The Aussie Optimism: Positive Thinking Skills Program (AOP-PTS) is an innovative curriculum-based mental health promotion program based on cognitive and behavioural strategies. The program is aimed at preventing depressive and anxiety symptoms and disorders in middle primary school children aged 9-10 years. Students from 22 low SES primary schools (N = 910) were randomly assigned to an intervention or a control group and assessed at baseline, post-test, 6 months and 18 months. The intervention group received the program implemented by teachers and the control group received their regular Health Education curriculum. Students completed questionnaires on depression, anxiety, and attribution style. At risk students were further assessed with the computerised Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents. Parents reported on their children's externalising and internalising problems at home. Children in the intervention condition reported a significant pre-post reduction in depressive symptoms, and there was a significant pre-post reduction in parent-reported emotional difficulties which was maintained at 6 month follow-up; no changes were evident in the control group. Both groups showed significant improvements in child-reported anxiety and attribution style, and significant improvements in parent-reported pro-social behaviours. For both groups, there were no significant post-baseline changes in incidence and recovery rates for depression, anxiety, or internalising symptoms. These findings suggest that AOP-PTS has the potential to treat depressive symptomatology in the immediate term but the effects were not sustained. There is also evidence of improved emotional resilience up to 6 months following the program. Further follow-up to investigate longer term effects is needed.

The efficacy of an enhanced version of the Aussie Optimism Program (AOP) was investigated in a cluster randomized controlled trial. Grade 6 students aged 10–11 years of age (N = 2288) from 63 government primary schools in Perth, Western Australia, participated in the pre, post, and follow-up study. Schools were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Aussie Optimism with teacher training, Aussie Optimism with teacher training plus coaching, or a usual care condition that received the regular Western Australian Health Education Curriculum. Students in the Aussie Optimism conditions received 20, 1-h lessons relating to social and interpersonal skills and optimistic thinking skills over the last 2 years of primary school. Parents in the active conditions received a parent information booklet each year, plus a self-directed program in Grade 7. Students and parents completed the Extended Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Students who scored in the clinical range on the Emotional Symptoms Scale were given The Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents IV, to assess suicidal ideation and behavior, and depressive and anxiety disorders. Results indicated that Aussie Optimism with teacher training plus coaching was associated with the best outcomes: a significant increase in student-reported pro-social behavior from pre-test to post-test 1 (maintained at post-test 2) and significantly lower incidence rates from suicidal ideation at post-test 2 and follow-up. No significant intervention effects on anxiety and depressive disorders, and total difficulties were reported. These findings suggest that the AOP with teacher training along with coaching may have the potential to positively impact on suicidality and pro-social behavior in the pre-adolescent years.

The Aussie Optimism: Positive Thinking Skills Program (AOPTP) is a school-based prevention program aimed at addressing anxious and depressive symptoms in children aged 9-10 years. Nine-hundred and ten students from 22 Australian primary schools situated in low socio-economic areas were randomly assigned to either an intervention or control group, and assessed at a 30-month follow up. Those in the intervention group received the AOPTP program, where the control group continued to receive the regular health education course. Students completed self-report measures regarding their levels of depression, anxiety, and attribution style. Parents also reported on their children's externalizing and internalizing problems outside of school. There were no significant differences between groups in regard to anxiety or depression, as well as no significant differences in attributional styles. Parents reported significantly less hyperactive behaviors from children in the intervention group. This finding suggests that AOP-PTS has the capacity to treat externalizing problems at a medium term effect. The decrease in the externalizing problems provides evidence of a partial medium term intervention effect. Future studies should continue to evaluate the program at a long term follow up.

The Aussie Optimism Program: Feelings and Friends (AOP-FF) is a 10 week, universal mental health promotion program based on social/emotional and cognitive and behavioral strategies. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of a universal Cognitive Behavioral Therapy based program in preventing and reducing internalizing problems in 6–8 year olds (Years 1–3 in Australia). Year 1–3 students from a low SES primary school (N = 206) were randomly assigned in classes to either an intervention or a control group and assessed at baseline and post-test. Results showed a significant (p = 0.009) and small to moderate (partial eta-squared = 0.034) pre-post decrease in parent-reported anxiety symptoms for the intervention group, in conjunction with a non-significant (p = 0.708) and negligible (partial eta-squared = 0.001) pre-post increase for the control group. A larger randomized controlled trial assessing longer term effects is needed. In addition the program needs to be simplified for year 1–2 students with a separate more developmentally appropriate program for year 3 students.