Using Arts-Based Methodologies to Understand Adolescent and Youth Manifestations, Representations, and Potential Causes of Depression and Anxiety in Low-Income Urban Settings in Peru

Liliana Hidalgo-Padilla (), Ana L. Vilela-Estrada, Mauricio Toyama, Sumiko Flores, Daniela Ramirez-Meneses, Mariana Steffen, Paul Heritage, Catherine Fung, Stefan Priebe and Francisco Diez-Canseco
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Liliana Hidalgo-Padilla: CRONICAS Center of Excellence in Chronic Diseases, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima 15074, Peru
Ana L. Vilela-Estrada: CRONICAS Center of Excellence in Chronic Diseases, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima 15074, Peru
Mauricio Toyama: CRONICAS Center of Excellence in Chronic Diseases, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima 15074, Peru
Sumiko Flores: CRONICAS Center of Excellence in Chronic Diseases, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima 15074, Peru
Daniela Ramirez-Meneses: CRONICAS Center of Excellence in Chronic Diseases, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima 15074, Peru
Mariana Steffen: People’s Palace Projects, School of English and Drama, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4QA, UK
Paul Heritage: People’s Palace Projects, School of English and Drama, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4QA, UK
Catherine Fung: Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, Queen Mary University of London, London E13 8SP, UK
Stefan Priebe: Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, Queen Mary University of London, London E13 8SP, UK
Francisco Diez-Canseco: CRONICAS Center of Excellence in Chronic Diseases, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima 15074, Peru

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-18

Abstract: Background: Arts-based methodologies can be beneficial to identify different representations of stigmatized topics such as mental health conditions. This study used a theater-based workshop to describe manifestations, representations, and potential causes of depression and anxiety as perceived by adolescents and young adults. Methods: The theater company Teatro La Plaza conducted three online sessions with a group of adolescents and another with a group of young adults from Lima, Peru. The artistic outputs, which included images, similes, monologues, and narrations, were used to describe the experiences of depression and anxiety symptoms following a content analysis using posteriori categories. Results: Seventeen participants joined the sessions. The artistic outputs showed: physical, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional manifestations of depression and anxiety; a perception that both disorders have a cyclical nature; and an awareness that it is often difficult to notice symptom triggers. The mandatory social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic was highlighted as an important symptom trigger, mostly linked to anxiety. Conclusions: The findings are consistent with the literature, especially with regard to the manifestations, representations, and potential causes that trigger depression and anxiety. Using arts-based methods allowed adolescents and young adults to expand the articulation of their representations of mental disorders.

Keywords: depression; anxiety; common mental disorders; adolescents; young adults; youth; arts-based research; Peru (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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