Comprehensive programmes to help reduce substance misuse/mental illness in youth should combine Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT). EMPATHY, an SBIRT programme, was part of a school-based prevention initiative to reduce symptoms of substance misuse in youth in Grades 6-12, along with reducing symptoms of depression,…

Interpersonal relationships are central to adolescent well-being. The current research investigates interpersonal goal setting among a general sample of adolescents following a growth mindset intervention. This study qualitatively explores what interpersonal goals adolescents set, outcomes they aim to achieve, obstacles they perceive, and actions…

Targeted school-based programs seem to be a promising approach to help adolescents in need. Nevertheless, successful implementation and evaluation of such programs is challenging. However, there is limited knowledge about (overcoming) the challenges of implementation and experimental evaluation of school-based programs. The goal of the present…

Background: Educators in rural schools are uniquely situated to address youth mental health disparities, yet often face challenges in delivering mental health supports. This paper describes the process of adapting the evidence-based Coping Power program, a small group prevention program for youth with aggressive behavior problems, to be a…

Background: Educators in rural schools are uniquely situated to address youth mental health disparities, yet often face challenges in delivering mental health supports. This paper describes the process of adapting the evidence-based Coping Power program, a small group prevention program for youth with aggressive behavior problems, to be a…

This dissertation aims to elucidate that current school-based mental health services need a more LGBTQI+ affirmative stance to counter and disrupt the heteronormativity, homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia that LGBTQI+ students regularly encounter at school. Many LGBTQI+ students continue to be harassed, bullied, and discriminated against;…

We explored secondary school principals' knowledge of suicide prevention programs, their perceptions of the logistical and cultural barriers associated with suicide prevention program adoption, and their justification for adopting (or not adopting) suicide prevention programs in their schools. Principals, as positional leaders of schools, can lead…

During the 2020 pandemic, global governments imposed COVID-19 restrictions. Among the restrictions were K-12 school closures, which caused an abrupt change from in-person to virtual learning. These circumstances damaged students' mental health even after constraints were lifted. The problem was the socio-emotional learning (SEL) deficiency…

COVID-19 has had tremendous effects on all aspects of society. In the intervening years, there have been issues with finances, health, and education (Duraku & Hoxha, 2020; Harris, 2020; ODE, 2020; Safi, et al., 2020; Terada, 2020; Whittaker, 2020). The purpose of this study was to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the job…

Childhood adversity can have detrimental impacts on life course mental and physical health. Timing, nature, severity, and chronicity of adversity are thought to explain much of the variability in health and developmental outcomes among exposed individuals. The current study seeks to characterize heterogeneity in adverse experiences over time at…

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events occurring in the household or community that hold painful or distressing outcomes for children immediately and in their future (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). School counselors work with children and young adolescents suffering from negative mental health…

We describe challenges to measuring the type and quantity of mental health programs, practices, and resources that schools provide to students, as well as variation in these resources. We conducted interviews and surveys with school and district staff representing 55 middle and high schools in MetroWest Massachusetts with the goal of collecting…

Teachers in the United States report persistently high levels of stress and burnout. In response, teacher well-being interventions have become increasingly prevalent in educational settings. To advance the development of a rigorous science of teacher well-being, our chapter offers a bioecological framework for understanding this construct;…

Sustained inquiry between school administrators and mental health professionals around critical incidents, school policy, and problems of practice is required to mitigate inequities so prominently illuminated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Collaboration between school stakeholders with different role identities and positionalities gainfully blurs…

An approach to action research of innovative and disruptive socioecological understandings of young people's wellbeing, resilience, and engagement in middle school was piloted with a coalition of school principals, lead teachers, police, and community development professionals by an RMIT research team. This coalition was built around the…