Evaluation of a Training Course for Educational Professionals

Depression Clinical Trial

Official title:

Evaluation of a Training Course for Educational Professionals on Depression and Mental Health in Childhood and Adolescence

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT06387108
• Other study ID #: 24-0045
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: April 2024
• Est. completion date: January 2025

Study information

• Verified date: April 2024
• Source: Ludwig-Maximilians - University of Munich
• Contact: Lisa Feldmann, Dr.
• Phone: +4989440056920
• Email: Lisa.Feldmann[@]med.uni-muenchen.de
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a two-hour online training course on depression and mental health in childhood and adolescence in educational professionals to improve depression and mental health literacy. It will further be investigated whether the course leads to changes in attitudes towards the illness (reduction of stigma) and to an increased behavioural confidence and behavioral change in dealing with pupils with symptoms and illnesses.

Description:

Depressive disorders are among the most common psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence and yet often are unnoticed and not treated for a long time. Depressive disorders often begin in adolescence and young adulthood. School stress, caused by bullying experiences at school or high performance expectations from parents and teachers, has been identified as an important factor in the development of depressive disorders in students School, as a central area of life for children and young people, is an important place for promoting pupils' mental health.

The rising prevalence of depressive disorders among adolescence in recent years and the delayed start of interventions show a clear need for action in the everyday lives of adolescents. A training for educational professionals in schools on depression in youths is intended to reduce the large treatment gap. By educating about depression, reducing stigma and fostering confidence in dealing with pupils with depression, educational professionals at schools should be sensitised to youth depression so that they can better respond to pupils with mental health problems.

As part of the planned scientific study, a training course on depression and mental health in childhood and adolescence for educational professionals is to be evaluated. The study will investigate the extent to which a two-hour online training course on depression and mental health in childhood and adolescence (including symptoms, causes of depression, comorbid diseases, prevention) and practical tips for everyday school life leads to an increase in knowledge regarding these topics. Additionally, the study will investigate the impact of the training on changes in attitudes towards depression (reduction of stigma), increased behavioural confidence dealing with pupils with mental health problems and changes in behavior deadling pupils with mental health problems. Moreover, the influence of teachers' emotions (assessed via the Teachers Emotion Scales) and self-efficacy on the outcomes will be exploratively investigated. To this end, the educational professionals will take part in 3 online surveys (before the training, shortly after the training and 4 weeks after the training) via Limesurvey.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 42
• Est. completion date: January 2025
• Est. primary completion date: January 2025
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Current teaching profession (teacher) / working in the school environment (e.g. school psychologist, social worker)

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Depression
• Depression in Adolescence
• Depressive Disorder

Intervention

Other:
• training course
Two-hour online training course for educational professionals at schools on depression and mental health in children and adolescents (including symptoms, causes, comorbidity, prevention) and practical tips for everyday school life to reduce stress.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Germany	LMU University Hospital (recruitment is conducted online)	Munich

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Ludwig-Maximilians - University of Munich	Prof. OTTO Beisheim Stiftung (Germany)

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Germany, 

References & Publications (23)

Coppens E, Van Audenhove C, Iddi S, Arensman E, Gottlebe K, Koburger N, Coffey C, Gusmao R, Quintao S, Costa S, Szekely A, Hegerl U. Effectiveness of community facilitator training in improving knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in relation to depression and suicidal behavior: results of the OSPI-Europe intervention in four European countries. J Affect Disord. 2014 Aug;165:142-50. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2014.04.052. Epub 2014 May 4. — View Citation

Danielsen, A. G., Samdal, O., Hetland, J., & Wold, B. (2009). School-related social support and students' perceived life satisfaction. The Journal of Educational Research, 102(4), 303-318. doi:10.3200/JOER.102.4.303-320

Doll CM, Michel C, Rosen M, Osman N, Schimmelmann BG, Schultze-Lutter F. Predictors of help-seeking behaviour in people with mental health problems: a 3-year prospective community study. BMC Psychiatry. 2021 Sep 3;21(1):432. doi: 10.1186/s12888-021-03435-4. — View Citation

Frenzel, A. C., Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Daniels, L. M., Durksen, T. L., Becker-Kurz, B., & Klassen, R. M. (2016). Measuring Teachers' enjoyment, anger, and anxiety: The teacher emotions scales (TES). Contemporary Educational Psychology, 46, 148-163.

Griffiths KM, Christensen H, Jorm AF. Predictors of depression stigma. BMC Psychiatry. 2008 Apr 18;8:25. doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-8-25. — View Citation

Jiang, X., Huebner, E. S., & Siddall, J. (2013). A Short-Term Longitudinal Study of Differential Sources of School-Related Social Support and Adolescents' School Satisfaction. Social Indicators Research, 114(3), 1073-1086. doi:10.1007/s11205-012-0190-x

Jorm AF, Kitchener BA, Sawyer MG, Scales H, Cvetkovski S. Mental health first aid training for high school teachers: a cluster randomized trial. BMC Psychiatry. 2010 Jun 24;10:51. doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-10-51. — View Citation

Li W, Zhao Z, Chen D, Peng Y, Lu Z. Prevalence and associated factors of depression and anxiety symptoms among college students: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2022 Nov;63(11):1222-1230. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13606. Epub 2022 Mar 16. — View Citation

