Evidence-based Intervention that Decreases Stress Levels in Teens who are Missing School Due to Outside Stressors

Evidence-based Intervention that Decreases Stress Levels in Teens who are Missing School Due to Outside Stressors
Author: Madysen Pennington
Publisher:
Total Pages: 45
Release: 2017
Genre: Stress (Psychology)
ISBN:

The purpose of this thesis is to test the effectiveness of an intervention designed to reduce stress in adolescents. StressOFF Strategies program is the intervention used to educate students about stress and how to effectively manage it. A group of 8-10 students from Abilene High School was recruited to participate in the study during their one-hour lunch period. The tools used for the intervention included the StressOFF Strategies PowerPoint, the My Personal Stress Profile, and the Perceived Stress Scale. The findings are presented on individual graphs that show increases and decreases in stress levels for each student. Implications suggested are to apply the StressOFF program in high schools over multiple group sessions, create a policy that accounts for a stress management course in high schools, and complete further research on teen stress and the ways in which they handle stress.

Evaluating Health Promotion

Evaluating Health Promotion
Author: Margaret Thorogood
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2010-05-13
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0191015512

Health Promotion is a relatively new discipline and there is little in the way of practical help for students and practitioners in choosing and implementing appropriate evaluation methods. As the demands for rigorous evaluation and evidence-based decision-making increase, health promotion cannot ignore the need for accurate, reliable and valid methods to carry out evaluation. This book provides clear descriptions (with plentiful practical examples) of such methods, and the problems that can arise from their implementation. Both qualitative and quantitative methods that are commonly used are described and the problems and benefits that arise with their use are explained. Experiences in the practical implementation of evaluation are explained, with examples from a variety of different social, economic and cultural contexts. The third edition of this highly successful book has been fully revised and updated to reflect the ongoing developments in the field of health promotion. It will appeal to students and practitioners in health promotion and public health (including programme managers in both the government and the voluntary sector), and donors and funding agencies who commission health promotion interventions and evaluations.

Designing Guided Asynchronous Remote Communities to Support Teen Mental Health

Designing Guided Asynchronous Remote Communities to Support Teen Mental Health
Author: Arpita Bhattacharya
Publisher:
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2020
Genre:
ISBN:

The majority of teens experience challenges with stress and depression in the United States. However, they lack the resources to access traditional face-to-face mental health care and participate in Human Computer Interaction research. Researchers have successfully used Asynchronous Remote Communities (ARC) to study marginalized and geographically distributed adult participants by enrolling them in private online groups and conducting structured activities to understand their needs. To increase access and develop empirical understanding of teenagers' mental health needs, I led three studies that enrolled a total of 40 teens and 13 clinicians in ARCs to conduct 20-minute weekly activities in anonymous private online groups on Slack for ten weeks. In the first study, collaborators and I elicited current strategies, tools, and unmet needs of teenagers (n=23) for stress management. We found that coping strategies of teens were individual and based on their perception of control over stressors. Teens also wanted support from technologies to support reflection, understand their mood, and navigate boundaries in sharing about mental health with adults and peers. In the second study, we used ARC for ten weeks to understand needs and obtain feedback from clinicians (n=10) and teens (n=8) on adapting the evidence-based practice of behavioral activation (BA) for depression management delivered through online platforms such as Slack. We designed low-fidelity prototypes of BA interventions to support teens in understanding the relationship between mood and activity and learning to practice goal-directed behaviors to improve mood. Based on our analysis, both teens and clinician participants wanted support asynchronous support as a supplement to in-person therapy and most teens preferred to preserve and enhance online peer support. Teens and clinicians also raised concerns about safety, privacy, and moderating the online group which need to be balanced with the potential benefits of learning coping strategies, increased access, and asynchronous human connection. Informed by BA, teens' design needs, and clinicians' expertise, we adapted the ARC method in the third study to develop a high-fidelity prototype and evaluate the feasibility of a guided ARC intervention. We designed and developed an app called ActivaTeen on Slack which functioned as an interactive smart diary application that supported BA modules on activity logging, reflecting on upward and downward spiral of mood, and SMART goal planning. We enrolled nine teens and three clinicians on Slack to understand the feasibility of using the guided ARC intervention for eight weeks followed by interviews. We found that engagement varied at an individual level for teens with depression and designers need to account for avoidance, support reflection with possibilities of missing data, and navigate the burden of asynchronous clinical work in using guided ARC. Through my dissertation research, I aimed to understand how the design of remote technology can support teenagers to cope with stress and depression and empower their choice to act on healthy coping behaviors. The main contributions of my work include (1) an empirical understanding of needs to design for teen stress and depression management, (2) design and development of a guided ARC intervention using BA, (3) reflection on lessons learned using the ARC method for engaging with teens and clinicians, and (4) design considerations for using the process of human centered design for teen mental health. This work is a step towards identifying opportunities and challenges in using guided ARC to integrate evidence-based practices in designing for mental health and supplement face-to-face or synchronous online therapy.

Prevention and Promotion in Mental Health

Prevention and Promotion in Mental Health
Author: World Health Organization
Publisher:
Total Pages: 46
Release: 2002
Genre: Evidence-based medicine
ISBN: 9789241562164

This document high ights some of the basic issues in the field of prevention and promotion in mental health with special reference to the evidence base. It is hoped that the information given here will assist in wider utilization of appropriate and effective interventions on prevention and promotion towards reducing the burden of mental disorders and in enhancing the mental health of populations.

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 64
Release: 1955-04
Genre:
ISBN:

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is the premier public resource on scientific and technological developments that impact global security. Founded by Manhattan Project Scientists, the Bulletin's iconic "Doomsday Clock" stimulates solutions for a safer world.

Parenting Stress

Parenting Stress
Author: Kirby Deater-Deckard
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2008-10-01
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 0300133936

All parents experience stress as they attempt to meet the challenges of caring for their children. This comprehensive book examines the causes and consequences of parenting distress, drawing on a wide array of findings in current empirical research. Kirby Deater-Deckard explores normal and pathological parenting stress, the influences of parents on their children as well as children on their parents, and the effects of biological and environmental factors. Beginning with an overview of theories of stress and coping, Deater-Deckard goes on to describe how parenting stress is linked with problems in adult and child health (emotional problems, developmental disorders, illness); parental behaviors (warmth, harsh discipline); and factors outside the family (marital quality, work roles, cultural influences). The book concludes with a useful review of coping strategies and interventions that have been demonstrated to alleviate parenting stress.

Interparental Conflict and Child Development

Interparental Conflict and Child Development
Author: John Howard Grych
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 508
Release: 2001-03-19
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 9780521651424

Interparental Conflict and Child Development provides an in-depth analysis of the rapidly expanding body of research on the impact of interparental conflict on children. Emphasizing developmental and family systems perspectives, it investigates a range of important issues, including the processes by which exposure to conflict may lead to child maladjustment, the role of gender and ethnicity in understanding the effects of conflict, the influence of conflict on parent-child, sibling, and peer relations, family violence, and interparental conflict in divorced and step-families.