PEDALS research project
The PEDALS study is a research project on the prevalence of mental health problems and psychiatric conditions among young people in Sweden and their need for support. Below you will find brief information about the study, the background and contact details for the PEDALS study's working group.
Presentation of the study
PEDALS is a research project that aims to estimate the prevalence of mental health problems and psychiatric conditions among young people in Sweden. The study will also evaluate young people's need for support with the overall aim of gaining a broader perspective on support for mental illness. Further, the study will explore the effect of social media use (SMU) on Swedish youth's mental health.
Background
In Sweden and in several other Western countries the utilization of mental helath care is steadily increasing over time. In addition, self-reported mental distress such as nervousness, low self-esteem and anxiety are increasing among young people. These do not meet the criteria for a psychiatric disorder and do not necessarily require treatment. The discussion around how to support the potentially increasing group of young people with mental health problems sometimes becomes polarized due to our fragmentary knowledge about the actual needs and numbers of young people with problems.
As this knowledge is largely lacking, the objective of this research project is to investigate the size of groups that suffer from mental disorders (such as worry and anxiety, that do not meet the criteria for a diagnosis) and psychiatric conditions (that meet the criteria for a diagnosis), and what needs young people have when considering the range of support both in and outside of healthcare.
More about the study
Here you can find more more information about the PEDALS-project
For participants
Participants in the PEDALS-project can find more information here
For those who work in school
More information about the PEDALS-project for those who work in schools
More about mental health in children and adolescence
On this site you can read Forte's report on mental health in children and adolescence and also find the websites of the organizations that are the project's partners.
Contact for the project
Christina Dalman
Project managerJohan Åhlén
Academic project leaderAnna Ohlis
Post doctorHanna Mulder
Project coordinatorSara Maroufkhani
Project coordinatorPEDALS
Project date: 1 October 2022-September 2026
Founded by: Forte - Forskningsrådet för hälsa arbetsliv och välfärd
Grant agreement ID: 2022-01002