Characteristics of school-based health services associated with students’ mental health

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Denny ◽  
Hamish Howie ◽  
Sue Grant ◽  
Ross Galbreath ◽  
Jennifer Utter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Health Services ◽  
School Health ◽  
Cluster Randomized Trial ◽  
Well Being ◽  
School Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
School Based

Objective School-based health services (SBHS) have been shown to improve access to mental health services but the evidence of their effectiveness on students’ mental health is lacking. Our objective was to examine associations between variation in the provision of SBHS and students’ mental health. Methods A cross-sectional analysis of a nationally representative health and well-being survey of 8500 New Zealand high school students conducted in March–November 2012. Students’ mental health is related to data on school health services obtained from clinic leaders and clinicians from 90 participating high schools. Results After adjustment for socio-demographic differences in students between schools, increasing levels of services were associated with progressively lower levels of student-reported depressive symptoms (p = 0.002), emotional and behavioural difficulties (p = 0.004) and suicidality (p = 0.008). Services with greater levels of nursing hours (p = 0.02) and those that performed routine, comprehensive psychosocial assessments (p = 0.01) were both associated with lower levels of student-reported depressive symptoms. Greater levels of nursing hours and doctor hours were associated with lower self-reported suicidality among students. Conclusions Although a causal association between school-based health services and students’ mental health cannot be demonstrated, these findings support the benefit of such services and the need for a cluster randomized trial.

scholarly journals Mental health burden of high school students 1.5 years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Dale ◽  
MMag. Dr. Andrea Jesser ◽  
Teresa O´Rourke ◽  
Thomas Probst ◽  
Elke Humer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
School Type ◽  
School Students ◽  
Health Burden

<p>The COVID-19 pandemic and containment efforts seem to be particularly challenging for adolescents. This study assessed mental health in 14- to 20-year-old high school students 1.5 years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria. A cross-sectional survey was carried out from 14<sup>th</sup> September 2021 to 14<sup>th</sup> November 2021. Well-being (WHO-5), depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), anxiety symptoms (GAD-7) and sleep quality (ISI) were assessed. A total of 1505 adolescents participated (77.9% girls). The cut-off for clinically relevant depressive symptoms (i.e., PHQ-9 score, ≥11) was exceeded by 61.9% girls and 38.1% boys and 49.3% girls and 28.8% boys had clinically relevant anxiety symptoms (i.e., GAD-7 score, ≥11). Clinically relevant moderate insomnia (i.e., ISI score, ≥15) was reported by 27.5% girls and 16.7% boys. The prevalence of suicidal ideation (item 9 of the PHQ-9) within the last 2 weeks was 46.8% in girls and 32.0% in boys. These data collected in autumn 2021 (at the start of the second semester of reopened schools; t2) were compared to data collected in February 2021 (one semester after almost exclusively remote schooling; t1). A matched pairs analysis according to age, gender, region, school type and migration background resulted in a total sample size of N = 2514 adolescents (70.1% females). Results showed small reduction in mental health (i.e., well-being, depressive symptoms, insomnia, suicidal ideation) in girls at t2 compared to t1, and an increase in suicidal thoughts in boys (all <i>p</i>-values <0.05). Results suggest that mental health burden in adolescents remained high 1.5 years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight the need to implement timely psychological support. </p>

scholarly journals Social Disconnectedness, Loneliness, and Mental Health Among Adolescents in Danish High Schools: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziggi Ivan Santini ◽  
Veronica S. C. Pisinger ◽  
Line Nielsen ◽  
Katrine Rich Madsen ◽  
Malene Kubstrup Nelausen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
School Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Mental Well Being

