School-based Mental Health Interventions Research Papers (original) (raw)

- by Cynthia Garvan and +1
- •
- Psychology, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Curriculum Design, Aggression (Psychology)

The youth’s state of mental health and related high rates of depression worldwide is a growing concern, and Singapore is not an exception (National Youth Council, 2018; World Health Organization, 2018a). These emotional disorders not only affect the everyday functioning of the youths, but also impair their development into healthy adults. Some populations however, seem to be more vulnerable than others; and this is the case with Polytechnics students in Singapore who certainly need psychological support, mentoring and intervention. The PERMA theoretical model of well-being (Seligman, 2011), when translated into positive education interventions (Seligman, Ernst, Gillham, Reivich, & Linkins, 2009), is known to foster the overall psychological well-being of individuals and to contribute to their flourishing (Hoare, Bott, & Robinson, 2017; Norrish, Williams, O’Connor, & Robinson, 2013). This quasi-experimental study tested the effects of a 10-week mentoring programme for a group of Polytechnic students with the aims of enhancing their happiness, well-being and school life satisfaction. The participating students were recruited amongst the full-time students of a Polytechnic in Singapore. The participants self-selected themselves in either the experimental (n = 20) or the control group (n = 14) depending on their availability and desire to partake in the 10-week Positive Psychology Interventions. While there were no significant differences between the experimental and control groups, there were significant differences within each group. The results of paired t-tests showed more significant statistical improvements in the variables of Engagement, Meaning, Accomplishment and Student Life Satisfaction within the experimental group, as compared to the control group. The results of this study seemed to imply that the Positive Psychology Interventions need to be strengthened in terms of duration and reinforcement for the effects to be more visible and sustainable.

- by Kimberly Hoagwood
- •
- Psychology, Mental Health, School Psychology, Public Health

Children and adolescents affected by armed conflict are in critical need of support, however, there is a paucity of research dedicated to understanding preventative mental health interventions for children in post-conflict settings. This study aims to address two simple questions: (1) What is the impact of parent-teacher associations (PTAs) on children in post-conflict settings (2) What is the feasibility of parent-teacher associations (PTAs) in Burundi? The purpose of the paper is to answer these questions through a brief review of existing PTAs in post-conflict settings and an analysis of qualitative data. Interviews will be used to understand the attitudes and acceptability of PTAs in Burundi. Analysis used a thematic analysis approach. The paper will inform researchers and humanitarian organizations and add to existing studies about the feasibility of parent teacher associations (PTAs) in low and middle income countries (LAMIC) in post-conflict settings. Departing from the brief review of the existing studies to the analysis of qualitative data, this paper may generate new notions of school-family involvement and expand the understanding of the benefits children may gain from this parent-teacher relationship.

This report summarises findings from consultative research undertaken with a selection of KidsMatter pilot schools and project officers as part of the KidsMatter Indigenous adaptation project. The purpose of the consultations was to assess the suitability of the existing KidsMatter implementation resources for Indigenous students and families and to investigate ways that KidsMatter could support schools to cater more effectively for Indigenous communities.

Building effective school community partnerships requires recognition of barriers along with time and commitment from both the school district and community agencies to overcome those barriers. It may seem overwhelming to fully address each of the challenges while attempting to implement each element of effective school partnerships all at once, but it is necessary to ensure that the partnership is truly collaborative, effective, and improves mental health outcomes for children and youth.

For this article, we investigated a complicated
(and hypothesized, little-studied) area in school mental
health research: namely how researchers establish and
maintain successful relationships with key stakeholders in
school settings. We identified key stakeholders that school
mental health researchers have to consider when engaging
in school-based research. Parents, youth, teachers, school
leadership, school mental health professionals, districtlevel
leaders, and community mental health partners are
each specific stakeholders who may have differing (or even
competing) agendas than that of the research team. In
addition, professionals within these groups may have
concerns or even suspicions about the researchers’
involvement in their school. To better understand these
complex relational issues, we conducted a survey of leading
school mental health researchers based on a convenience
sample of researchers who attended a national
school mental health research summit in October 2012. The
survey data revealed that successful school mental health
researchers have to continually work at creating and
maintaining good relationships with school stakeholders,
and consider these relationships crucial to conducting this
research. In this article, we will describe barriers to recruitment and implementation and methods of overcoming
the challenges identified in several case studies of
school-based research in published articles and from our
survey data. We present this information and propose a
preliminary best practice model to developing and maintaining
relationships with school professionals in SMH
research.

