Adolescent Mental Health-Seeking Behavior and Social Support in Gated Residential Communities, Medan

Abstract

Residential housing estates (perumahan) in Medan, North Sumatra represent a distinctive urban social ecology: geographically enclosed, ethnically diverse, and marked by the erosion of communal bonds traditionally sustaining Indonesian neighbourhood life. This article examines how adolescents aged 15–24 in Medan Helvetia, Medan Sunggal, and Medan Selayang conceptualize and respond to psychological distress. Grounded in a social welfare framework and medical anthropological lens, the study draws on qualitative fieldwork (July 2024–April 2025), comprising in-depth interviews (n=28) and nine ethnographic observation sessions at two Posyandu Remaja sites under Puskesmas Helvetia. Data were analyzed using NVivo 14, producing six analytical outputs across eight structural theme nodes. Emotional suppression emerges as the dominant discursive condition — the highest-frequency term across all NVivo outputs and the most heavily coded node (221 references; κ=0.83). Cluster analysis identifies four mutually reinforcing structural conditions: emotional suppression, parental absence, spatial isolation, and multi-ethnic cultural stigma (r=0.78–0.91). Matrix coding reveals suppression is most intense among female participants aged 18–21 and Batak-background adolescents, while spatial isolation is most pronounced among Muslim-background participants. Posyandu Remaja underutilization and digital platform use occupy peripheral cluster positions, marking them as the most strategically addressable intervention points within existing welfare infrastructure. The article concludes with context-specific recommendations for strengthening community-based social welfare practice in Medan's perumahan environments.