Effectiveness of a pragmatic school‐based universal intervention targeting student resilience protective factors in reducing mental health problems in adolescents

Abstract

Worldwide, 10e20% of adolescents experience mental health problems. Strategies aimed at strengthening resilience protective factors provide a potential approach for reducing mental health problems in adolescents. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a universal, school-based intervention targeting resilience protective factors in reducing mental health problems in adolescents. A cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted in 20 intervention and 12 control secondary schools located in socio-economically disadvantaged areas of NSW, Australia. Data were collected from 3115 students at baseline (Grade 7, 2011), of whom 2149 provided data at follow up (Grade 10, 2014; enrolments in Grades 7 to 10 typically aged 12e16 years; 50% male; 69.0% retention). There were no significant differences between groups at follow-up for three mental health outcomes: total SDQ, internalising problems, and prosocial behaviour. A small statistically significant difference in favour of the control group was found for externalising problems. Findings highlight the continued difficulties in developing effective, school-based prevention programs for mental health problems in adolescents.

Sensory processing sensitivity and culturally modified resilience education: Differential susceptibility in Japanese adolescents

“…These null outcomes seem to be inconsistent with the findings of studies conducted with western adolescents [ 19 , 23 ]. However, the findings somehow resonate with previous findings that pointed out the heterogeneous effects of interventions [ 20 , 21 ].…”

“…However, research also indicates heterogeneous outcomes regarding interventions, depending on participants’ ethnicity or culture, the forms of delivery, and the facilitators [ 20 – 22 ]; furthermore, overall effect sizes were reported to be relatively small [ 21 , 23 ]. Hence, some issues arise when introducing preventative interventions to Japanese adolescents.…”

Evaluating the effectiveness of KooLKIDS: An interactive social emotional learning program for Australian primary school children

“…This is particularly salient given that many of the challenges arising in adolescence (e.g., adverse mental health, social relationship difficulties, poor motivation, and academic underachievement; Hafekost et al, 2016) have their onset during childhood or early adolescence. However, it is early adolescence that traverses the age range of onset for most mental health disorders, especially those that persist into adulthood (see Dray et al, 2017; Patton et al, 2016).…”

Social determinants of health and vulnerabilities to sexually transmitted infections in adolescents

“…It is important to highlight that, although adolescents who live in a house owned by parents or relatives, in this study, are more vulnerable than the ones who live in a rented home, both live in a neighborhood considered extremely poor by the factor "Income" of the Human Development Index (13) , which is a situation of vulnerability to STIs (25) .…”