- by Christine Mayor
- •
- Child and adolescent mental health, Traumatic Stress, Trauma Studies, Medicine
- by Lois Flaherty
- •
- School-based Mental Health Interventions

The world’s largest school-based mental health
program, Habilidades para la Vida [Skills for Life (SFL)],
has been operating on a national scale in Chile for
15 years. SFL’s activities include using standardized
measures to screen elementary school students and providing
preventive workshops to students at risk for mental
health problems. This paper used SFL’s data on 37,397
students who were in first grade in 2009 and third grade in
2011 to ascertain whether first grade mental health predicted
subsequent academic achievement and whether
remission of mental health problems predicted improved
academic outcomes. Results showed that mental health was
a significant predictor of future academic performance and
that, overall, students whose mental health improved
between first and third grade made better academic progress
than students whose mental health did not improve or
worsened. Our findings suggest that school-based mental health programs like SFL may help improve students’
academic outcomes.

- by Javier Guzmán and +1
- •
- Child and adolescent mental health, Mental Health, Screening, School-based Mental Health Interventions
- by Gianluca Gini
- •
- School violence, Violence Prevention, School Violence Prevention, Bullying

Cet article présente l’évaluation en méthode mixte d’une formation-accompagnement en
santé mentale à l’école, proposée aux enseignants, aux équipes-écoles et à leurs partenaires
des Centres de santé et des services sociaux (CSSS). Les résultats démontrent que
la formation a augmenté le sentiment de compétence des participants quant à leurs interventions,
leur confort par rapport aux décisions partagées avec leurs partenaires et leur
motivation face aux collaborations interdisciplinaires. Ces résultats suggèrent que cette
formation peut améliorer l’arrimage entre les milieux de l’éducation et de la santé face
aux problèmes de santé mentale des jeunes à l’école.

- by Garine Papazian-Zohrabian and +2
- •
- Teacher Education, Mental Health, Educational Research, Teacher Training

Bullying is the most common form of violence in schools and has been shown to disrupt the emotional and social development of both the targets and the perpetrators of bullying (Raskauskas & Stoltz, 2007). Bullying can be physical, verbal, relational, and direct or indirect. There are well-established age and sex trends (Olweus, 1993; Smith, Madsen, & Moody, 1999). There has been considerable research on bullying-prevention programs and scholarship on best-practice guidelines for school social workers (Dupper, 2013). An emerging concern is with the use of electronic and Internet devices in bullying, referred to as “cyberbullying.” In this article we define bullying and cyberbullying; discuss risk factors associated with being a bully, a victim, and a bully-victim; describe prevention and intervention programs; and discuss emerging trends in both bullying and cyberbullying.

- by Jonathan B Singer
- •
- Social Work, Social Sciences, Bullying, Cyberbullying
- by Vanessa Hamilton, OCT
- •
- Education, Social Work, Child Development, Adolescent Development

1 | PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY 1.1 | The review in brief Despite growing support and increased rate of which trauma-informed approaches are being promoted and implemented in schools, evidence to support this approach is lacking. 1.2 | What is this review about? Exposure to different types of trauma have been associated with varying types and complexity of adverse outcomes, including adverse effects on cognitive functioning, attention, memory, academic performance, and school-related behaviors. Given the growing research on trauma and increased knowledge about the prevalence, consequences and costs associated with trauma, there have been increased efforts at the local, state and federal levels to make systems "trauma-informed" (Lang, Campbell, & Vanerploeg, 2015). While the intent of creating trauma-informed approaches in schools is a noble one, relatively little is known about the benefits, costs, and how trauma-informed approaches are being defined and evaluated (Berliner & Kolko, 2016). Adopting a trauma-informed approach in a complex system such as a school building or district is a time consuming and potentially costly endeavor and thus it is important to assess the effects of this approach to inform policy and practice. This aim of this review was to assess trauma-informed approaches in schools on trauma symptoms/mental health, academic performance, behavior, and socioemotional functioning. Trauma-informed approaches include programs, organizations, or systems that realize the impact of trauma, recognize the symptoms of trauma, respond by integrating knowledge about trauma policies and practices, and seeks to reduce retraumatization. At least two of the three key elements of a trauma-informed approach must have been present: Workforce development, trauma-focused services, and organizational environment and practices, which differ from trauma-specific interventions designed to treat or otherwise address the impact/symptoms of trauma and facilitate healing. What is the aim of this review? This Campbell systematic review sought to examine the effects trauma-informed schools on trauma symptoms/ mental health, academic performance, behavior, and socioemotional functioning. Although we conducted a comprehensive search to find studies testing trauma-informed approaches in schools, no studies met the inclusion criteria.

