Effects of a school teacher-led 45-minute educational program for mental health literacy in pre-teens
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Published on: September 19, 2019
Yasutaka Ojio1,2, Jerome C Foo1,3, Satoshi Usami4
1Department of Physical and Health Education, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Aim:
A concise teacher-led program for mental health literacy (MHL), suitable for schools with tight schedules was developed, and its effects were examined in pre-teens.
Methods:
Participants comprised 662 grade 5 to 6 students from nine Japanese elementary schools. The program consisted of a 45-minute session, delivered by school teachers using a 10-minute animated film. Program focuses included: mental health problems are common, can be associated with lifestyle and that seeking help from reliable adults is a key to finding solutions. Participants filled out self-report questionnaires before, immediately after and 3 months post-intervention. Changes in MHL were analyzed using multilevel models.
Results:
Knowledge about mental health/illnesses, recognition of mental health state and intention to help peers/seek help when suffering from mental health problems, were significantly improved immediately and 3 months post-intervention.
Conclusions:
Concise teacher-led programs administered in schools can have positive and lasting effects on MHL in pre-teens.
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