Mental Health Research Papers
Mental research is one of the most common areas explored in psychology research papers.
Scholars both in psychology and medical fields will at some point be required to write a research paper examining a particular mental health issue.
Whether it is at bachelors, masters, or doctorate level, you will have to come up with numerous interesting mental health topics for research paper.
Writing such research papers should give you the opportunity to demonstrate your grasp of key knowledge on mental health issues as well as your writing skills.
Mental Health
Before you embark on finding suitable mental health topics for research paper, it is necessary to understand what mental health encompasses.
In simple terms, mental health can be defined as:
“A person’s cognitive, behavioral, and emotional well-being.”
OR
“An individual’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being.”
Deriving from the above definitions, mental health affects how people think, feel, and act.
It defines how individuals relate to others, manage stress, and determine issues.
Experts observe that mental health is essential in all life stages, whether at childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
Maintaining a good mental health is dependent on a number of both individual and environmental factors.
This makes mental health an ideal area for ideas for a psychology research paper.
Mental Health Issues
There are various issues that define the mental health status of an individual.
Since significant mental health topics for research paper usually revolve around these issues, it is important to clearly understand them.
These issues include disorders such as:
1. Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are some of the most common mental health issues.
These disorders are characterized by apprehension and frequent and distressing fear.
Although these feelings are normal in stressing situations like public speaking or interviews, persons with anxiety disorders experience them in non-stressful situations.
Common anxiety disorders include:
1. Panic disorder
2. Obsessive-compulsive disorder
3. Post-traumatic stress disorder
4. Generalized anxiety disorder
5. Social anxiety disorder
2. Psychotic Disorders
Psychotic disorders is another area to look for interesting mental health topics for research paper.
This is because psychotic disorders are some of the most severe mental health problems.
Individuals suffering from these disorders have a distorted sense of reality.
Areas to explore for research would encompass impacts of factors like trauma and extreme stress, viruses, drug abuse, and brain circuits on the development of psychotic disorders.
Common psychotic disorders include:
1. Delusional disorder
2. Brief psychotic disorder
3. Substance-induced psychotic disorder
4. Schizophrenia
5. Schizoaffective disorder
3. Mood Disorders
This is also an extremely common category of mental health issues.
Although changes in moods are normal, individuals suffering mood disorders experience more severe and persistent symptoms capable of disrupting their daily lives.
Feelings associated with these disorders range from “empty” or anxious, ongoing mood to low self-esteem; feelings of hopelessness; low energy; and excessive guilt.
Examples of mood disorders include:
1. Bipolar disorder
2. Major depression
3. Substance-induced mood disorder
4. Dysthymia
4. Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are complex disorders that can be explored for suitable mental health topics for research paper.
Note that these disorders often require intervention and study by psychological and medical experts.
The disorders are associated with unhealthy feeding habits like obsession with body weight, food, or body shape.
Symptoms include food binges, severe food restriction, or purging behaviors like over-exercising or purging.
Common eating disorders include:
1. Bulimia nervosa
2. Anorexia nervosa
3. Binge eating disorder
4. Pica eating disorder
5. Rumination disorder
5. Dementia
Dementia covers a range of disorders that are associated with a decline in cognitive abilities.
Accordingly, one can look for interesting mental health topics for research paper in the specific mental conditions that may often impair an individual’s daily life and independent functioning.
The Alzheimer’s disease is the most common dementia disorder (60-80%), and it gradually destroys memory and thinking abilities.
Dementia disorders include:
1. Alzheimer’s disease
2. Parkinson’s disease
3. Huntington’s disease
4. Frontotemporal dementia
5. Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome
Mental Health Research Areas
You can look for mental health topics for research paper in different areas.
Such areas may include:
1. General mental health
2. Child and adolescent mental health
3. Adult mental health
4. Attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD)
5. Autism
6. Eating disorders
7. Schizophrenia
8. Alzheimer’s disease
9. Psychosis
10. Depression and bipolar disorder
11. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
12. LGBT mental health issues
13. Intimate partner violence
14. Nutrition and diet
15. Prescription medication
16. Substance use
17. Women issues in mental health
Examples of Mental Health Topics for Research Paper
Examples of mental health topics may include the below.
Note that based on their framing, these topics could apply for both graduate-level basic research topics as well deeper thesis/ dissertation research areas.
1. Early management of maladaptive behavior among teenagers.
2. The impact of COVID 19 on the mental health of individuals.
3. Impact of physical injuries on the mental health of veterans.
4. How to develop an integrated mental health program within a community.
5. Mental health among medical workers during the COVID 19 pandemic period.
6. Relationship between gender and mental health issues.
7. The impact of peer pressure in the development of mental health issues among teenagers.
8. Divorce and broken families as a major cause of mental health issues among children and adolescents.
9. Impact of drug regulation on the management of mental health issues.
10. Diagnosis of mental health illnesses onset within the family setting.
11. Approaches towards early intervention of mental health illnesses.
12. The psychology of children and adolescents who engage in self-destructive behavior.
13. Impact of early enrolment into learning programs on the management of mental health illnesses.
14. Early diagnosis and treatment of obsessive-compulsive behavior.
15. The role of socioeconomic empowerment of women in prevention of mental health illnesses.
16. The role of media such a movies, music, and video games in the management of emotions among individuals.
17. Impact of effective support of the elderly in the management of mental health issues.
18. Impacts of phobias on individual’s engagement with the real world.
19. Devising effective mental health programs within learning institutions.
20. The role of the workplace in the management of anxiety and stress among workers.
21. Relationship between physical health and the development of mental health issues.
22. Role of social media and information overload on the mental health of adolescents.
23. The possibility of full recovery from mental illnesses.
24. Significance of genetics in the early onset of mood disorders.
25. Role of relationships between learners and institution’s counselors in the management of mental health issues.
26. Low COVID 19 related physical activity and the development of mood disorders.
27. Effectiveness of talk therapies in the management of mental health disorders.
28. The impact of mental health disorders on suicide rates among teenagers.
29. Best approaches for counselors to adopt to make patients open up during therapy.
30. Mental health implications of caring for psychotic disorders on mental health nurses.
31. Relationship between disability and mental health problems among the immigrants.
32. Implications of the COVID 19 pandemic on families’ mental health.
33. Impact of mental health facilities institutionalization on society’s mental health.
34. Psychological challenges facing families with members suffering from terminal illnesses.
35. Relationship between video games and development of mental health disorders.
36. Psychological implications of cyberbullying on teenagers.
37. Use of music as therapy or/and meditation among mental health patients.
38. The impact of over-the-counter prescriptions on a society’s mental health status.
39. Effectiveness of online mental health programs in the management of mental disorders.
40. How emotional attachment affects an individual’s mental health.
41. Impact of a mother’s mental health problems in the emotional development of a child.
42. Role of early exposure to television on children’s mental development.
43. How a mother’s mental health problems affect the development of relationships between herself and the infant.
44. Implications of socioeconomic factors on the mental health of indigenous populations.
45. Role of male partners in the management of postpartum depression among new mothers.
46. Relationship between marginalization of women and the development of mental health disorders.
47. Effectiveness of prescribed antidepressants in the management of depression among new mothers.
48. How stereotypes have negatively affected mental health among different individuals.
49. Role of spiritualism in the management of mental health disorders.
50. Addictive behavior as a mental health disorder among teenagers.
