Exploring Mental Health Awareness, Barriers, and Support for Young Adults in India

Background and Purpose: College life for young adults (18-29 years old) in India is marked by new developmental transitions, with familial and societal expectations often negatively affecting mental health and future well-being. Inadequate infrastructure, a general lack of knowledge about mental health, and widespread stigma discourage Indian young adults from sharing their feelings and seeking help (Elkington et al., 2012: Gaiha et al., 2020).While initiatives to improve young adults’ metal health and the growth of digital mental health services have emerged, their uptake remains limited due to language barriers (mostly in English), universal targeting, and low awareness (Parikh et al., 2022). Understanding what language Indian young adults use to communicate their mental health issues and the types of services they need will lay the foundation for designing and implementing user-centered mental health care. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the perspectives of Indian college young adults regarding their mental health awareness, the barriers that they face in accessing services, and their knowledge of digital mental health tools.

Methods: Twenty-one focused group discussions were conducted with 104 college young adults in two undeserved regions in India. Responses were translated from Hindi to English and transcribed and coded using Taguette, a qualitative data analysis software. In the first step, line-by-line coding (in-vivo), an open coding method, was used and followed the second step, pattern coding to identify broader themes and categories.

Findings: Findings show that young adults’ mental health is influenced by both internal emotional regulation (e.g. mood swings, emotional suppression, etc.) and external pressures (e.g. academic and familial expectations). These create high levels of stress and overwhelming emotions, affecting the need for coping strategies like avoidance or self-talk. Social support, particularly from close friends and family, helps with emotional regulation. However, communication barriers (e.g. generational gaps) often hinder open discussions and help-seeking behaviors. While young adults use digital tools like mental health apps for help-help, mistrust and privacy concerns limit their use. Additionally, the stigma related to mental health and social pressure to succeed contributes to young adult’s reluctance to share their struggles or seek professional support. Our findings show that this reluctance often leads to mislabeling of mental health conditions and avoidance of treatment.

Implications: Our findings have several implications for social workers and mental health provers in India. Firstly, there is a critical need to promote open dialogue about mental health within families, schools, and communities. Improving mental health literacy among parents and creating support systems tailored to young adult-specific challenges can help alleviate academic, financial, and social pressures. Additionally, initiatives to reduce stigma surrounding mental health are essential. Encouraging young adults to utilize safe, accessible digital mental health tools is also recommended. Finally, our findings highlight the need for user-centered mental health services that integrate both technology and human support in an affordable and accessible manner. This will ensure that Indian college young adults address their mental health challenges in a way that is not only socially acceptable, but also reliable and convenient.