Evaluation of a School-based Programme Aimed at Promoting Well-being in Adolescents

University College Dublin

Status: Completed

Conditions: Resilience, Psychological; Adolescent Well-Being

Treatments: Behavioral: A Lust for Life; Behavioral: Waiting list control

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04231604

moconnor1

Details and patient eligibility

About

The aim of this pilot study is to evaluate a universal school-based multi-component intervention whose target is to build well-being and emotional resilience in adolescents.

Full description

Adolescence is an important developmental phase for prevention and intervention initiatives for well-being and mental health. Accordingly, school has been recommended as an optimal location for such initiatives. Universal programmes - programmes that are designated for all individuals in a population - have a number of advantages, including reducing the risk of stigma and yielding high recruitment rates.

A Lust for Life is a universal school-based multi-component intervention whose target is to build well-being and emotional resilience in adolescents. The programme was informed by evidence-based psychological approaches including cognitive behaviour therapy, positive psychology and mindfulness and consists of six lessons, each delivered by the adolescents' school teacher on a weekly basis. The lessons involve classroom discussions, videos, classroom activities and homework assignments.

Study participants will complete the Adolescent Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10, Emotional Literacy and Intervention Inventory-Pupil Checklist, and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale for Children at pre-intervention. Following this, schools randomly assigned to the experimental group will receive A Lust for Life, while those randomly assigned to the control group will be placed on a twelve-week waiting list. The questionnaire measures and a Brief Satisfaction Scale will be completed by participants at post-intervention. In addition, a six-week follow-up assessment will determine whether the effects of the programme are sustained over a period of time. The programme will be delivered in the waiting list control group schools after the six-week follow-up assessment.

Enrollment: 604 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 10 to 19 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Adolescent
• Enrolled in primary school in Ireland
• Obtain written informed consent from parents/guardians
• Provide written assent

Exclusion criteria

• Failure to the meet inclusion criteria

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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604 participants in 2 patient groups

A Lust for Life programme group

Experimental group

Description:

A Lust for Life programme will be delivered to adolescents by their school teachers in six weekly lessons. Well-being and resilience will be promoted in each lesson through classroom discussions, videos, classroom activities and homework assignments.

Treatment:

Behavioral: A Lust for Life

Waiting list control group

Other group

Description:

Participants will be placed on a twelve-week waiting list for the programme.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Waiting list control