Mental Illness in Young Adult Literature Exploring Real Struggles through Fictional Characters

Synopsis

This book explores how mental illness is portrayed in 21st-century young adult fiction and how selected works can help teachers, librarians, and mental health professionals to more effectively address the needs of students combating mental illness.Mental Illness in Young Adult Literature: Exploring Real Struggles through Fictional Characters highlights American young adult literature published since the year 2000 that features characters grappling with mental illness. Chapters focus on mental disorders identified by the most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADHD, and OCD. Each chapter begins with a description of a mental illness that includes its prevalence, demographic trends, symptoms, related disorders, and treatment options before examining a selection of young adult texts in depth. Analysis of the texts explores how a mental illness manifests for a particular character, how that character perceives him- or herself and is perceived by others, and what treatment or support he or she receives. The connections between mental illness and race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and identity are examined, and relevant research from education, psychology, and adolescent health is thoroughly integrated. Each chapter also provides a list of additional readings. An appendix offers strategies for integrating young adult literature into health curricula and other programs.

Book details

Author:

Kia Jane Richmond

ISBN:

9781440857393

Related ISBNs:

9781440857386

Publisher:

Bloomsbury Publishing

Pages:

213

Reading age:

7-17

Includes images:

No

Date of addition:

2023-06-11

Usage restrictions:

Copyright

Copyright date:

2019

Copyright by:

N/A 

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Categories:

Children's Books, Language Arts, Literature and Fiction, Nonfiction, Psychology, Teens