The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Mental health promotion and problem prevention in schools: what does the evidence say?

Mental health promotion and problem prevention in schools: what does the evidence say?
Mental health promotion and problem prevention in schools: what does the evidence say?
The European Union Dataprev project reviewed work on mental health in four areas, parenting, schools, the workplace and older people. The schools workpackage carried out a systematic review of reviews of work on mental health in schools from which it identified evidence-based interventions and programmes and extracted the general principles from evidence-based work. A systematic search of the literature uncovered 52 systematic reviews and meta-analyses of mental health in schools. The interventions identified by the reviews had a wide range of beneficial effects on children, families and communities and on a range of mental health, social, emotional and educational outcomes. The effect sizes associated with most interventions were generally small to moderate in statistical terms, but large in terms of real-world impacts. The effects associated with interventions were variable and their effectiveness could not always be relied on. The characteristics of more effective interventions included: teaching skills, focusing on positive mental health; balancing universal and targeted approaches; starting early with the youngest children and continuing with older ones; operating for a lengthy period of time and embedding work within a multimodal/whole-school approach which included such features as changes to the curriculum including teaching skills and linking with academic learning, improving school ethos, teacher education, liaison with parents, parenting education, community involvement and coordinated work with outside agencies. Interventions were only effective if they were completely and accurately implemented: this applied particularly to whole-school interventions which could be ineffective if not
implemented with clarity, intensity and fidelity. The implications for policy and practice around mental health in schools are discussed, including the suggestion of some rebalancing of priorities and emphases.
0957-4824
29-69
Weare, Katherine
84c8e484-ab17-4037-a0bd-858a0293826d
Nind, Melanie
b1e294c7-0014-483e-9320-e2a0346dffef
Weare, Katherine
84c8e484-ab17-4037-a0bd-858a0293826d
Nind, Melanie
b1e294c7-0014-483e-9320-e2a0346dffef

Weare, Katherine and Nind, Melanie (2011) Mental health promotion and problem prevention in schools: what does the evidence say? Health Promotion International, 26, supplement 1, 29-69. (doi:10.1093/heapro/dar075).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The European Union Dataprev project reviewed work on mental health in four areas, parenting, schools, the workplace and older people. The schools workpackage carried out a systematic review of reviews of work on mental health in schools from which it identified evidence-based interventions and programmes and extracted the general principles from evidence-based work. A systematic search of the literature uncovered 52 systematic reviews and meta-analyses of mental health in schools. The interventions identified by the reviews had a wide range of beneficial effects on children, families and communities and on a range of mental health, social, emotional and educational outcomes. The effect sizes associated with most interventions were generally small to moderate in statistical terms, but large in terms of real-world impacts. The effects associated with interventions were variable and their effectiveness could not always be relied on. The characteristics of more effective interventions included: teaching skills, focusing on positive mental health; balancing universal and targeted approaches; starting early with the youngest children and continuing with older ones; operating for a lengthy period of time and embedding work within a multimodal/whole-school approach which included such features as changes to the curriculum including teaching skills and linking with academic learning, improving school ethos, teacher education, liaison with parents, parenting education, community involvement and coordinated work with outside agencies. Interventions were only effective if they were completely and accurately implemented: this applied particularly to whole-school interventions which could be ineffective if not
implemented with clarity, intensity and fidelity. The implications for policy and practice around mental health in schools are discussed, including the suggestion of some rebalancing of priorities and emphases.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 2011
Organisations: Social Justice & Inclusive Education

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 201919
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/201919
ISSN: 0957-4824
PURE UUID: 30140912-aa9e-4b54-a3e4-00ba91947000
ORCID for Melanie Nind: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4070-7513

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 01 Nov 2011 14:43
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:21

Export record

Altmetrics

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×