Liao Y, Ameyaw MA, Liang C, Li W. Research on the Effect of Evidence-Based Intervention on Improving Students' Mental Health Literacy Led by Ordinary Teachers: A Meta-Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 4;20(2):949. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20020949. — View Citation

Parker BL, Anderson M, Batterham PJ, Gayed A, Subotic-Kerry M, Achilles MR, Chakouch C, Werner-Seidler A, Whitton AE, O'Dea B. Examining the Preliminary Effectiveness and Acceptability of a Web-Based Training Program for Australian Secondary School Teachers: Pilot Study of the BEAM (Building Educators' Skills in Adolescent Mental Health) Program. JMIR Ment Health. 2021 Oct 22;8(10):e29989. doi: 10.2196/29989. — View Citation

Plenty S, Ostberg V, Almquist YB, Augustine L, Modin B. Psychosocial working conditions: an analysis of emotional symptoms and conduct problems amongst adolescent students. J Adolesc. 2014 Jun;37(4):407-17. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.03.008. Epub 2014 Mar 31. — View Citation

Pullmann, M., Bruns, E., Daly, B., & Sander, M. (2013). Improving the evaluation and impact of mental health and other supportive school-based programmes on students' academic outcomes. Advances in School Mental Health Promotion, 6, 226-230. doi:10.1080/1754730x.2013.835543

Sacco R, Camilleri N, Eberhardt J, Umla-Runge K, Newbury-Birch D. A systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of mental disorders among children and adolescents in Europe. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2022 Dec 30:1-18. doi: 10.1007/s00787-022-02131-2. Online ahead of print. — View Citation

Schulte-Körne, G. (2016). Psychische Störungen bei Kindern und Jugendlichen im schulischen Umfeld. 113(11), 183-190. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2016.0183

Schwarzer, R., & Jerusalem, M. (2003). SWE. Skala zur Allgemeinen Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung [Verfahrensdokumentation, Autorenbeschreibung und Fragebogen]. In L.-I. f. P. (ZPID) (Ed.), Open Test Archive. Trier: ZPID.

Sebbens J, Hassmen P, Crisp D, Wensley K. Mental Health in Sport (MHS): Improving the Early Intervention Knowledge and Confidence of Elite Sport Staff. Front Psychol. 2016 Jun 24;7:911. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00911. eCollection 2016. — View Citation

Solmi M, Radua J, Olivola M, Croce E, Soardo L, Salazar de Pablo G, Il Shin J, Kirkbride JB, Jones P, Kim JH, Kim JY, Carvalho AF, Seeman MV, Correll CU, Fusar-Poli P. Age at onset of mental disorders worldwide: large-scale meta-analysis of 192 epidemiological studies. Mol Psychiatry. 2022 Jan;27(1):281-295. doi: 10.1038/s41380-021-01161-7. Epub 2021 Jun 2. — View Citation

Soneson, E., & Ford, T. (2020). Identifying mental health difficulties in children & young people: the role of schools - ACAMH, The Association for Child an Adolescent Mental Health. doi:10.13056/acamh.13021

Thapar A, Eyre O, Patel V, Brent D. Depression in young people. Lancet. 2022 Aug 20;400(10352):617-631. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01012-1. Epub 2022 Aug 5. — View Citation

Tong Y, Wang S, Cao L, Zhu D, Wang F, Xie F, Zhang X, Wang G, Su P. School dropouts related to mental disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Asian J Psychiatr. 2023 Jul;85:103622. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2023.103622. Epub 2023 May 8. No abstract available. — View Citation

Vieira MA, Gadelha AA, Moriyama TS, Bressan RA, Bordin IA. Evaluating the effectiveness of a training program that builds teachers' capability to identify and appropriately refer middle and high school students with mental health problems in Brazil: an exploratory study. BMC Public Health. 2014 Feb 28;14:210. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-210. — View Citation

Weist MD, Hoover SA, Daly BP, Short KH, Bruns EJ. Propelling the Global Advancement of School Mental Health. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2023 Dec;26(4):851-864. doi: 10.1007/s10567-023-00434-7. Epub 2023 May 29. — View Citation

Ye Z, Wu D, He X, Ma Q, Peng J, Mao G, Feng L, Tong Y. Meta-analysis of the relationship between bullying and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. BMC Psychiatry. 2023 Mar 30;23(1):215. doi: 10.1186/s12888-023-04681-4. — View Citation

* Note: There are 23 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	Evaluation of the training	Self-designed questionnaire	post (0-1 days after training)
Primary	increase in Knowledge	Self-designed questionnaire based on the 2 hours depression and mental health training	pre (0-1 days before the training), post (0-1 days after training) and 1month follow-up
Primary	decrease in depression stigma	Assessed via Depression Stigma Scale (DSS, Griffiths, Christensen, & Jorm, 2008)	pre (0-1 days before the training), post (0-1 days after training) and 1month follow-up
Secondary	Change in helping behaviour towards pupil	Self-designed questionnaire based on Jorm, Kitchener, Sawyer, Scales, & Cvetkovski, 2010; Parker et al., 2021; Sebbens, Hassmén, Crisp, & Wensley, 2016	pre (0-1 days before the training), 1month follow-up
Secondary	Change in conficende in dealing with pupils with mental health issues	self-designed questionnaire based on Sebbens, 2016; Parker, 2021	pre (0-1 days before the training), post (0-1 days after training) and 1month follow-up