Moderators of pre-post changes in school-based mental health promotion: Psychological stress symptom decrease for...

Area of Science:

• Adolescent Psychology
• School-Based Interventions
• Mental Health Promotion

Background:

• School-based mental health promotion programs aim to improve student well-being and reduce stress.
• Effectiveness of these programs is often inconsistent, necessitating research into moderating factors.
• The StresSOS program was implemented to assess its impact on stress symptoms and knowledge among students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the StresSOS school-based mental health promotion program.
• To identify moderators, including mental health status, gender, and grade level, influencing changes in stress and knowledge.
• To analyze program acceptance across different student demographics.

Main Methods:

• A total of 510 adolescents (grades 7-10) participated in the 8-session, 90-minute/week StresSOS program.
• Participants were categorized by mental health status: healthy, at-risk, or with existing problems.
• Multilevel mixed effects models were used to analyze pre- to post-intervention changes, considering moderators.

Main Results:

• Adolescents with pre-existing mental health problems showed the most significant reduction in stress symptoms.
• Mental health knowledge increased across all participants.
• Program acceptance varied, with younger students and those with mental health issues reporting higher acceptance.

Conclusions:

• The StresSOS program effectively reduced stress in adolescents with mental health problems and increased knowledge for all.
• Mental health status significantly moderated stress symptom changes.
• Findings support the use of selective or combined universal and selective prevention strategies in schools.