Active Breaks on Mental Health and Classroom Climate in Chilean Schoolchildren Aged 6 to 10

Not Applicable

• Conditions: School-age Children; School Health; Mental Health

• Registration Number: NCT06423404
• Lead Sponsor: Universidad de Concepcion

Brief Summary

Background: The incidence of mental health issues in children is increasing worldwide. In Chile, a recent surge in reports of deteriorating mental health among school populations and an increase in complaints related to poor school climate have been observed. Physical activity, specifically active breaks in the classroom, has shown positive effects on children's health. However, evidence regarding its impact on mental health and school climate in children is limited.

Objective: This article outlines the design, measurements, intervention program, and potential efficacy of the Active Classes + School Climate and Mental Health project. This project will assess a 12-week program of active breaks through guided videos with curricular content in the school classroom, and its effects on mental health and school climate as its primary contributions. Additionally, it will measure physical activity, physical fitness, motor competence, and academic performance in students aged 6 to 10 years in the Biobío province, Chile, as secondary contributions.

Methodology: It will be performed a multicenter randomized controlled trial involving students in the 1st to 4th grade (6 to 10 years old), encompassing a total of 48 classes across six schools (three intervention and three control) in the Biobío region, Chile. Video-guided active breaks will be implemented through the Active Classes; web platform, featuring curricular content, lasting 5 to 10 minutes and of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity, twice a day, Monday to Friday, over a span of 12 weeks.

Expected Results/Discussion: To our knowledge, this will be the first study in Chile to evaluate the effects of incorporating video-guided active breaks with curricular content on mental health variables and school climate in schoolchildren. Thus, this study contributes to the scarce evidence on the effects of video-guided active breaks on mental health variables and school climate in schoolchildren worldwide. Additionally, it will provide crucial information about active teaching methodologies that have the potential to positively contribute to the well-being of students, thus addressing the problems of mental health and climate in Chilean schools.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2024-03-20
• Study First Submitted: 2024-04-15
• Status Verified: 2024-05
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-05-15
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-05-15
• Study First Posted: 2024-05-21
• Last Update Posted: 2024-05-21
• Primary Completion: 2024-08-30
• Study Completion: 2024-08-30

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 700

Inclusion Criteria

• a) Regular male or female students in primary education, from first to fourth grade, at a public school in one of the three provinces of the Biobío region, willing to participate and with parental consent.

b) Students spend at least 38 hours per week in classes (6.5 hours daily) and have at least two short breaks (10-15 minutes) per day.

Exclusion Criteria

• a) Students with a medical diagnosis of spinal pathologies, vertigo, or uncontrolled hypertension.

  b) Students with severe intellectual disabilities prevented them from following the program instructions.

  c) Students participating simultaneously in another project with similar objectives.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Mental health	From enrollment to the end of treatment at five months	This outcome will be measurement with School Self-Esteem Test (SSET) and Self-report of socioemotional well-being. The raw score sum is transformed into a T score according to age norms, categorizing students as follows: normal self-esteem, ≥ 40 points; low self-esteem, 30-39 points; and very low self-esteem, ≤ 29 points.
School climate	From enrollment to the end of treatment at five months	School climate scale (ECLIS). 82 items with a four-level Likert-type response format (ranging from all to none).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Physical health	From enrollment to the end of treatment at five months	This outcome will be measurement using the Alpha Fitness Test battery protocol, which includes measurements of cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and motor condition.
Academic performance	From enrollment to the end of treatment at five months	The academic performance of the students will be measured using Integral Learning Diagnosis. For this study, only the reading test (2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades) and mathematics test (3rd and 4th grades) were used, measured at the beginning and end of the school year. The grading scale is from 1 as a minimum value to 7 as a maximum value.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Universidad de Concepción; 🇨🇱 Concepción, Biobio, Chile