School-based prevention of anxiety and depression: a pilot study in Sweden

Åhlén, Johan; Breitholtz, Elisabeth; Barrett, Paula M.; Gallegos, Julia

doi:10.1080/1754730x.2012.730352

Cited by 23 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…In targeted approaches interventions are focused upon children who have emerging symptoms or are at increased risk of developing problems. Targeted interventions typically produce larger effect sizes and are a more focused use of limited financial resources, whereas universal interventions are less stigmatising and have the advantage of reaching larger numbers of children (Ahlen, Breitholtz, Barrett, & Gallegos, 2012; Barrett, 2001; Barrett, Farrell, Ollendick, & Dadds, 2006). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Child, Teacher and Parent Perceptions of the FRIENDS Classroom-Based Universal Anxiety Prevention Programme: A Qualitative Study

Skryabina

Morris

Byrne

et al. 2016

School Mental Health

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School-based mental health prevention programmes can be effective but their adoption within schools will depend on their social acceptability. We report a qualitative evaluation summarising the views of children (115), parents (20) and school staff (47) about a universal school-based anxiety prevention programme FRIENDS. This study was conducted as part of a large scale randomised controlled trial (n = 1362) involving 40 schools in the UK providing primary education to children aged 7–11. Reported overall experience of the programme was very positive, with all three major components of the cognitive behaviour therapy programme (emotional, cognitive, and behavioural) being accepted well and understood by children. The programme was considered to be enjoyable and valuable in teaching children important skills, particularly emotional regulation and coping. Children provided examples of using the skills learned during FRIENDS to manage their emotions and solve problems. However, teachers were concerned that the programme overlapped with the current school curriculum, required additional time and almost half were unable to identify any tangible changes in the children’s behaviour. Whilst this paper provides evidence to support the social validity of the FRIENDS anxiety prevention programme, the concerns raised by teachers question the longer-term sustainability of the programme.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Child, Teacher and Parent Perceptions of the FRIENDS Classroom-Based Universal Anxiety Prevention Programme: A Qualitative Study

Skryabina

Morris

Byrne

et al. 2016

School Mental Health

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show abstract

“…Longitudinal and epidemiological studies are at the heart of this interest; the first ones documented how depressive symptoms increase in a linear way by creating a continuity from the early depressive episodes to the major depression in adults [1]. Similarly, in the long term, anxious children and adolescents showed an increased risk for enlarged rates of unemployment, welfare assistance, lost productivity, use of medical services, all resulting in extremely high economic health costs [2,3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Depression, Anxiety at School and Self-Esteem in Children with Learning Disabilities

Alesi¹,

Rappo²,

Pepi³

2014

J Psychol Abnorm Child

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Educational research places emphasis on the fact that pupils with Learning Disabilities may develop depressive and anxiety symptoms characterized by lower levels of self-esteem.The aim of this research is to compare the levels of depression, anxiety at school and self-esteem in children with learning disabilities, mathematical disabilities and a control group who showed typical learning. The participants were 132 children (52 girls and 80 boys), with an average age of 9 years, attending the fourth grade of primary school. These pupils were selected by scores on a battery of tests commonly used in Italy for the assessment of learning disabilities. On the whole, analyses revealed that children with Learning Disabilities and Mathematical Disabilities showed higher level of depression and school anxiety as well as lower rated self-esteem at school than children with typical learning. Moreover our findings highlight the co-occurrence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in pupils with Learning Disabilities.One of the issues that emerges from this study is the need to implement prevention programs aimed at identifying at an early age high-risk children showing increased levels of depression and anxiety. Moreover, these findings highlight the importance to find which are the most appropriate educational and clinical interventions to reduce cognitive maladaptive strategies in school aged children.

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“…Similar findings have been made in other countries and in larger samples. For example, there is substantial support for the effectiveness of the FRIENDS program found in studies of school settings such as an adolescent sample in Ireland (Rodgers & Dunsmuir, ), a childhood sample in the UK (Stallard, Simpson, Anderson, Hibbert, & Osborn, ), a childhood sample in Sweden (Ahlen, Breitholtz, Barrett, & Gallegos, ), Spain (Balle & Tortella‐Felin, ) and an adolescent sample in Australia (Barrett et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

School‐based prevention of anxiety using the “My FRIENDS” emotional resilience program: Six‐month follow‐up

Kozina

2018

Int J Psychol

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A nxiety-related problems are common in childhood and adolescence and, if left untreated, may hold short-term and long-term negative consequences for psychosocial functioning and other domains. In addition to having negative individual-level consequences, anxiety-related problems may have a negative impact at the school level. Because almost all children and adolescents attend school, school plays a significant role in development as a socialisation agent and provides an ideal venue for the delivery of prevention and intervention programs. Here, we present the first evidence regarding the effectiveness of the My FRIENDS emotional resilience program as a method of reducing anxiety among students in Slovenia and the feasibility of implementing the program at the national level. Grade 8 students (N = 78) were assigned either the intervention condition, the My FRIENDS program, or a no-treatment control condition. We measured general anxiety and its components using the AN-UD (Lestvica anksioznosti za učence in dijake) anxiety scale and internalising difficulties using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at preintervention, postintervention, and 6-month follow-up assessments. Students in the intervention condition reported lower amounts of general anxiety and its cognitive component of worrying, and fewer internalising difficulties at the postintervention and follow-up assessments.

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School-based prevention of anxiety and depression: a pilot study in Sweden

Cited by 23 publications

References 36 publications

Child, Teacher and Parent Perceptions of the FRIENDS Classroom-Based Universal Anxiety Prevention Programme: A Qualitative Study

Child, Teacher and Parent Perceptions of the FRIENDS Classroom-Based Universal Anxiety Prevention Programme: A Qualitative Study

Depression, Anxiety at School and Self-Esteem in Children with Learning Disabilities

School‐based prevention of anxiety using the “My FRIENDS” emotional resilience program: Six‐month follow‐up

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