Karen Ariza-Salazar

In low- and middle-income countries such as Colombia, the increasing prevalence of mental disorders in youth has driven interest in school-based community-based psychosocial interventions aimed at prevention and wellness promotion. However, little is yet known about how key capacities such as resilience and compassion are perceived in these contexts, where patterns of access to resources are limited and cultural dynamics may differ significantly from those documented in Western, educated, industrialized, wealthy, and democratic countries from which most of the existing research originates. This study explored perceptions of resilience and compassion among children, adolescents and teachers in educational institutions in three departments of Colombia. A qualitative observational study with a phenomenological approach was conducted within the framework of the intervention “Conmigo, Contigo y Con Todos – 3Cs” (with me, with you, and with everyone) which analyzed 833 focus groups: 166 with teachers and 667 with students in three measurement moments. The findings reveal that resilience and compassion are dynamic capacities shaped by emotional experiences and sociocultural context. The 3Cs Model facilitated processes of self-reflection, emotional regulation, reinforcement of mutual care, a deeper sense of community, and a reconfiguration of the school environment as a space for collective care and emotional safety. In addition, there was evidence of a re-signification of suffering among both teachers and students. These results underscore the value of contextually relevant, community-based, school-centered interventions for promoting mental health awareness and enhancing socio-emotional competencies in educational settings affected by adversity.

Background: Experience sampling methods (ESMs) have been used in clinical research to collect data on emotional and behavioral states in real-life contexts among different populations. Although the use of ESMs in mental health has increased, it has not been applied to larger samples of young people in disadvantaged urban settings. Objective: This study aimed to determine the extent to which mood status scores (happiness and nervousness) vary during a week, as a function of having or not having symptoms of depression or anxiety, in a sample of adolescents and young adults in the cities of Buenos Aires, Bogotá, and Lima. A secondary objective was to identify factors associated with mood scores, including sociodemographics, quality of life, and daily activities. Methods: This study was part of the Building Resilience and Resources to Reduce Mental Distress in Young People in Latin America research program, which focuses on mental health resources for young people. Participants (n=143) aged 15‐24 years completed daily ESM assessments over a week using the mobile app, resulting in 5246 reports. Data were analyzed using descriptive analyses with 2-tailed t tests and c hi-square tests, and multilevel linear regression was used to examine associations between depressive or anxiety symptoms, mood variability, and factors influencing mean mood. Finally, Spearman correlation assessed the relationship between happiness and nervousness. Results: The analysis revealed that depressive or anxiety symptoms were not significantly associated with increased variability in mood scores (happiness P=.40 and nervousness P=.84). However, males exhibited greater variability in happiness and nervousness scores (P<.001) than females. Additionally, young people showed higher variability in nervousness than adolescents (P=.02). Regarding average happiness scores, young adults reported higher average happiness than adolescents (β=.604; P=.003). Engaging in structured activities (eg, sports, music lessons, and dance classes) was associated with increased happiness (β=.266; P=.01). In contrast, instrumental activities (eg, cleaning, shopping, meal preparation, or taking medication; β=−.144; P=.02) and work-related tasks (β=−.205; P=.01) were linked to lower happiness and higher nervousness (β=.387; P<.001). Quality of life was positively correlated with happiness (β=.486; P<.001) and negatively correlated with nervousness (β=−.273; P=.005). Finally, as for average scores, a strong negative correlation was found between happiness and nervousness (rs=−0.92; P<.001). The simple multilevel analysis showed that for each point of happiness, nervousness decreased by 0.45 points (95% CI −0.48 to −0.42; t₃=−41.7; P<.001; SE 0.01). Conclusions: Our study reveals that depressive and anxiety symptoms do not significantly affect the variability in predicted happiness and nervousness scores. However, we observed that demographic factors, such as gender and age, play a role in emotional variability.

