Abstract
PurposeThe prevalence of mental disorders amongst children and adolescents is an increasing global problem. Schools have been positioned at the forefront of promoting positive mental health and well-being through implementing evidence-based interventions. The aim of this paper is to review current evidence-based research of mental health promotion interventions in schools and examine the reported effectiveness to identify those interventions that can support current policy and ensure that limited resources are appropriately used.MethodsThe authors reviewed the current state of knowledge on school mental health promotion interventions globally. Two major databases, SCOPUS and ERIC were utilised to capture the social science, health, arts and humanities, and education literature.ResultsInitial searches identified 25 articles reporting on mental health promotion interventions in schools. When mapped against the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 10 studies were included and explored. Three of these were qualitative and seven were quantitative.ConclusionsA range of interventions have been tested for mental health promotion in schools in the last decade with variable degrees of success. Our review demonstrates that there is still a need for a stronger and broader evidence base in the field of mental health promotion, which should focus on both universal work and targeted approaches to fully address mental health in our young populations.
Highlights
10–20% of children and young people experience a mental disorder [28]; and this is increasing [26]
We focused on searching for positive mental health promotion interventions as defined by the WHO, (a) Not published in English. (b) Not book chapters, editorials or guidance documents. (c) Not focused on risk factors or related to these. (d) Not reporting planning and development, and not pilots of interventions. (e) Not those interventions targeting children with preexisting mental health problems
The literature was well spread globally (e.g. UK, Australia, USA, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Ireland) and included different interventions, all of which were targeted at the general population of young people in schools
Summary
10–20% of children and young people experience a mental disorder [28]; and this is increasing [26]. It is important to pay attention to promotion and prevention practice, with schools being well-placed to deliver. This is because of the amount of time young people spend in this environment [49]. The focus of this review is on universal mental health promotion interventions in schools rather than those that target high-risk individuals or where health education is part of the treatment of a mental health disorder. Mental health promotion and prevention: operational definitions
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