Evaluation of a Training Course for Educational Professionals

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Depression; Depression in Children; Depression in Adolescence
• Interventions: Other: training course

• Registration Number: NCT06387108
• Lead Sponsor: Ludwig-Maximilians - University of Munich

Brief Summary

The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a two-hour online training course on depression and mental health in childhood and adolescence in educational professionals to improve depression and mental health literacy. It will further be investigated whether the course leads to changes in attitudes towards the illness (reduction of stigma) and to an increased behavioural confidence and behavioral change in dealing with pupils with symptoms and illnesses.

Detailed Description

Depressive disorders are among the most common psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence and yet often are unnoticed and not treated for a long time. Depressive disorders often begin in adolescence and young adulthood. School stress, caused by bullying experiences at school or high performance expectations from parents and teachers, has been identified as an important factor in the development of depressive disorders in students School, as a central area of life for children and young people, is an important place for promoting pupils' mental health.

The rising prevalence of depressive disorders among adolescence in recent years and the delayed start of interventions show a clear need for action in the everyday lives of adolescents. A training for educational professionals in schools on depression in youths is intended to reduce the large treatment gap. By educating about depression, reducing stigma and fostering confidence in dealing with pupils with depression, educational professionals at schools should be sensitised to youth depression so that they can better respond to pupils with mental health problems.

As part of the planned scientific study, a training course on depression and mental health in childhood and adolescence for educational professionals is to be evaluated. The study will investigate the extent to which a two-hour online training course on depression and mental health in childhood and adolescence (including symptoms, causes of depression, comorbid diseases, prevention) and practical tips for everyday school life leads to an increase in knowledge regarding these topics. Additionally, the study will investigate the impact of the training on changes in attitudes towards depression (reduction of stigma), increased behavioural confidence dealing with pupils with mental health problems and changes in behavior deadling pupils with mental health problems. Moreover, the influence of teachers' emotions (assessed via the Teachers Emotion Scales) and self-efficacy on the outcomes will be exploratively investigated. To this end, the educational professionals will take part in 3 online surveys (before the training, shortly after the training and 4 weeks after the training) via Limesurvey.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2024-04-19
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-04-24
• Study First Posted: 2024-04-26
• Study Start: 2024-04-29
• Primary Completion: 2024-09-12
• Study Completion: 2024-09-12
• Status Verified: 2025-03
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-03-17
• Last Update Posted: 2025-03-19

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 97

Inclusion Criteria

• Current teaching profession (teacher) / working in the school environment (e.g. school psychologist, social worker)

Exclusion Criteria

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
2 hours online training	training course	2 hours online training for educational professionals about depression and mental health in youths

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
increase in Knowledge	pre (0-1 days before the training), post (0-1 days after training) and 1month follow-up	Self-designed questionnaire based on the 2 hours depression and mental health training
decrease in depression stigma	pre (0-1 days before the training), post (0-1 days after training) and 1month follow-up	Assessed via Depression Stigma Scale (DSS, Griffiths, Christensen, \& Jorm, 2008)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in helping behaviour towards pupil	pre (0-1 days before the training), 1month follow-up	Self-designed questionnaire based on Jorm, Kitchener, Sawyer, Scales, \& Cvetkovski, 2010; Parker et al., 2021; Sebbens, Hassmén, Crisp, \& Wensley, 2016
Change in conficende in dealing with pupils with mental health issues	pre (0-1 days before the training), post (0-1 days after training) and 1month follow-up	self-designed questionnaire based on Sebbens, 2016; Parker, 2021

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

LMU University Hospital (recruitment is conducted online); 🇩🇪 Munich, Germany