The effect of peer education based on adolescent health education on the resilience of children and adolescents: A cluster randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background An increasing number of children and adolescents have reported mental health problems, and resilience is a protective factor against these problems. Therefore, the aim of the study is to verify the effect of peer education based on adolescent health education on adolescent resilience. Method A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted including 1,613 students who were divided into an intervention group (19 classes, 732 participants) and a control group (24 classes, 881 participants). One-year peer education was performed in the intervention group, and the control group had no interventions. The Resilience Scale for Chinese Adolescents by Yueqin Hu and a self-designed basic information questionnaire were used to collect data. Chi-square test and rank-sum test were used to compare the differences of demographic characteristics between the two groups. A linear mixed model was used to compare the changes of resilience between the two groups after intervention, and the intra-cluster correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated. A generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) was used to verify the effect of peer education on adolescent resilience. The significance was set at P < 0.05. Results After intervention, compared with the control group, the intervention group showed significant improvement in target focus, emotion adjustment, interpersonal assistance and total resilience (P < 0.05). The ICC range was 0.003 to 0.034. The GLMM results indicated that peer education based on adolescent health education had significant effects on adolescents’ target focus (β = 0.893, P = 0.002), emotional adjustment (β = 1.766, P < 0.001), interpersonal assistance (β = 1.722, P = 0.016) and total mental resilience (β = 5.391, P < 0.001), and the effect was greater for boys than for girls. Conclusions Peer education based on adolescent health education is effective for improving adolescents’ target focus, emotional adjustment, interpersonal assistance, and total resilience, especially for males. Future research should devote more attention to positive cognition and family support as well as gender differences.

The Effect of a Video-Assisted Health Education Program Followed by Peer Education on the Health Literacy of COVID-19 and Other Infectious Diseases Among School Children: Quasi-Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Using a quasi-randomized controlled design, this study assessed the effectiveness of a video-assisted health education program sequenced by peer education on infectious disease health literacy among school students. The results suggest that the proposed multicomponent model of health education improved the knowledge of infectious diseases among students, and are consistent with those of previous randomized controlled trials in health education among primary school students [ 12 , 21 , 22 ]. Moreover, this study not only showcases an innovative approach to raise awareness of disease prevention by incorporating technology and behavioral elements, but also represents a preliminary effort to test the effectiveness of an infectious disease health education program using IRT-based scores.…”

“…In addition, we delivered a separate questionnaire to a parent of each student who collected parental assent to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. Moreover, family socioeconomic information was also collected in the parent questionnaire, which included monthly household income and the parents’ education level [ 12 ].…”

“…Moreover, the sample size in this study allowed minimal chances of underpowered analyses. Previous studies might have engaged nonrandomized designs such that mixed results were reported [12,21,22,[25][26][27][28][29][30]. Although most studies demonstrated that the health intervention is effective in improving health knowledge and health literacy, a quasi-randomized controlled trial in China found that the intervention's effect was not significant among primary school students [25].…”

Evaluating Rural Ethiopian Youths’ Willingness and Competency to Promote Literacy Regarding G × E Influences on Podoconiosis

“…Assessing Competency of Youth Lay Educators Surprisingly, the majority of studies of lay peer educators have not described or assessed the requisite qualities that influence youth competency to serve in this role [43][44][45]. One systematic review of school-based peer education interventions suggested that the most effective peer educators have leadership skills [46], a minimal level of related confidence, some technical competency, and communication skills.…”

Conceptual replication of an evidence-based peer learning programme to enhance career preparation — a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT)

“…Studies of the effects of peer learning have consistently shown that, across a variety of educational settings and cultural backgrounds, working with peers is associated with beneficial learning outcomes (Hanson et al, 2016;see Tenenbaum et al, 2020 for meta-analysis). Evidence also shows that peer learning is positively associated with adolescents' psychological or affective well-being: emotional maturity, strong personal identity, ability to cope with adversity, resilience, social competencies, selfconfidence, independence and autonomy, and higher self-esteem, for example (Hanson et al, 2016;Johnson & Johnson, 1989, 2009Tang et al, 2022).…”