Several programs support good mental health

An assessment by SBU shows that several programs may promote mental well-being or prevent mental health problems in children and adolescents. Some of the programs are provided to all children, regardless of risk for developing mental ill health, while other programs are offered exclusively to groups at higher risk, and some are intended only for children who have already such developed problems.

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Medical and Social Science & Practice

The SBU newsletter presents and disseminates the results of the SBU reports, describes ongoing projects at the agency, informs about assessment projects at sister organisations, and promotes interest in scientific assessments and critical reviews of methods in health care and social services.

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Good mental health is fundamental to well-being and is a necessary element for building relationships and coping at school or at work. Conversely, mental health problems leads to low well-being, which may entail long-term consequences such as substance abuse, criminal behavior and suicide. Interventions, such as structured school programs to strengthen the foundation for good mental health among children, may therefore be of great benefit to both the child and society in both the short and long term. The programs may be broad-based or tailored to specific groups or individuals depending on the purpose.Children and aduls at a playground

Evidence has been found to support two types of programs that can be administered in schools to promote mental well-being among children. Social-emotional learning (SEL) programs, such as PATHS, have a beneficial impact on the social and emotional skills and resilience of children and adolescents. Mindfulness-based programs improve quality of life and resilience, especially among girls. Children and adolescents feel that the programs improve their psychological well-being and their ability to handle emotions and relationships.

Four parenting programs – The Incredible Years, Parent Child Interaction Therapy, Triple P and Family Check Up – can prevent acting out for at least six months. The PATHS program for pre-school and primary school children is also able to prevent acting out. The programs Coping with Stress and Penn Resilience Program, administered through schools, can pre- vent depression among children who have depressive symptoms. The FRIENDS program, which is administered to all children in a school, can prevent anxiety.

Concerning programs to prevent suicide and suicide attempts among children, studies are scarce and follow-up is short. The state of knowledge has not changed since a 2015 SBU evaluation concluded that two universal programs, YAM and GBG, can prevent suicide attempts.
However, as yet unpublished findings in a Swedish replication study of YAM do not confirm previous positive results regarding suicide or suicide attempts.

About the reports

All three reports are summarized in the publication “Supporting good mental health in children and adolescents.” It is available at www.sbu.se.

  • Programs to prevent mental health problems in children. SBU, 2021. www.sbu.se/339
  • Programs for preventing suicide and suicide attempt in children. SBU 2021. www.sbu.se/336
  • Promoting mental well-being in children and young people. SBU, 2022. www.sbu.se/350

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