The Urgent Need for Culturally Relevant Mental Health Literacy for Adolescents: A Scoping Review

The mental health of adolescents in the United States has been severely impacted by a confluence of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, mass shootings, climate change, and social injustice, leading to a nationwide crisis. Consequently, rates of suicidality, substance use, anxiety, and depression are on the rise. Improving access to mental health services and promoting mental health literacy (MHL) are needed to address this crisis, particularly for underrepresented and underserved adolescents. This scoping review aimed to identify existing research on culturally relevant MHL (CRMHL) for adolescents in the United States between 2014 and 2024, with a focus on studies that target or assess MHL among underrepresented youth. Search results yielded 3,024 articles, yet only 74 articles included MHL. From those 74 articles, 5 studies met our inclusion criteria. The findings highlight the urgent need for more research on CRMHL and its implementation, as well as policy changes to support adolescent mental health. We suggest next steps for future research and practice on CRMHL in an increasingly oppressive climate for underrepresented youth.