- by Michael S. Kelly and +2
- •
- Evidence Based Practice, School Psychology, Trauma-Informed Care, School Guidance and Counseling

Communıqué N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 6 Vo l u m e 4 5 , N u m b e r 3

- by Andria Amador and +1
- •
- School Psychology, School-based Mental Health Interventions, School Mental Health

Common mental health problems (CMHPs), such as depression, anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are internalizing disorders with high comorbidity. University and college students are under many stressors and transitional events, and students fall within the age range when CMHPs are at their developmental peak. Compared to the expanded effort to explore and treat CMHPs, there has been no a meta-analysis that comprehensively reviewed the interventions for CMHPs and examined the effects of interventions for CMHPs in college students. The objective of this review is to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining interventions for CMHPs among university and college students and to estimate their post-intervention effect size (ES), as well as follow-up ES, for depression, anxiety disorder, OCD and PTSD separately. Meta-analytic procedures were conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. We reviewed 7768 abstracts from which 331 full-text articles were reviewed and 51 RCTs were included in the analysis. We found moderate effect sizes for both depression (Hedges' g = −0.60) and anxiety disorder (Hedges' g = −0.48). There was no evidence that existing interventions for OCD or PTSD were effective in this population. For interventions with high number of papers, we performed subgroup analysis and found that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based interventions were effective for both depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and attention/perception modification was effective for GAD; other interventions (i.e. art, exercise and peer support) had the highest ES for both depression and GAD among university and college students.

- by Yeshambel T Nigatu and +1
- •
- Child and adolescent mental health, School-based Mental Health Interventions, University
- by Brenda Dobia and +1
- •
- Education, Child and adolescent mental health, Health Education, School-based Mental Health Interventions

This chapter excerpt focuses on the most common mental health disorders that occur in children and adolescents: mood disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, schizophrenia, substance use disorder, and youth suicide. It ends with an examination of ways to promote or develop positive mental health. The information here is not designed to enable you to make diagnoses; rather, the goal is to raise your awareness so that you might be able inform parents and involve the appropriate mental health professionals when there are concerns.

- by Andrew Johnson
- •
- Education, Anxiety Disorders, Teacher Education, Higher Education

The present study uses a national sample (N = 3769) and a latent profile framework to examine profiles of school social workers who engage in various levels of ecologically oriented practices at school and in the home and community. Three profiles emerged from the data that consisted of school social workers who reported engaging in low, medium and high levels of ecological practice behaviors across school, family, and community domains. Further examination revealed that school social workers fitting into the profile marked by high levels of self-reported practices at school, with families, and to facilitate community-school linkages were more likely to have a graduate degree, work in a state with certification standards, and have 10 or fewer years of experience compared to school social workers in the other two profiles. Additionally, school social workers who reported high levels of ecological practices were more likely to use evidence-based assessments, programs/practices, and engage in universal school-level prevention efforts more frequently compared to those in the low and medium profiles. Practical implications include the need for pre-service and targeted in-service training as well as policies that support minimum—if not lofty—competencies and state or national certification standards for school social work professionals.

School social work practice decisions have been the focus of local and national surveys for several decades, most recently in 2014. The need to better understand these findings, particularly school social workers' practice decisions that appear counter to what the field's evidence base indicates is sound practice, led to the current qualitative study. Our inquiry focused on developing a deeper understanding of the impact of professional models (particularly the multitiered systems of support), training, and school context on practice. Data from 16 focus groups (N = 60) revealed that practitioners struggled with contextual constraints upon their work and encountered limited learning opportunities and support, to the extent that they could not consistently implement contemporary practice models. Implications for school social work policy, training, and practice are considered.