Background: Previous research has suggested that social disconnectedness experienced at school is linked to mental health problems, however, more research is needed to investigate (1) whether the accumulation of various types of social disconnectedness is associated with risk for mental health problems, and (2) whether loneliness is a mechanism that explains these associations.Methods: Using data from the Danish National Youth Study 2019 (UNG19), nation-wide cross-sectional data from 29,086 high school students in Denmark were analyzed to assess associations between social disconnectedness experienced at school (lack of classmate support, lack of teacher support, lack of class social cohesion, and not being part of the school community) and various mental health outcomes, as well as the mediating role of loneliness for each type of disconnectedness. Multilevel regression analyses were conducted to assess the associations.Results: Descriptive analyses suggest that 27.5% of Danish high school students experience at least one type of social disconnectedness at school. Each type of social disconnectedness was positively associated with mental health problems (depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, stress, sleep problems, suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-injury, eating disorder, body dissatisfaction, and low self-esteem) and negatively associated with mental well-being. In all cases, loneliness significantly mediated the associations. We found a clear dose-response pattern, where each addition in types of social disconnectedness was associated with (1) stronger negative coefficients with mental well-being and (2) stronger positive coefficients with mental health problems.Conclusion: Our results add to a large evidence-base suggesting that mental health problems among adolescents may be prevented by promoting social connectedness at school. More specifically, fostering social connectedness at school may prevent loneliness, which in turn may promote mental well-being and prevent mental health problems during the developmental stages of adolescence. It is important to note that focusing on single indicators of school social connectedness/disconnectedness would appear to be insufficient. Implications for practices within school settings to enhance social connectedness are discussed.

scholarly journals Mental health burden of high school students 1.5 years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Dale ◽  
MMag. Dr. Andrea Jesser ◽  
Teresa O´Rourke ◽  
Thomas Probst ◽  
Elke Humer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
School Type ◽  
School Students ◽  
Health Burden

<p>The COVID-19 pandemic and containment efforts seem to be particularly challenging for adolescents. This study assessed mental health in 14- to 20-year-old high school students 1.5 years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria. A cross-sectional survey was carried out from 14<sup>th</sup> September 2021 to 14<sup>th</sup> November 2021. Well-being (WHO-5), depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), anxiety symptoms (GAD-7) and sleep quality (ISI) were assessed. A total of 1505 adolescents participated (77.9% girls). The cut-off for clinically relevant depressive symptoms (i.e., PHQ-9 score, ≥11) was exceeded by 61.9% girls and 38.1% boys and 49.3% girls and 28.8% boys had clinically relevant anxiety symptoms (i.e., GAD-7 score, ≥11). Clinically relevant moderate insomnia (i.e., ISI score, ≥15) was reported by 27.5% girls and 16.7% boys. The prevalence of suicidal ideation (item 9 of the PHQ-9) within the last 2 weeks was 46.8% in girls and 32.0% in boys. These data collected in autumn 2021 (at the start of the second semester of reopened schools; t2) were compared to data collected in February 2021 (one semester after almost exclusively remote schooling; t1). A matched pairs analysis according to age, gender, region, school type and migration background resulted in a total sample size of N = 2514 adolescents (70.1% females). Results showed small reduction in mental health (i.e., well-being, depressive symptoms, insomnia, suicidal ideation) in girls at t2 compared to t1, and an increase in suicidal thoughts in boys (all <i>p</i>-values <0.05). Results suggest that mental health burden in adolescents remained high 1.5 years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight the need to implement timely psychological support. </p>

Perfectionism in adolescents: Self-critical perfectionism as a predictor of depressive symptoms across the school year

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelby L. Levine ◽  
Isabelle Green-Demers ◽  
Marina Milyavskaya ◽  
Kaitlyn M. Werner
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
School Students ◽  
Personal Standards ◽  
School Year ◽  
Path Modelling ◽  
Personal Standards Perfectionism

The present study examined the influence of personal standards and self-critical perfectionism on depressive and anxiety symptoms over the academic year. High-school students (N=174) were surveyed in the late Fall and early Spring, assessing perfectionism in the Fall and mental health across the year in both the Fall and Spring. Path modelling was used to examine whether self-critical and personal standards perfectionism were related to changes in mental health across the school year. Controlling for mental health at the start of the year, self-critical perfectionism predicted an increase in depressive symptoms over time, whereas personal standards perfectionism was unrelated to changes in mental health. Results support that self-critical perfectionism is detrimental to mental health in adolescents, suggesting that future interventions should focus on reducing self-critical cognitive biases in youth.

scholarly journals A study of the effectiveness of school health education programs on selected mosquito borne diseases: school based cross-sectional study

