Socially situated stress and support among adolescents in the Darjeeling Himalaya: A qualitative study of social suffering and resilience.

Background Adolescent mental health is shaped not only by individual vulnerabilities but also by the social and structural environments in which adolescents live. This study focuses on youth in the Darjeeling Himalaya, India, a region shaped by political marginalization, migration-dependent livelihoods, economic precarity, and high-stakes educational expectations. Drawing on the concept of social suffering, this study explores adolescents’ experiences of stress, coping, and support in the Darjeeling Himalaya. Methods As part of the Darjeeling Early Adolescent Study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with adolescents (ages 10–20, n=19) from four community-based schools. Interviews were conducted in Nepali, transcribed and translated into English, and analyzed using grounded theory complemented by thematic analysis. Results Adolescents described stress through three interrelated domains. First, migration, parental separation, family conflict, and schooling decisions shaped caregiving arrangements and the responsibilities adolescents assumed within families. Second, schooling was experienced as a high-stakes pathway to future security, with pressure intensified by family expectations and disruptive school transitions. Third, adolescents relied primarily on peers, relatives, teachers, creative activities, problem-solving, and distraction to manage distress. These informal supports and coping practices were adaptive but frequently functioned as containment rather than resolution of underlying structural stressors. Conclusions Adolescent stress in Darjeeling was relationally structured and socially situated, reflecting dynamic family, educational, and sociopolitical conditions rather than solely individual-level risk. These findings emphasize the importance of contextually grounded approaches that engage adolescents’ everyday ecologies and strengthen relational support systems.