Transitare dall’adolescenza all’età adulta: il contributo pedagogico per promuovere la salute mentale nei giovani

The essay is based on two principal theoretical premises, that will be discussed: the necessity of a pedagogical contribution to promote mental health (Fadda, 1997; Palmieri, 2015) and, specifically, the importance of this contribution to project educational interventions to enhance youngsters’ well-being (Malti & Noam, 2009), particularly for those who are between adolescence and adulthood. Mental health (Saraceno, 1995) is a fundamental aspect for every man’s and every woman’s well-being, in every phase of life-time (WHO, 2005; UE, 2014). However, during human life there are delicate phases requiring a particular focus on promoting mental health. Referring to Western culture, adolescence is one of these delicate moments (Ogden & Amlund-Hagen, 2014), particularly with regard to the second part of adolescence, near to adulthood. In fact, adolescence is a complex phase, where the youngster has to search for his/her identity (Erikson, 1956), going toward (Barone, 2015) the definition of himself/herself as an adult person. So, Pedagogy can offer a significant and concrete contribution (Brambilla & Palmieri, 2010) to promote youngsters’mental health, inside schools and also elsewhere.