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. 2024 Apr 10:12:1342361.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1342361. eCollection 2024.

Mental health among adolescents exposed to social inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean: a scoping review

Johanna Carolina Sánchez-Castro  1 , Laura Pilz González  1 , Saidy Eliana Arias-Murcia  2 , Viviana Andrea Mahecha-Bermeo  3 , Christiane Stock  1 , Katherina Heinrichs  1
Affiliations

Mental health among adolescents exposed to social inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean: a scoping review

Johanna Carolina Sánchez-Castro et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Background and objective: Adolescents from Latin America and the Caribbean grow up in a context of social inequality, which diminishes their well-being and leads to impaired emotional-cognitive development. To understand the problem, it is important to synthesize the available research about it. This study aims to explore the knowledge about adolescents' mental health in Latin America and the Caribbean exposed to social inequality.

Methods: A systematic scoping review was conducted encompassing a search in five databases (Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus, and LILACS) in June 2022. Articles of various typologies were included without time limit. After two rounds of screening, relevant data were manually extracted and synthesized into self-constructed themes using thematic analysis.

Results: Out of 8,825 retrieved records, 42 papers were included in the final review, with a predominance of quantitative approaches. The synthesis revealed two main analytical themes: (a) defining social inequality, wherein intersecting inequalities produce discrimination and determine conditions for social vulnerability; (b) social inequality and mental health, which highlights the association between socio-structural difficulties and emotional problems, amplifying vulnerability to mental ill health and poor mental health care.

Conclusion: The scientific evidence reveals that social inequality is related to impaired well-being and mental ill health on the one hand and a lack of access to mental health care on the other hand.

Keywords: adolescents; mental health; psychological phenomena; social discrimination; social inequality; social sciences; social vulnerability; well-being.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of selection process (designed on miro.com).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Theme 1: Defining social inequality (designed on miro.com).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Theme 2: Social inequality and mental health (designed on miro.com).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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