- by Robert J Volpe
- •
- School-based Mental Health Interventions

The Second National School Social Work Survey in 2014 aimed to update knowledge of school social work practice by examining how practitioner characteristics, practice context, and practice choices have evolved since the last national survey in 2008. This second survey was also developed to assess how the new national school social work practice model created
by the School Social Work Association of America aligns with early 21st century school social work practice realities. The second survey was conducted from February through April 2014 (3,769 total responses were collected) and represents the largest sample of American school social workers surveyed in two decades. Data from the Second National School Social Work Survey showed a field that still has not fully responded to calls to implement evidenceinformed and data-driven practices. This article notes the need to better integrate pre- and post-service training in data-driven practices and provides recommendations for ways to overcome barriers that school social workers report facing.

As a major socialization force in children’s lives, schools are a critical context in which to support the development of positive mental well-being in all students and address issues of aggression and violence. In this chapter, we consider the many pathways through which this can be achieved, including the promotion of mental health literacy, early identification of mental and behavioral difficulties, encouragement of help-seeking, and creation of safe and accepting learning environments in which all students can thrive. Most importantly, we argue for addressing mental health and school violence through the promotion of social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools, providing students with the competencies needed to address social and emotional needs in constructive and nonviolent ways. To this end, we introduce the SEL Resource Finder, a newly developed website that serves as a virtual clearinghouse for educators on information and cost-effective approaches to addressing school violence and fostering positive mental health.

Communıqué D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 6 Vo l u m e 4 5 , N u m b e r 4

- by Andria Amador and +4
- •
- School Psychology, School-based Mental Health Interventions, Educational Psychology and School Counselling

This study assessed the prevalence of trauma exposure among middle school students and evaluated the effectiveness of a school-based, trauma- and grief-focused group psychotherapy protocol in treating a subset of students with severe exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and functional impairment. Using a stratified screening procedure, 812 students completed a screening survey; 58 students (7.1% of those surveyed) met criteria for group treatment, and 26 students participated in the group. Group participation was associated with improvements in posttraumatic stress and complicated grief symptoms and in academic performance. Results suggest that students who are exposed to severe levels of community violence often may not be identified or treated. The findings also suggest that severe PTSD in adolescence may be associated with impaired school functioning, and that a reduction in PTSD symptoms may be related to academic remediation.

This chapter will describe how many school social workers are often the first (and sometimes only) point of contact for youth and families with mental health problems, making it essential that school social workers develop strong mental health assessment, referral, and evidence-informed practice skills in this domain. This chapter will provide an overview of mental health issues and mental health services typically delivered in the schools. It reviews mental health policy at the federal level, specifically focusing on major changes in the last 10 years that are impacting how school social workers deliver mental health interventions in school settings. Additional content in the chapter will cover the ways that school social workers can assess students for specific disorders identified in the DSM-5V, as well as possible interventions to address students with those mental health problems. Throughout this chapter as well as the entire book, special attention will be given to an evidence-informed practice (EIP) process that can empower school social workers and clients to use the best available evidence to address common children’s mental health problems.

School mental health practitioners, including social workers, are mandated through federal, state, and professional entities to provide evidence-based practices to students. Nevertheless, rates of use of evidence-based practices among mental health professionals in schools remain low, even as knowledge about effective practices increases. This study aimed to further knowledge about how to promote and support the use of evidence-based practices among school practitioners using online technology. School social workers attending a summer professional development event took part in focus groups exploring (a) their current perceptions of evidence-based practices, (b) their experiences finding evidence-based
practice information online, and (c) their preferences for the formatting and content of online resources. Participants described a willingness to use evidence-based practice, efforts to find information, and difficulties encountered with online sources. Preferences for readily available, searchable, brief, and understandable online information were expressed. Implications for meeting the needs of school social workers with online resources are discussed.

