Background: School-based mental health promotion aims to strengthen mental health and reduce stress. Results on the effectiveness of such programs are heterogeneous. This study realized a school-based mental health promotion program (StresSOS) for all students and aimed to identify moderators (mental health status, gender, grade level) of pre- to post-changes in stress symptoms and knowledge. Methods: Participants were N = 510 adolescents (from 29 classes; 46.7% female) aged 12–18 years (M = 13.88, SD = 1.00; grade levels 7–10). They were without mental health problems (65.9%), at risk for mental health problems (21.6%), or with mental health problems (12.5%) and participated in a 90 min per week face-to-face training with 8 sessions in class at school. Demographic variables, mental health status, stress symptoms, and knowledge about stress and mental health were collected at baseline. Program acceptance, stress symptoms, and knowledge were collected post-intervention. Multilevel mixed effects models were conducted with the fixed effects time (within factor), mental health status, gender, and grade level (between factors). Random effects for students within classes were included. Results: In the pre-post comparison, mental health status moderated the changes on psychological stress symptoms (p < 0.05). In adolescents with mental health problems the largest reduction in stress symptoms was observed between pre- and post-assessment. Gender and grade level were less relevant. For all adolescents knowledge gains were revealed (p < 0.001). Program acceptance was moderated by mental health status and grade level (p < 0.01). Mentally healthy adolescents and within the group of adolescents at-risk or with mental health problems, especially younger students (7th/8th grade), rated program acceptance higher. Conclusion: Psychological stress symptoms decreased among adolescents with mental health problems and not among adolescents at risk for or without mental health problems. Mental health-related knowledge increased for all adolescents. The results add to knowledge on school-based mental health intervention research and practice. Its implications for different prevention strategies (universal, selective or a combination of both) are discussed.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka sambandet mellan Mental Health Literacy (MHL) och psykologisk ohälsa och hälsa via variablerna emotionell och fysisk utmattning, ångest, depression, muskeldysmorfi, välbefinnande inom idrott, harmonisk passion samt tvångsmässig passion. Det specifika syftet var att undersöka om MHL kan predicera psykologiska hälsa och ohälsa. Tidigare studier har visat signifikanta samband mellan idrottares Mental Health Literacy (MHL) och deras psykologiska hälsa, där forskning indikerar att låga nivåer av MHL leder till försämrad psykologisk hälsa jämfört med de som skattar hög MHL (Kutcher et al., 2016). I föreliggande studie användes en kvantitativ longitudinell forskningsdesign där sammanlagt 70 idrottare deltog i åldrarna 15–35 år (M= 23.7, SD= 5.69). Deltagarna rekryterades via ett tillgänglighetsurval och besvarade en enkät vid två mättillfällen, vilket innehöll sex frågeformulär. Resultatet indikerar att det inte finns något samband över tid mellan MHL och psykologisk hälsa hos idrottare. Detta indikerar att varken låga eller höga nivåer av MHL kan predicera en idrottares kommande psykologiska hälsa. Resultatet i föreliggande studie belyser att det finns goda skäl till mer forskning kring sambandet mellan MHL och psykologisk hälsa inom idrotten. / The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between Mental Health Literacy (MHL) and psychological health and illness through the variables emotional and physical exhaustion, anxiety, depression, muscle dysmorphia, well-being in sports, harmonious and obsessive passion. More specifically, the purpose was to investigate whether MHL can predict psychological health and illness. Previous studies have shown a significant relationship between athletes' Mental Health Literacy (MHL) and their psychological health, the research indicates that low levels of MHL lead to poorer psychological health compared to those who rate high MHL (Kutcher et al., 2016). A quantitative longitudinal research design was used in this study and a total of 70 athletes aged 15–35 years participated (M = 23.7, SD = 5.69). Participants were recruited via an availability sample and answered a questionnaire on two measurement occasions, which contained six questionnaires. The results indicate that there is no relationship over time between MHL and psychological health. More specifically, the results indicate that neither low or high levels of MHL can predict an athlete's future psychological health. The results of the present study highlight that there are good reasons for more research about the relationship between MHL and psychological health in sports.

The effectiveness of psychoeducation and peer support programs for children of mentally ill parents is frequently measured by demonstrating children’s ability to meet program goals according to pre-defined categories determined by adults. Little is known about how children respond to these goals, whether they share them, and how, or if, their needs are met. I conducted an ethnographic study of one such group for school-aged children. I examined how specific discourses framed the content of the program manual designed to educate and support children and I observed how children responded to the program. My study is rooted in Goffman’s (1959) dramaturgical analyses of the reciprocal influence individuals have on one another in face-to-face encounters. From a critical dramaturgical perspective the participants were expected to conform to behavioural expectations of the setting, itself framed by broader arenas of interaction in which shared institutionalized meanings govern (often idealized) presentations of self. Data collection included: 1. a critical discourse analysis of the program manual; 2. participant observation of interactions during the eight-week program; and 3. children’s evaluations of the program in a separate group interview. Being identified as “as all in the same boat” was meaningful and consequential for children who were expected to learn mental health/illness information because, “knowledge is power”, and to express difficult feelings about being a child of a mentally ill parent. Children could be said to have achieved the goals of the program because they developed a mutual understanding about how to interpret and give meaning to their circumstances; “recognizing” unpredictable behaviours as signs of illness and becoming responsible for managing only how “their own story would go”. Children were not expected to care for ill parents, even when they wanted some responsibility, and were strongly discouraged from turning to friends for support. Children strategized to negotiate and resist group expectations and challenge assumptions about being “all in the same boat”. Suggestions are made for determining what constitutes “good” mental health literacy based on children’s preferences for explaining their circumstances in ways they find relevant and for supporting children’s competencies to manage relationships that are important to them.

The effectiveness of psychoeducation and peer support programs for children of mentally ill parents is frequently measured by demonstrating children’s ability to meet program goals according to pre-defined categories determined by adults. Little is known about how children respond to these goals, whether they share them, and how, or if, their needs are met. I conducted an ethnographic study of one such group for school-aged children. I examined how specific discourses framed the content of the program manual designed to educate and support children and I observed how children responded to the program. My study is rooted in Goffman’s (1959) dramaturgical analyses of the reciprocal influence individuals have on one another in face-to-face encounters. From a critical dramaturgical perspective the participants were expected to conform to behavioural expectations of the setting, itself framed by broader arenas of interaction in which shared institutionalized meanings govern (often idealized) presentations of self. Data collection included: 1. a critical discourse analysis of the program manual; 2. participant observation of interactions during the eight-week program; and 3. children’s evaluations of the program in a separate group interview. Being identified as “as all in the same boat” was meaningful and consequential for children who were expected to learn mental health/illness information because, “knowledge is power”, and to express difficult feelings about being a child of a mentally ill parent. Children could be said to have achieved the goals of the program because they developed a mutual understanding about how to interpret and give meaning to their circumstances; “recognizing” unpredictable behaviours as signs of illness and becoming responsible for managing only how “their own story would go”. Children were not expected to care for ill parents, even when they wanted some responsibility, and were strongly discouraged from turning to friends for support. Children strategized to negotiate and resist group expectations and challenge assumptions about being “all in the same boat”. Suggestions are made for determining what constitutes “good” mental health literacy based on children’s preferences for explaining their circumstances in ways they find relevant and for supporting children’s competencies to manage relationships that are important to them.