INDIANA – For years, conversations about youth mental health understandably have focused on crises. Rates of rising anxiety, depression, loneliness, and stress among young people have captured national attention. Families, schools, healthcare providers, and community organizations across Indiana continue working hard to respond to such growing needs.
But alongside those important conversations, another question deserves equal attention: What helps young people thrive?
Research increasingly points us toward answers. Strong relationships, stable environments, healthy routines, and supportive communities are not “nice extras” in a child’s life. They are protective factors that strengthen mental health and help young people navigate challenges with greater resilience and hope.
Most adults can still name the people who, as children, made them feel safe, encouraged, understood, or valued. A parent who listened. A coach who noticed. A teacher who believed in them. A neighbor who checked in. Those relationships matter more than we sometimes realize.
Research backs this up. Studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Journal of Pediatrics, and other leading sources continue to show that young people experience stronger mental health outcomes when they have supportive adults in their lives, feel connected at school, and experience environments where they feel emotionally and physically safe.
At the most basic level, children and adolescents need what all humans need to function well: sufficient sleep, nutritious food, physical activity, stability, and consistent care. While these may sound like common-sense supports, they become harder to maintain amid financial stress, family instability, substance abuse, untreated mental health concerns, or overwhelming schedules that affect both children and adults.
Research also highlights the importance of parent and caregiver communication. Young people benefit when trusted adults know where they are spending time, who they are with, what pressures they may be experiencing, and how they are doing emotionally. Those conversations do not require perfection. They require presence, consistency, and trust.
Importantly, families should not carry this responsibility alone.
Young people also need schools and communities that foster belonging and connection. Students who feel supported by adults at school, engaged in activities, and connected to peers report significantly better mental health outcomes. Conversely, environments marked by bullying, discrimination, exclusion, or chronic stress can deepen emotional struggles and feelings of isolation.
This matters for all children, but especially for those youth who experience marginalization, including young people facing economic hardship or community violence. Creating supportive environments means examining not only individual behaviors, but also the systems and practices that shape daily experiences for young people.
Schools across Indiana continue expanding efforts to support student well-being through counseling services, social-emotional learning, mentoring, and stronger school-community partnerships. Community organizations, faith communities, afterschool programs, and youth-serving nonprofits are also stepping forward in important ways. These efforts matter because mental health is not shaped by a single conversation or program. It is shaped by the environments young people experience every day.
The encouraging news is that protective factors are not mysterious or unattainable. Many are built through ordinary moments and consistent relationships.
- A family dinner without phones.
- A mentor who keeps showing up.
- A coach who asks a second question.
- A teacher who notices a behavior change.
- A neighbor who learns a child’s name.
- A young person who feels included instead of invisible.
At Indiana Youth Institute, we often talk about the importance of connection and belonging in a child’s life. Our state’s future depends not only on helping young people avoid harm but also on helping them experience hope, purpose, stability, and meaningful relationships.
Youth mental health is not solely about responding when something goes wrong. It is also about building communities where young people know they matter long before they reach a crisis point.
That work belongs to all of us.
by Tami Silverman, President & CEO of Indiana Youth Institute
