Mental health wellbeing is a crucial aspect of young adults life as it can affect their academics, and ability to be well-rounded successful productive citizens. Many young people have poor mental health mainly due to academic stress, witnessing or experiencing Intimate partner violence (IPVP) in their homes, social disadvantage, abuse, abandonment, and bullying (Kirker et al., 2022). Even though youths mental health problems are often overlooked, if effective intervention is not provided, many wind up with lasting harmful effects. Some develop behavioral problems, suicidal ideation, intrusive thoughts, and substance abuse, antisocial behaviors that prevent them from being socially competent individuals (Appleton et al., 2021). In some extreme cases, the youths commit suicide especially if they feel extreme stress, or experience traumatic experience like rape, cyber bullying, neglect or physical abuse.

Over the years, many studies focused on mental health services that are provided for adults without considering the needs of young adults (Meherali, et al., 2021). However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue of mental health problem among youths gained more attention because of isolation that worsened the symptoms. The lockdowns that were recommended by the CDC caused many youths to stay indoors without any form of one-on-one interaction with friends. Many relied too much on social media, which caused some to develop body image issues, depression and anxiety, and bullying or suicidal ideation (Hollis, 2022). Academic stress was also a major issue especially because students were forced to adapt fast to using technologies in the new environment. Although some students adapted fast, many are continuing to recover from the negative consequences that the pandemic had on their mental wellbeing. Unfortunately, there were limited mental health resources where such youths could seek support. Many could not access the services due to the long waits, because the clinic specialists were unable to keep up with the surge in demand (Hollis, 2022). Others relied on virtual therapy or online therapy although the effectiveness of such services had not been thoroughly researched.

In addition to lack of adequate resources and difficulty accessing mental health services, studies show that other factors such as stigmatization of mental health problems, poor interactions with the mental health practitioners, misconceptions and feelings of judgment, and feelings of shame among others prevent youths from seeking mental health services (Appleton et al., 2021). Consequently, they continue experiencing increased trauma symptoms, depression and anxiety levels among other mental health symptoms. Given the limited amount of research that has been conducted focusing on youths mental health, it is crucial to examine the needs of the group to ensure that resources are made available for the group. This means first identifying the challenges that these youths encounter when trying to seek mental health services through both the conventional means and digital technologies to design better systems that support youths.

Purpose of the study

Recent studies show that little attention has been paid to mental health services available to young people despite the lasting impacts of metal health problems (Kirker, et al., 2022). This study thus tries to bridge the existing gap by investigating the challenges that youths face when trying to access mental health services both online and offline. It helps to recommend the most viable solutions to ensure that youths receive effective support services to improve their wellbeing. The research could for instance reveal the most effective digital services that could be recommended to youths. It could also give an insight into designing interventions or approaches that are tailored specifically to meet the needs of youths.

Methodology

Main Research Question

What obstacles do young people confront when attempting to obtain mental health services both virtually and through the conventional means?

Hypothesis

The existing mental health services lack interventions designed to meet the specific needs of the youths

There are limited resources available for youths and few professionals who have the necessary training to meet their unique demands in a non-judgmental, competent manner

Only a small number of youth-specific evidence-based mental health interventions are available online

Paradigm

The positivist paradigm, which views reality as objective as opposed to subjective, will be used in this study. The underlying premise is that an objective reality exists and that knowledge is not derived from human perceptions but rather from observation and experimentation (Park et al., 2020). Quantitative research tends to be more in line with positivist paradigm.

Study Design

A quantitative research...

…group. This means first identifying the challenges that these youths encounter when trying to seek mental health services through both the conventional means and digital technologies to design better systems that support youths.

Purpose of the study

Recent studies show that little attention has been paid t mental health services available to young people despite the lasting impacts of metal health problems (Kirker, et al., 2022). This study thus tries to bridge the existing gap by investigating the challenges that youths face when trying to access mental health services both online and offline. It helps to recommend the most viable solutions to ensure that youths receive effective support services to improve their wellbeing. The research could for instance reveal the most effective digital services that could be recommended to youths. It could also give an insight into designing interventions or approaches that are tailored specifically to meet the needs of youths.

Methodology

Main Research Question

What obstacles do young people confront when attempting to obtain mental health services both virtually and through the conventional means?

Hypothesis

The existing mental health services lack interventions designed to meet the specific needs of the youths

There are limited resources available for youths and few professionals who have the necessary training to meet their unique demands in a non-judgmental, competent manner

Only a small number of youth-specific evidence-based mental health interventions are available online

Paradigm

The positivist paradigm, which views reality as objective as opposed to subjective, will be used in this study. The underlying premise is that an objective reality exists and that knowledge is not derived from human perceptions but rather from observation and experimentation (Park et al., 2020). Quantitative research tends to be more in line with positivist paradigm.

Study Design

A quantitative research design will be used for the study, in which data will be gathered using a survey. The survey will be in form of a questionnaire, and it will enable to get honest views from many participants. Unlike an interview, questionnaires allow anonymity, which means there is no pressure to give socially desirable answers. A large sample size would also enable generalization.

Population and Sample

The sample will comprise of students from various College campuses in Florida. There will be an equal amount of…