Evaluation of a School-based Programme Aimed at Promoting Well-being in Adolescents

Adolescence is an important developmental phase for prevention and intervention initiatives for well-being and mental health. Accordingly, school has been recommended as an optimal location for such initiatives. Universal programmes - programmes that are designated for all individuals in a population - have a number of advantages, including reducing the risk of stigma and yielding high recruitment rates.

A Lust for Life is a universal school-based multi-component intervention whose target is to build well-being and emotional resilience in adolescents. The programme was informed by evidence-based psychological approaches including cognitive behaviour therapy, positive psychology and mindfulness and consists of six lessons, each delivered by the adolescents' school teacher on a weekly basis. The lessons involve classroom discussions, videos, classroom activities and homework assignments.

Study participants will complete the Adolescent Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10, Emotional Literacy and Intervention Inventory-Pupil Checklist, and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale for Children at pre-intervention. Following this, schools randomly assigned to the experimental group will receive A Lust for Life, while those randomly assigned to the control group will be placed on a twelve-week waiting list. The questionnaire measures and a Brief Satisfaction Scale will be completed by participants at post-intervention. In addition, a six-week follow-up assessment will determine whether the effects of the programme are sustained over a period of time. The programme will be delivered in the waiting list control group schools after the six-week follow-up assessment.