Background: Youth mental health needs have worsened following COVID-19. Rising demand for school mental health services is straining capacity. Several states have added policies requiring mental health education, yet these vary widely and barriers to operationalization exist. Purpose: This paper explores the onerous landscape of mental health…

Background: Mental health care is critical to improving mental health but factors associated with student utilization are poorly understood. Methods: Data were from high school students (N = 2933; mean age = 15.7 ± 0.6) enrolled in a California cohort. We examined associations of sociodemographic factors, substance use, and mental health symptoms…

Most recent data confirms that the transition and learning "gap between youth and young adults (ages 14-24) with and without disabilities remains significant despite decades of federal and state legislation intended to improve education and employment opportunities" (Cheng & Shaewitz, 2020, p. 28). Researchers have highlighted that…

Background: Mental disorders most likely manifest during adolescence, providing opportunities for schools and professionals to implement standardized mental health literacy (MHL) interventions to support improvement of mental health outcomes. Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an MHL intervention (the Guide) on knowledge, stigma,…

Project Cal-Well is a cross-agency mental health initiative led by the California Department of Education focused on building capacity for sustainable school-based mental health systems in local educational agencies (LEAs) throughout California. As part of a series highlighting the work of Project Cal-Well partners in Cohort 2 (2019-2024), this…

Rates of depression in youth are continuing to increase at a steady rate, yet these youth often do not receive mental health services (Bertha & Balázs, 2013; Thomas et al., 2011). Schools are an ideal setting to connect youth to mental health services; however, many barriers exist with respect to schools having adequate resources and access to…

The goal of this qualitative study was to understand the perspectives of school community members (adolescents, parents, school administrators, teachers, mental health providers) regarding the adaptation of an evidence-based transdiagnostic mental health treatment, known as the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders…

In the face of systemic neglect of low-income urban neighborhoods, Hip Hop was much more than entertainment: it was a countercultural revolution embodied as a way of life bound to community action and social change. Hip Hop represents resilience, resistance, and redemption for those living on the margins; to this day, it is an art form for the…

High school athletes are not immune to mental health challenges. The persistent lack of state or national mental health guidelines for athletes has impacted high school athletes' abilities to access and apply resources in a mentally healthy manner. This can impact not only a high school athlete's career but can leave lasting effects on collegiate…

Previous studies have explored the relationship between students' school stress and resilience but have largely overlooked the relationship between students' daily academic hassles and buoyancy. Although the close relationship between academic buoyancy and achievement has been confirmed, using the academic buoyancy perspective to explain the…

We investigated the between- and within-person longitudinal relationship between perceptions of a caring school climate and mental well-being, and the role of socioeconomic position (SEP) for these constructs among high school students in Norway (N = 1508; 60.7% girls). Using a random intercept cross-lagged panel model, we found positive…

Adolescents present high risk of developing mental health problems. Different school-based programs have been designed to prevent and treat the psychological distress that they often experience with disparate results. In this study, we tested the efficacy of a school-based program framed into the "Escuelas Despiertas" initiative that…

We examined trends in depression among 17-year-olds to understand the contribution of incoming students to the demand for collegiate mental health services. Seventeen-year-olds (N = 32,325) from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) for 2008 to 2019 were included. The proportion of 17-year-olds reporting depression during their…

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with behavioral health challenges and high school dropout, and behavioral health is associated with high school dropout. Less is known about the role of behavioral health challenges in the relationship between ACEs and high school dropout. Methods: Using data from the Panel Study of…

This demonstration brief provides teaching and learning stories from districts and schools implementing PBIS with an integrated systems focus and is organized across the following areas: (a) the context of the school/district, (b) the changes made in the systems, (c) the impact of the changes made in the systems, and (d) next steps to improve the…