective European country. For this reason, resources used in a mental health intervention across Europe necessitate a culturally diverse partnership for materials to be translated and culturally adapted to the respective European region or area.