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,…

The primary purpose of this research study was to evaluate the efficacy of BASE, a self-paced online mental health education preventive intervention with middle school students. Two hundred ninety-five adolescent students were randomly assigned to receive BASE modules (n = 156) in a regular education classroom setting over a 5-week period or to a…

When the COVID-19 pandemic closed in-person schools in March 2020, SOS Signs of Suicide shifted to a virtual program. This paper describes an evaluation of the acceptability of the online program by middle and high school students (N = 1196). Students generally responded favorably to virtual SOS. Although some were unsure, of those with an…

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…

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…

Background: Addressing school violence is an important public health goal. To assess the role of school mental health curricula in violence prevention, we evaluated effects of an anti-stigma curriculum on violence victimization/perpetration. Methods: An ethnically/socioeconomically diverse sample of 751 sixth-graders (mean age 11.5 years) across…

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…

Schools have an important role to play in adolescent suicide prevention. This article describes universal screenings for depression and suicidality as one component of the Signs of Suicide (SOS) program in middle and high schools following the suicide death of a student in the past few years. Of the students screened (N = 7,429), 11.0 percent of…

Objective: To examine short-term (i.e., post-intervention) outcomes from a randomized controlled trial comparing a school-based telehealth-delivered depression prevention program, Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST), to services as usual (SAU). We expected IPT-AST would be acceptable and feasible and that IPT-AST…

Research into an educator's ability to identify warning signs or intervene with suicidal students primarily focused on the perceptions of educators. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of educators from middle and junior high schools' ability to identify warning signs and intervene with suicidal students. The…

This study examined how changes in cumulative peer victimization are associated with depressed mood and suicidality among adolescents over time, as well as whether certain protective factors (e.g., school mattering) moderate these associations. Middle and high school students (N = 2,539) from a small city in the Great Plains responded to five…

The FRIENDS Resilience programs provide cognitive-behavioral skills across the developmental spectrum and can be applied as a universal or selective prevention program. In the current study, we assessed whether, relative to the schools' existing counseling curriculum ("guidance"), FRIENDS improved social skills, problem behaviors, and…

In this study, we examined the impact of a virtual training program, Kognito At-Risk role-play simulation, on the mental health and suicide prevention gatekeeping skills of middle school educators. Methods: The validated Gatekeeper Behavior Scale was administered to 33,703 participants at baseline, post-training and follow-up. Helping behaviors…

This article describes efforts to adapt an adolescent version of the Coping Power program, called Coping Power in the City, for use with high school students attending an urban school district with high concentrations of students exposed to community violence and challenges related to elevated tensions between youth and police. The goal of this…