Abstract
Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) is a public education program designed to improve youth mental health outcomes by training adults to notice mental health problems and help youth in seeking treatment. This study used a pre–post 3-month follow-up design to explore whether mental health literacy (MHL), perceived mental health stigma (MHS), and confidence in helping behavior differed across time between Youth Mental Health First Aiders (i.e., involved in Project Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education) who are and are not members of the mental health workforce. As expected at pretest, mental health workforce first aiders scored significantly higher than non-mental health workforce first aiders for MHL and confidence in helping behavior (p < .001), but no differences were found for MHS. Non-mental health workforce aiders scored significantly better from pretest to posttest for MHL and confidence in helping behavior (p < .001), to levels consistent with participants from the mental health workforce, who did not show improvements at posttest over relatively high pretest levels. With no additional training, non-mental health workforce participants were able to maintain the positive gains at the 3-month follow-up. Results suggest that YMHFA training is effective in increasing non-mental health workforce professionals’ MHL and confidence to a level similar to that of their mental health workforce colleagues. Study findings suggest that YMHFA training may be too basic for mental health workforce professionals, and alternative trainings should be provided for them.
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This manuscript was supported by the Project AWARE grant.
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Appendix: Training Survey
Appendix: Training Survey
Please check whether you agree, disagree, or are unsure of the statements below (1–15)
Statement | Agree | Disagree | Don’t Know |
|---|---|---|---|
1. It is not a good idea to ask someone if they are feeling suicidal in case you put the idea into his or her head. | |||
2. Depression tends to show up earlier in a young person’s life than anxiety. | |||
3. If a young person experiences a trauma, it is best to make him or her talk about it as soon as possible. | |||
4. They may not need it right away, but eventually everyone with a mental health problem needs professional treatment. | |||
5. Knowledge about the impact of medication for youth is limited compared to what we know about adults. | |||
6. It is best to get a person having a panic attack to breathe into a paper bag. | |||
7. A first aider can distinguish a panic attack from a heart attack. | |||
8. Exercise can help relieve depressive and anxiety disorders. | |||
9. Schizophrenia is a relatively common diagnosis for youth under the age of 18. | |||
10. It is best not to try to reason with people having delusions. | |||
11. People who talk about suicide don’t complete suicide. | |||
12. When talking to someone about suicide, it is best to be indirect and not use the word “kill” so that you don’t upset the person. | |||
13. Trauma is a risk factor in almost every type of mental illness. | |||
14. Spirituality can be a protective factor—keeping a young person from developing a mental illness or minimizing the impact of the illness. | |||
15. People with mental health problems tend to have a better outcome if family members are not critical of them. |
Please circle the number that best reflects your beliefs for questions 16–25
Statement: I believe that… | Strongly Disagree | Strongly Agree | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
16. School-aged youth with mental health problems are difficult students in class because they are dramatic and act out for attention. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
17. School-aged youth use their mental health problems as an excuse to get out of school-related responsibilities. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
18. School-aged youth with mental health problems have difficulty working with other students in a group setting. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
19. School-aged youth with mental health problems avoid seeking professional help because they are scared peers would find out and treat them differently. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
20. School-aged youth with mental health problems avoid seeking professional help because they are scared teachers would find out and treat them differently. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Statement | Strongly Disagree | Strongly Agree | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
21. I feel confident in my ability to ask school-aged youth questions that determine whether they are at risk to physically harm themselves or others. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
22. I have the skills necessary to patiently listen and not judge school-aged youth when they talk about their mental health problems. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
23. I feel comfortable in helping school-aged youth feel reassured that supports are available when they are experiencing mental health problems. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
24. I feel confident in my ability to refer a school-aged youth who is experiencing mental health problems to appropriate school-based and/or community-based resources. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
25. I have the knowledge necessary to recommend effective self-help strategies to school-aged youth experiencing mental health problems. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
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Haggerty, D., Carlson, J.S., McNall, M. et al. Exploring Youth Mental Health First Aider Training Outcomes by Workforce Affiliation: A Survey of Project AWARE Participants. School Mental Health 11, 345–356 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-018-9300-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-018-9300-5