Background: Involving people with lived experience in research has been increasingly recognised as a priority. This article details the development and implementation of three Lived Experience Advisory Panels (LEAP) and reports their evaluation of the experience. The LEAPs involved young people from Latin America with experiences of emotional distress, aimed at advising a youth mental health research programme. Methods: Online meetings were conducted within each LEAP in Bogotá, Lima and Buenos Aires to gather feedback at different stages of the programme. Additional activities included a Joint LEAP meeting and a focus group to explore the members’ experiences of LEAP participation. Results: During the LEAP meetings, 25 members (Bogotá n = 9, Lima n = 10, Buenos Aires n = 6) provided feedback on study data collection tools and materials, recruitment and dissemination strategies, and discussed preliminary results, which were significant in shaping study materials and processes. They valued the comfort and connection with researchers and peers during discussions about mental health topics, as well as the opportunity to inform a large-scale project with their lived experiences. However, challenges in the recruitment and engagement led to fluctuating participation, while socioeconomic and cultural barriers may have influenced access. Conclusions: The implementation of the LEAPs is an example of involving young Latin Americans with experiences of emotional distress in research. Future efforts should focus on overcoming structural limitations and fostering equitable collaboration, emphasising the need for youth perspectives in mental health research, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Many young people achieve recovery from mental health problems by using strategies to manage emotional distress and enhance well-being. Given that little is known about the functions of these strategies, especially in Latin American countries, this study aims to describe the usefulness of the resources used by youth from deprived urban neighborhoods in Bogotá (Colombia), Buenos Aires (Argentina), and Lima (Perú) in managing emotional distress. Methods: 112 in-depth interviews about strategies for dealing with emotional distress and their perceived function were conducted with young people from three Latin American cities. The sample included young adults and adolescents in a longitudinal cohort study. A thematic content analysis was carried out. Results: Participants identify different functions linked to their strategies to cope with emotional distress or increase their well-being. However, "coping with distress," "perceived support," and "distraction" are the three main functions of the strategies used by them in situations of emotional distress. Each of these functions comprises several aspects, some of which overlap between functions, such as motivation, emotional expression, companionship, and regulation. Conclusion: The variety of functions linked to the strategies used by young people to cope with emotional distress or enhance their well-being could guide the facilitation of a favorable social and interpersonal context through public policies and a community approach that promotes young people's access to strategies to cope with emotional distress.

BACKGROUND Experience Sampling Methods (ESM) have been used in clinical research to collect data on emotional and behavioural states in real life contexts among different populations. Although the use of ESM in mental health has increased, it has not been applied to larger samples of young people in disadvantaged urban settings. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine the extent to which mood status scores (happiness and nervous) vary during a week as a function of having or not having symptoms of depression and/or anxiety in a sample of adolescents and young adults in the cities of Buenos Aires (Argentina), Bogotá (Colombia) and Lima (Peru). A secondary objective was to identify factors associated with mood scores, including socio-demographics, quality of life, and daily activities. METHODS The study was part of the OLA research programme, which focuses on mental health resources for young people. Participants (n=143) aged 15-24 completed daily ESM assessments over a week using the mobile App. Data were analysed using multilevel linear regression to evaluate associations between depressive/anxiety symptoms, mood status variability, and factors influencing mood average. RESULTS The analysis revealed that depressive and/or anxiety symptoms were not significantly associated with increased variability in mood scores. However, males exhibited greater variability in happiness and nervousness scores than females. Additionally, young people showed higher variability in nervousness than adolescents. Regarding average happiness scores, young adults reported higher average happiness than adolescents. Engaging in structured activities (e.g., sports, music lessons, dance classes) was associated with increased happiness. In contrast, instrumental activities (e.g., cleaning, shopping, meal preparation, taking medication) and work-related tasks were linked to lower happiness and higher nervousness. Quality of life was positively correlated with happiness and negatively correlated with nervousness. Finally, as for average scores, a strong negative correlation was found between happiness and nervousness. CONCLUSIONS Our study reveals that depressive and anxiety symptoms do not significantly affect the variability in predicted happiness and nervousness scores. However, we observed that demographic factors, such as gender and age, play a role in emotional variability. CLINICALTRIAL