International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Torill Marie Bogsnes Larsen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Health Promotion and Development, University of Bergen, 5009 Bergen, Norway
Interests: implementation and evaluation of health promotion interventions among children and adolescents; social-emotional learning in school; physical activity in children and adolescents; mental health promotion and drop-out in schools; positive youth development

Dr. Helga Bjørnøy Urke

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor

Department of Health Promotion and Development, University of Bergen, 5020 Bergen, Norway
Interests: social inequality in mental health; the school as setting for health promotion; physically active learning; psychosocial learning environments and drop-out in upper secondary school; positive youth development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past decade there has been an increase in mental health problems among youth, and in 2014 the WHO called for addressing mental health promotion within schools as an important target for prevention in a life course perspective. With this Special Issue, we call for intervention research targeting mental health promotion in schools, framed within a positive youth development perspective, meaning that the interventions should be strengths- or resource-based. We also welcome research with multi-tier interventions targeting both all students and those with special needs. As implementing an intervention within the school setting is challenging, we welcome papers addressing implementation as well as effectiveness to move the intervention research field forward.

Prof. Dr. Torill Marie Bogsnes Larsen
Dr. Helga Bjørnøy Urke
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

school
mental health promotion
positive youth development
implementation
interventions
effectiveness

Published Papers (1 paper)

Research

16 pages, 374 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Caring Climate and Support, Mental Health, and Academic Adjustment: Effects from a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in Upper Secondary Schools in Norway

by Torill Bogsnes Larsen, Helga Bjørnøy Urke, Sara Madeleine Kristensen and Frida Kathrine Sofie Mathisen

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(22), 7033; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20227033 - 8 Nov 2023

Viewed by 1364

Abstract

This cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) examined the effect of a three year follow up of a multi-tier intervention aiming at improving the psychosocial environment in upper secondary schools in Norway. Two intervention conditions were tested: a universal single-tier intervention focused on improving the psychosocial school climate, the dream school program (DSP), and a multi-tier intervention combining the DSP with a targeted measure, the mental health support team (MHST). A total of 2203 students responded to the baseline survey. Of the 2203 pupils, 1884 responded to the first follow-up survey (year 1), 1287 pupils to the second (year 2), and 756 pupils to the third (year 3). The direct and indirect effects on school completion were analyzed using a multi-level linear mixed model. The results showed no significant effects of either the DSP or the DSP and MHST in combination on support, the school climate, mental health, or academic adjustment. We found no significant effect of the interventions on the proportion who had completed school or were in training (the three groups varied between 76.6% and 77.8%). Future similar studies should be attentive to the potential challenges of implementing RCTs in the school setting. Furthermore, the long-term effects of school interventions on the constructs included in this study could be difficult to capture due to the complexity of the phenomena. The implications of these findings are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Effectiveness of School-Based Mental Health Interventions)

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Advances and Effectiveness of School-Based Mental Health Interventions

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (1 paper)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI