A school-based health promotion programme to increase help-seeking for substance use and mental health problems: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundAdolescence is a high-risk time for the development of mental health and substance use problems. However, fewer than one in four 16–24 year-olds with a current disorder access health services, with those experiencing a substance use disorder being the least likely to seek professional help. Research indicates that young people are keeping their problems to themselves or alternatively, turning to peers or trusted adults in their lives for help. These help-seeking preferences highlight the need to build the mental health literacy of adolescents, to ensure that they know when and how to assist themselves and their peers to access support. The MAKINGtheLINK intervention aims to introduce these skills to adolescents within a classroom environment.Methods/designThis is a cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) with schools as clusters and individual students as participants from 22 secondary schools in Victoria, Australia. Schools will be randomly assigned to either the MAKINGtheLINK intervention group or the waitlist control group. All students will complete a self-report questionnaire at baseline, immediately post intervention and 6 and 12 months post baseline. The primary outcome to be assessed is increased help-seeking behaviour (from both formal and informal sources) for alcohol and mental health issues, measured at 12 months post baseline.DiscussionThe findings from this research will provide evidence on the effectiveness of the MAKINGtheLINK intervention for teaching school students how to overcome prominent barriers associated with seeking help, as well as how to effectively support their peers. If deemed effective, the MAKINGtheLINK programme will be the first evidence-informed resource that is able to address critical gaps in the knowledge and behaviour of adolescents in relation to help-seeking. It could, therefore, be a valuable resource that could be readily implemented by classroom teachers.Trial registrationAustralia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ANZCTR): ACTRN12613000235707. Registered on 27 February 2013.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13063-016-1510-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Australian adolescents’ beliefs and help-seeking intentions towards peers experiencing symptoms of depression and alcohol misuse

“…The current study uses baseline data from a cluster randomised controlled trial of MAKINGtheLINK, a school-based intervention that teaches adolescents how to identify mental health and substance use problems in their peers, and helps them overcome barriers to accessing professional help [ 34 ].…”

“…Schools were initially required to obtain consent forms signed by the students’ parent/guardian, however to increase participation rates a passive/opt-out consent process was later adopted. Under this process, students could make an informed choice as to whether they participated, however parents were informed in advance and could opt-out if they did not want their child involved [ 34 ]. Ethics approval was obtained by Monash University, the then Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Victoria (now Department of Education and Training), and the Catholic Education Office.…”

What are the barriers, facilitators and interventions targeting help-seeking behaviours for common mental health problems in adolescents? A systematic review

“…Five studies developed programmes based on the notion that promoting mental health awareness could enhance mental health literacy and promote helpseeking [84][85][86][87][88]. Four interventions targeting helpseeking for suicide were identified within five studies [89][90][91][92][93].…”

Predicting Adolescent Adjustment and Well-Being: The Interplay between Socio-Emotional and Personal Factors

“…Drawing from previous research, there are socio-emotional factors such as emotional competence and self-esteem that predict either adolescent adjustment or well-being [27,28,37]. Most studies usually focus instead on preventing psychological problems such as behavioural and emotional difficulties [36] or consider the positive approach of promoting mental health and well-being [52]. To our knowledge, there are few studies that integrate both perspectives in order to simultaneously determine potential risk and protection factors for psychological adjustment and subjective well-being.…”