- by Michael S. Kelly and +1
- •
- Focus Group discussions, Evidence Based Practice, Online Learning, School Guidance and Counseling
- by Ann Lendrum
- •
- Program Evaluation, Education, Operations Research, Evaluation Research

Multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) are conventionally recommended in mental health
care literature as an important way to offer holistic treatment provision to patients. This
study aims to explore multidisciplinary teamwork in contemporary mental health
settings, particularly what aids and hinders the process of multidisciplinary teamworking,
and the social work contribution in such teams. In order to attain an in-depth
exploration of these phenomena, a single case study design was employed. Within this
design, data were generated through semi-structured interviews and structured
observation of a mental health MDT in Ireland. These data were analysed using
interpretative phenomenological analysis. The research highlights how the concept of
mental illness is contested within this MDT, with the medical model dominant within
an environment of fluid working arrangements. Professional role blurring and
stereotyping were found to impact the division of labour on this team, with role
negotiation found to be an integral part of retaining a professional’s practice identity.
This research raises concerns for social work’s capacity to function within mental
health MDTs in Ireland, and highlights ways in which social work educators might
respond in order to empower Irish social workers to meet the challenges of mental
health multidisciplinary teamworking.

- by Alan Maddock
- •
- Organizational Behavior, Buddhism, History, Cultural History

El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar si los problemas de salud mental identificados a travis de la pesquisa realizada en el primero básico, se relacionan con bajos logros académicos medidos en el cuarto año básico. El Programa público Habilidades para la Vida de la Junta Nacional de Auxilio Escolar y Becas (JUNAEB) utiliza cuestionarios de detección aplicados a profesores (Observación de la Adaptación de Clases por el Profesor Revisada - TOCA-RR) y a padres y apoderados (Cuestionario Pediátrico de Síntomas - PSC) para pesquisar anualmente problemas de salud mental en alrededor de un 20% de las escuelas básicas en Chile. En 4º básico, los alumnos rinden la prueba nacional SIMCE de lenguaje, matemáticas y ciencias. Este estudio revisó si los problemas de salud mental identificados por uno o ambos cuestionarios predicen los resultados académicos en SIMCE después de controlar los factores de riesgo del estudiante y de la familia. De un total de 17.252 estudiantes con cuestionarios TOCA-RR completos respondidos por el profesor, 11.118 estudiantes fueron pareados con los datos del SIMCE 11.118 estudiantes en 4º básico, de ellos, 7.903 padres de estos niños habían completado el cuestionario PSC de sus hijos en 1º básico. Los estudiantes en riesgo ya sea en TOCA-RR o en PSC o en ambos cuestionarios tienen un desempeño académico significativamente peor en las distintas pruebas SIMCE. Aún después de controlar por covariables y ajuste por datos perdidos, los estudiantes con problemas de salud mental en uno de los cuestionarios de pesquisa en 1º básico, obtuvieron entre 14 y 18 puntos menos (1/3 DS aprox.) en 4º básico que aquellos estudiantes que fueron evaluados sin riesgo. Los estudiantes con riesgo en ambos cuestionarios obtuvieron en promedio 33 puntos menos que aquellos que tenían riesgo en sólo un cuestionario. La presencia de problemas de salud mental en 1º básico fue uno de los predictores más fuertes de bajos resultados en rendimiento
en prueba SIMCE 3 años después, apoyando la premisa que en contextos naturales la salud mental de los niños es importante.

- by Javier Guzmán and +1
- •
- School-based Mental Health Interventions, School Mental Health, Mental Health Prevention

The purpose of this paper is to report the results of the 2nd National School Social Work Survey. Here, we review the responses of 3,769 school social workers using descriptive and bivariate statistics to better understand the current state of school social work in the United States. We also describe the characteristics and utilization patterns of students accessing school social work services, summarize the level (primary prevention versus secondary/tertiary) of practice focus of school social workers, and review practitioner responses to items summarizing their utilization of resources to identify, implement, and evaluate evidence-based practices. In addition to these descriptive analyses, we report bivariate analyses that aim to examine the relationship between prevention orientation and caseload, grade level, community setting, geographic region, and licensure status. Results suggest the workforce characteristics and service provision trends of school social workers remain largely unchanged from 2008, and that students accessing school social work services are exposed to many factors placing them at increased risk for school failure. Pre and post service training recommendations arise from our assessment of the state of school social work in America to better serve children and youth who struggle with mental and behavioral health issues.

