Paper 3 Questionbank

Adolescents experiences of a school-based mental health program.

Supporting positive mental health development in adolescents is a major public health focus worldwide. Preventing adolescent depression is important because it is associated with a diminished quality of life. The need for early prevention of depression in adolescence is the background for the development of a specific school-based program targeting thirteen to fifteen year olds.

The aim of this study was to explore adolescents subjective opinions of this specific school-based mental health program. Two researchers recruited participants from eight schools offering the program. The researchers used a purposive sample of sixty-four adolescents aged thirteen to fifteen years old (twenty five% males) who had completed the program.

The study was approved by an ethics committee. The participants and their parents were fully informed about the study and signed consent forms. They were also told that their data would be kept confidential. The researchers decided to meet with adolescents in the groups that had completed the program together. Males and females were in separate groups of eight on average. The group interviews took place in the school and lasted between thirty to fifty minutes. One researcher facilitated the discussions. Each session was recorded and the other researcher made a verbatim transcription. Both researchers analyzed, coded and interpreted transcripts and notes. A third researcher checked the results.

The analysis of the transcripts revealed the following themes related to perceived benefits of the program:

• learning to identify negative thoughts and turning them into positive thoughts
• realizing that thoughts, emotions and behavior can be linked together and help change behavior and reduce stress.
• discovering that others also have negative thoughts and doubts about themselves makes it easier to manage negative thoughts.

The findings of this study suggested that participation in the school-based mental health program was generally perceived as beneficial. However, participants did not like that the program focused more on problems than opportunities. This was perceived as negative expectations. The researchers concluded that this program would be more widely accepted by adolescents if it focused less on problems and more on promoting positive mental health.

Cognitive dissonance theory

Cognitive dissonance theory, which proposes that individuals align their information processing with their actions and beliefs, forms the theoretical foundation for this qualitative smoking study. Cancer risk associated with smoking prompted researchers to investigate how smokers mentally manage the anxiety of knowing smoking's health hazards. The study was conducted by a researcher who had previously been a smoker herself. Through her personal connections, she assembled a purposive sample consisting of six participants (four males, two females, averaging 29 years old). To qualify, participants needed a five-year minimum smoking history and at least two unsuccessful quit attempts.

Participants received information about the study's focus on smoking cessation challenges and their right to withdraw. Written informed consent was obtained, including permission for interview recording.

The researcher employed both closed and open-ended questions in her interview guide. Individual interviews lasted 45 minutes each and were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by the primary researcher. To ensure accuracy, participants reviewed both transcripts and conclusions before the final report was published. A second researcher validated the findings.

Several key themes emerged regarding continued smoking behavior:

• Optimistic outlook: "I haven't had any health problems so far and I doubt I will have any in the future."
• Research skepticism: "Research on the effects of smoking is probably exaggerating the dangers."
• Self-preservation: "I will simply be too stressed if I don't smoke."

The study's findings indicated that participants, despite wanting to quit, employed various cognitive mechanisms to minimize the psychological distress associated with continued smoking.