Colloque - Mental Health and Addiction - Emmanuel Cohen: Modernity, Urbanization and Youth Mental Health Globally

Maria MelchiorSanté publiqueCollège de FranceAnnée 2025-2026Colloque - Mental Health and Addiction - Emmanuel Cohen: Modernity, Urbanization and Youth Mental Health GloballySession 2: Young adultsEmmanuel CohenResearcher, UMR 7206 "Eco-anthropologie", CNRSRésuméA main actual challenge is to explore holistically the determinants of psychosocial distress in young people experiencing the urban transition. The young people's health is a priority in modern societies where psychosocial distress can be associated with chronic unemployment, criminality and suicide, especially in socially excluded and disadvantaged populations, as working classes and ethnic minorities. However, the main poor aspects of the modern lifestyle, e.g. individualism, consumerism and chronic poverty, are spreading around the world with variable degrees according to the insertion into the industrialization process of each country. From this perspective, the goal of our international collaboration between France, South Africa and Senegal is to provide new insights on the determinants of psychosocial distress in young people from socially disadvantaged urban areas, including jointly material aspects as chronic poverty and relational aspects as individualism and social isolation. Instead of adopting a restrictive conception of poverty, the major innovative approach of this collaboration is to confront together all aspects of a "poor life" including material, affective and social lacks involved in the development of psychosocial distress in young people living in socially excluded urban areas. Our project will be presented during this speaking.