- by Michael S. Kelly and +2
- •
- Evidence Based Practice, Survey Research, School Social Work, School-based Mental Health Interventions

The Second National School Social Work Survey in 2014 aimed to update knowledge of school social work practice by examining how practitioner characteristics, practice context, and practice choices have evolved since the last national survey in 2008. This second survey was also developed to assess how the new national school social work practice model created by the School Social Work Association of America aligns with early 21st century school social work practice realities. The second survey was conducted from February through April 2014 (3,769 total responses were collected) and represents the largest sample of American school social workers surveyed in two decades. Data from the Second National School Social Work Survey showed a eld that still has not fully responded to calls to implement evidence- informed and data-driven practices. This article notes the need to better integrate pre- and postservice training in data-driven practices and provides recommendations for ways to overcome barriers that school social workers report facing.

Abstract
This article provides results from a qualitative study on the efforts of school-based mental health providers SBMHP’s who serve students in ethnically diverse settings, to help families access quality mental health services. School-based mental health plays a key role in the provision of direct and indirect intervention services to support life skills and social-emotional development. A cohort of school psychology graduate trainees enrolled in a counseling course conducted 39 semi-structured interviews with school based mental-health providers (i.e. 36 schools psychologists, 2 therapists, and 1 school counselor). Findings, discussed are the use of social capital networks by SBMHs to empower students and families (Stanton-Salazar, 2001) in their efforts to access quality educational and mental health services.

The aim of this study was to determine internet addiction and violence tendency levels among adolescents, and then to examine their some variables as well as their interrelationship with those levels. This cross-sectional and descriptive type of research was conducted with 537 adolescents (male=363, female=174) studied in high schools. Data were collected with a personal information form, the Internet Addiction Scale (IAS) and the Violence Tendency Scale (VTS). The relationship was determined between adolescents' variables and the outcomes of IAS and VTS. It was determined that the internet addiction levels of the adolescents were low and their tendency toward violence was at moderate level. A statistically significant correlation was found in the direction of moderate positivity between the VTS and IAS totals. As a conclusion, it was determined that levels of tendency toward violence increase in adolescents as their levels of internet addiction increase. It is suggested that adolescents should be observed in terms of internet addiction and caution should be taken in terms of their tendency towards violence.

Over the past decade, the UCLA Trauma Psychiatry Program has developed a school-based intervention program for children and adolescents who have been exposed to trauma and/or traumatic loss, and who suffer from chronic distress and related impairments in academic, peer and family functioning. The program includes a systematic method for screening a student body, a manualized 16–20 week trauma/grief focused group psychotherapy protocol, adjunctive individual and family therapy and specialized measures to assess symptom reduction and adaptive functioning. This article provides a description of the Program, focusing on the group therapy component and the conceptual model that has guided the design of the assessment tools and treatment strategies.

A psychoanalytic model of preschool consultation is presented, born of the conviction that psychoanalysis has powerful tools with which to tackle some of our most difficult and entrenched community problems. Since trauma is known to impact our ability to think reflectively and symbolically (Fonagy, Moran, and Target 1993), the clinical methods of psychoanalysis—drawing on the ideas of container/contained, the capacity to hold alternate
points of view, and the capacity to reflect empathically (here with teachers in the face of their at times harsh and insensitive treatment of students)—are crucial to success in work with cumulatively traumatized staff (Khan,1963). The strongest resistances to consultation arise from an antiattachment
system developed as a result of cumulative trauma and
operating at multiple levels in the preschool. Consultation services are organized around an understanding of this anti-attachment system. At various levels of the system, including staff, parents, and children, consultants work to facilitate secure relationships in the preschool setting. These relationships foster recognition of children’s emotional complexities and build cooperative links between staff and parents, in an atmosphere that otherwise might often push adults into fearful, self-protective states that interfere with their contact with children’s states of mind.

- by L. Eileen Keller, Ph.D.
- •
- Psychoanalysis, Children and Families, Wilfred Bion, Donald W. Winnicott