Concepções de saúde e doença mental na perspectiva de jovens Brasileiros

Abstract

The study investigates young peopleconceptions of health and mental illness. The theoretical approach understands that the process of constructionof health and disease is influenced by individual, family and sociocultural factors. Participants were 1163young people of both sexes with a mean age of 15.84 years. A Self-administered questionnaire was formulatedin a previous study with young Portuguese-speaking Switzerland. Mental health and illness concepts wereinvestigated and also others issues about it. In the results, we found aspects of holist and traditional conceptsof mental health. Mental illness was characterized as an emotional disorder, revealing the influence of internaland relational experiences in the design of mental illness. Socioeconomic differences were observed in this concept.