Universal school-based intervention: personal competence among public school children

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychology
• Public Health
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Childhood adversities significantly impact mental and physical health.
• Access to psychosocial interventions is limited for children in low-income countries.
• School-based programs are vital for addressing these disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a universal school-based psychosocial intervention in Lebanon.
• To improve personal competence and reduce mental health symptoms (anxiety, depression, PTSD, ADHD) in children.
• To assess intervention effects across diverse student subgroups, including refugees.

Main Methods:

• A 13-session intervention was delivered by teachers to 1,920 students (grades 4-7).
• Standardized pre- and post-intervention assessments measured outcomes.
• Linear mixed models analyzed intervention effects, with moderators like adversity and environmental sensitivity explored.

Main Results:

• The intervention significantly improved personal competence and reduced symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and ADHD.
• Improvements in personal competence were consistent across all student subgroups.
• Childhood adversity and environmental sensitivity moderated effects on some secondary outcomes.

Conclusions:

• School-based psychosocial interventions are effective for enhancing personal competence and mental health in children.
• The intervention shows broad efficacy, benefiting diverse student populations, including those facing adversity.
• Such programs are crucial for improving mental health access in resource-limited settings.