S8 Ep2: Measuring Teen Mental Health Across 12 Nations - a Mind the Kids podcast

S8 Ep2: Measuring Teen Mental Health Across 12 Nations - a Mind the Kids podcast

From 'Mind the Kids': an ACAMH podcast by The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health

May 20, 2026 · 42 min · Season 8 · Episode 2

About this episode

The episode discusses adolescent mental health measurement across 12 countries, focusing on cultural challenges and global research priorities.

In this episode of Mind the Kids , Clara Faria is joined by Dr. Ariadna Albajara-Saenz and Dr. Amirah Wahdi to discuss adolescent mental health in low- and middle-income countries, drawing on findings from a major cross-country study published in JCPP Advances . The conversation explores mental health measurement across 12 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa and Southeast Asia, the challenges of comparing data across cultures, and why issues such as food insecurity, gender, and service access matter for global child and adolescent mental health research. Together, they examine the importance of culturally sensitive mental health measures, the complexities of conducting large-scale international surveys, and what future research should prioritise to improve understanding and support for young people worldwide. Read the paper ‘Mental health measures among adolescents in 12 low- and middle-income countries: Measurement invariance and cross-sectional analyses of Disrupting Harm survey data’ - https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.70087 Ariadna Albajara Sáenz, Sebastian Kurten, Jennifer Saxton, Daniel Kardefelt-Winther, Tamsin Ford, Amy Orben, Simon R. White First published: 04 December…

People in this episode

Host: Clara Faria

Guests: Dr. Ariadna Albajara-Saenz, Dr. Amirah Wahdi

Topics covered

  • adolescent mental health
  • cross-country study
  • culturally sensitive measures
  • food insecurity
  • gender issues
  • service access
  • global research

Keywords

  • teen mental health
  • low-income countries
  • mental health measurement
  • international surveys
  • cultural sensitivity
  • food insecurity
  • gender
  • service access

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: JCPP Advances, ACAMH

Books & works: Mental health measures among adolescents in 12 low- and middle-income countries: Measurement invariance and cross-sectional analyses of Disrupting Harm survey data

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