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Bolstering academic motivation is a high priority in school settings, but some evidence suggests this could take a toll on students' physical health. To address this, this study compared the effects of an experimental manipulation of academic motivation alone (AM) to academic motivation enhanced with social support (SS + AM) on markers of inflammation in a sample of 80 high school 9th graders. Outcomes included low-grade inflammation: C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6); a motivation measure; and grade point average (GPA), taken at baseline and follow-up (beginning and end of school year, respectively). Students in the SS + AM condition had lower levels of inflammation at follow-up (covarying baseline levels) compared to those in the AM condition. The two groups were equivalent on motivation and GPA at follow-up. This preliminary study suggests that incorporating social support into academic motivation programs has the potential to benefit inflammatory markers in young people while allowing them to maintain positive academic outcomes., Author(s): Edith Chen [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.4] , Régine Debrosse [sup.5] , Paula J. Ham [sup.6] , Lauren C. Hoffer [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.4] , Adam K. K. Leigh [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.4] [...]

Background Teachers are at heightened risk of poor mental health and well-being, which is likely to impact on the support they provide to students, and student outcomes. We conducted a cluster randomised controlled trial, to test whether an intervention to improve mental health support and training for high school teachers led to improved mental health and well-being for teachers and students, compared to usual practice. We also conducted a cost evaluation of the intervention. Methods and findings The intervention comprised (i) Mental Health First Aid training for teachers to support students; (ii) a mental health awareness session; and (iii) a confidential staff peer support service. In total 25 mainstream, non-fee-paying secondary schools stratified by geographical area and free school meal entitlement were randomly allocated to intervention (n = 12) or control group (n = 13) after collection of baseline measures. We analysed data using mixed-effects repeated measures models in the intention-to-treat population, adjusted for stratification variables, sex, and years of experience. The primary outcome was teacher well-being (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale). Secondary outcomes were teacher depression, absence, and presenteeism, and student well-being, mental health difficulties, attendance, and attainment. Follow-up was at months 12 (T1) and 24 (T2). We collected process data to test the logic model underpinning the intervention, to aid interpretation of the findings. A total of 1,722 teachers were included in the primary analysis. Teacher well-being did not differ between groups at T2 (intervention mean well-being score 47.5, control group mean well-being score 48.4, adjusted mean difference -0.90, 95% CI -2.07 to 0.27, p = 0.130). The only effect on secondary outcomes was higher teacher-reported absence among the intervention group at T2 (intervention group median number of days absent 0, control group median number of days absent 0, ratio of geometric means 1.04, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.09, p = 0.042). Process measures indicated little change in perceived mental health support, quality of relationships, and work-related stress. The average cost of the intervention was £9,103 per school. The study's main limitations were a lack of blinding of research participants and the self-report nature of the outcome measures. Conclusions In this study, we observed no improvements to teacher or student mental health following the intervention, possibly due to a lack of impact on key drivers of poor mental health within the school environment. Future research should focus on structural and cultural changes to the school environment, which may be more effective at improving teacher and student mental health and well-being. Trial registration www.isrctn.com ISRCTN95909211., Author(s): Judi Kidger 1,*, Nicholas Turner 1, William Hollingworth 1, Rhiannon Evans 2, Sarah Bell 1, Rowan Brockman 1, Lauren Copeland 2, Harriet Fisher 1, Sarah Harding 3, Jillian Powell [...]

The problems of New Zealand youth are significant, and increasing, but early intervention may assist children to avoid negative life outcomes. Teachers, parents, and students of 74 Year 6 children in five New Zealand primary schools completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Between 2.7 and 5.5% of children sampled were identified as having total difficulties scores in the 'abnormal' range, which is lower than norms established by other samples. Teacher ratings were lower than the ratings supplied by parents, which were lower than those given by students. Teacher ratings also varied by gender, with boys being identified as having more problems than girls. However, parent and student ratings showed little gender bias, suggesting that obtaining multiple informant information on the SDQ is useful, as it appears teachers are providing different information on students than parents or students themselves. We discuss the use of screening procedures, particularly in relation to the Vulnerable Children's initiatives. Keywords: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, children, identification, gender, The rate of adolescent mental health problems is high and increasing, especially for girls, both in England (Collishaw, Maughan, Natarajan, & Pickles, 2010) and New Zealand (Fleming et al., 2014). [...]

Beginning this fall, a new public service campaign will address the issues of underage drinking, prevention of school violence, illegal substance abuse and mental health awareness. The 'Coalition to Empower [...]