Co-Creation of Mental Health Intervention for Adolescents: A Social Hackathon Approach

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Adolescent mental health problems emerge early, remain undertreated, and are shaped by diverse contextual stressors. In response to calls for more youth-centered prevention, school-based health promotion, and participatory intervention design, this study explored which mental health-related problems internationally mobile adolescents prioritize and which solution ideas they generate in a structured co-creation setting, including where movement- and sport-related elements are embedded. Methods: A qualitative, participatory study was conducted during a 24 h social hackathon embedded in the Youth Empowerment Seminar for exchange students. Hackathon materials from 43 projects were analyzed using content-structuring qualitative content analysis following Kuckartz. Results: Adolescents most frequently framed problems in terms of self-image, stress and anxiety, belonging, and harassment. Solutions clustered around low-threshold group formats, while implementation segments focused strongly on staffing, funding, barriers, and feasibility. Cross-domain analyses suggested recurring problem-solution matches, such as loneliness with hobby or interest groups. Conclusions: Social hackathons can surface adolescent-prioritized mental health concerns and translate them into context-sensitive prevention ideas. The findings mainly point to social and psychosocial solution pathways, while some proposals additionally positioned shared activity or movement contexts as potentially supportive for well-being. These results provide a starting point for subsequent school-based prototyping and feasibility work.