Develop information and education programmes to improve integration of children with mental health problems, tailored to condition type¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 5 claims (5 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q3 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 5 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article recommends developing information and education programmes aimed at improving how children with mental health problems are integrated among peers. Because the study found that acceptance depends on the type of mental health problem, such programmes should account for differences between conditions such as depression and ADHD. The article states the findings "have implications for the development of information and education programmes to improve the integration of children with mental health problems."

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Programme content should reflect the finding that predictors of acceptance vary by condition type and target gender.

Constraints¶

• The recommendation derives from a vignette-based study of hypothetical peers, not from testing an intervention.

Target Learners¶

• Children and adolescents in primary and post-primary schools

Target Learning Goals¶

• Improving peer acceptance and integration of classmates with mental health problems

Claims¶

• Relationships between socio-demographic and attributional variables and acceptance depend on the type of mental health problem (depression vs ADHD) [+W]
• Age, gender of participant, and perceived responsibility of the target character were the three most important predictors of peer acceptance across all models [+W]
• Children's perceptions of peers with internalising problems (depression) are under-researched relative to externalising problems [+W]
• Children's reactions to peers with mental health problems are related to the maintenance and outcomes of those problems [+W]
• Perceived responsibility of the target character for his/her condition predicts acceptance of peers with mental health problems [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Strengthen vocational mental health education through literacy, ecosystem, teacher development, and crisis networks

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Swords, L, Heary, C & Hennessy, E 2011, 'Factors associated with acceptance of peers with mental health problems in childhood and adolescence', Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, vol. 52, no. 9, pp. 933-941. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02351.x