What Are the Challenges Involved in the Prevention of Depression in Schools?

Depression is linked with serious social and educational impairments and elevated rates of smoking, substance misuse and obesity among children and adolescents. Due to already existing structures within schools and their important role within the community, they appear to provide an ideal environment to implement preventative strategies against depression. Even though there is a growing evidence base for school-based interventions, it is rarely supportive for their effectiveness. In the current piece, we are exploring potential reasons for a limited success of school-based prevention against depression. We mainly focus on parental mental health as one of the potential moderators of the effectiveness of school-based approaches. We argue that family-oriented approach to mental health provision at schools needs to be taken. We also explore barriers to parental involvement experienced by schools and make recommendations of how these can be mitigated. Finally, the article outlines existing school-based interventions targeting mental health of both pupils and parents

Examining Mental Health and Well-being Provision in Schools in Europe: Methodological Approach

Schools are considered an ideal setting for community-based mental health and well-being interventions for young people. However, in spite of extensive literature examining the effectiveness of such interventions, very few studies have investigated existing mental health and well-being provision in schools. The current study aims to extend such previous research by surveying primary and secondary schools to investigate the nature of available provision in nine European countries (Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, the UK and Ukraine). Furthermore, the study aims to investigate potential barriers to mental health and well-being provision and compare provision within and between countries