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 2728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayanthi Sureshbabu ◽  
Senthilvel Vasudevan ◽  
Priyanka Raj
Keyword(s):  
Health Education ◽  
School Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Control Programme ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
School Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
School Based ◽  
School Health Education

Background: School health education programs provide a convenient platform for engaging the students in health promotion activities. Public health problems like mosquito borne diseases cannot be controlled without active participation of the community and students are a resourceful component of the community who can be encouraged to take up activities to control mosquito borne diseases in the community.Methods: School-based cross-sectional study was conducted in December 2010 to March 2011 among 508 school students selected at random from students studying in the eighth to tenth standard. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results: Totally 508 students were included in this study. The number of students unaware of the stages in the mosquito life cycle and the mosquito’s resting habits reduced from 420 (82.68%) to 19 (3.74%) and 103 (20.28%) to 13 (2.56%) respectively. The number of students with correct knowledge of the biting habits of the female mosquito and personal protection (PP) measures increased from 31.69% to 97.05% with statistically highly significant (p <0.0001) and 52.95% to 74.21% respectively.Conclusions: The present study suggested that the school health education program is effective in creating awareness and increasing the knowledge regarding mosquito borne diseases among school children and possibilities of successfully engaging the community at large in the fight against mosquito borne diseases. The need would be to sustain this activity and implement it in schools as part of the vector borne disease control programme.

Mental Health Literacy in Iranian Adolescents

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1551-1556
Author(s):  
Arezoo . ◽  
Behbood . ◽  
Alireza . ◽  
Salehi . ◽  
Hossein . ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
At Risk ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
School Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Illiteracy

Background: Mental health literacy (MHL) is a relatively ignored determinant of community mental health in Iran, in which its level and determinants should be addressed. Aim: To investigate MHL and its components among Iranian adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. After multistage cluster random sampling, 500 high school students were enrolled. Previously validated Persian version of theMHL Scale (MHLS) was used for data collection. In addition, data on socio-demographic variables were also collected. Adolescents with an MHL score of less than 60% of the achievable score were considered as at-risk of mental health illiteracy. Relevant statistical analyses were used to determine the MHL level and its association with sociodemographic variables. Results: Overall prevalence of being at-risk of mental health illiteracy was estimated at 71.5 % (95% CI: 67.1, 75.6). Prevalence of being at-risk of stigmatization, inadequate self-help knowledge, and information seeking was 91.2 (95% CI: 88.3, 93.7), 60.3 (95% CI: 59.8, 60.8), and 36.6 (95% CI: 36.1, 37.1), respectively. Having religious beliefs was associated with the stigmatization component (adjusted OR= 2.66, 95% CI: 1.27-5.59). Conclusions: Prevalence of being at-risk of mental health illiteracy is high among Iranian adolescents. Mental disorders are highly stigmatized in Iran. Keywords: Mental Health Literacy, Health Literacy, Adolescent, Iran, Mental Disorder

scholarly journals The Relationship Between Positive Mental Health Literacy and Mental Well-Being Among Adolescents: Implications for School Health Services

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanne N. Bjørnsen ◽  
Geir A. Espnes ◽  
Mary-Elizabeth B. Eilertsen ◽  
Regine Ringdal ◽  
Unni K. Moksnes
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Health Services ◽  
School Health ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mental Health Education ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
The Relationship

Mental health education is a central part of school nurses’ practice. Mental health literacy is an asset for health that educational initiatives can strengthen, and a significant determinant of mental health. This study was intended to examine the relationship between positive mental health literacy (PMeHL) and mental well-being to discuss its implications for school health services’ mental health education. The relationship was assessed using a multiple linear regression model controlling for relevant covariates. Data were derived from a cross-sectional school-based survey including 1,888 adolescents aged 15–21 years (response rate 97.3%). A weak gender difference was found in PMeHL. The regression model accounted for 41% of the variance in adolescents’ mental well-being; PMeHL was a significant explanatory variable of mental well-being. Accordingly, the current study found support for including PMeHL, or knowledge of how to obtain and maintain good mental health, as an integral component of school health services’ mental health education among adolescents.

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