Abstract

Concern about the apparent increase in mental health problems among adolescents and young people has intensified considerably in recent years, with it being common nowadays to refer to a "mental health crisis" in this age group. Available epidemiological studies confirm an increase in internalized behaviors within this population. This article proposes that the sociocultural process of "social psychiatrization" in contemporary society is an indispensable contextual factor for analyzing the mental health situation of adolescents and young people and for understanding the scope and significance of this apparent crisis. It is argued that a risk of not paying enough attention to this context is the unjustified and iatrogenic psychopathologization of adolescent distress, ignoring relevant social factors that are important for understanding the causes of the distress and for developing comprehensive responses to it.