Promoting well‐being by changing behaviour: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the effectiveness of whole secondary school behavioural interventions
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5042/mhrj.2010.0371 |
| Published date | 06 July 2010 |
| Pages | 43-53 |
| Date | 06 July 2010 |
| Author | Lindsay Blank,Susan Baxter,Elizabeth Goyder,Paul Naylor,Louise Guillaume,Anna Wilkinson,Silvia Hummel,Jim Chilcott |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
Mental Health Review Journal Volume 15 Issue 2 June 2010 © Pier Professional Ltd 43
REVIEW
10.5042/mhrj.2010.0371
Lindsay Blank
Susan Baxter
Elizabeth Goyder
Paul B Naylor
Louise Guillaume
Anna Wilkinson
Silvia Hummel
Jim Chilcott
School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield, UK
Promoting well-being by
changing behaviour: a systematic
review and narrative synthesis
of the effectiveness of whole
secondary school behavioural
interventions
Abstract
This paper reports on a systematic review of the published literature on the effectiveness of whole-school
behavioural interventions, which aim to promote emotional and social well-being among young people in
secondary education. The findings are based on 27 studies of varying designs with some limitations. The
results suggest that the literature is not well developed, and has a substantial skew towards interventions
conducted in the United States. However, it does suggest that conflict resolution training is successful in
promoting pro-social behaviours in the short term, and that the use of peer mediators may be effective
for longer-term outcomes. The evidence relating to preventing bullying and disruptive behaviour is more
varied, with evidence of mixed effectiveness being identified for the roles of the community, teachers,
young people, external agencies and parents.
Key words
Well-being, public health, young people.
Introduction
Mental health is recognised as something other
than the absence of mental illness (Huppert
& Whittington, 2004), but there is continued
debate about the nature of ‘positive mental
health’ or alternatively ‘well-being’; some
authors have suggested that the construct of
mental well-being is entirely independent from
that of mental illness. This is supported by the
observation that people with a diagnosed mental
illness may have varying levels of well-being, and
that large proportions of the population who do
not have mental illness lack well-being (Keyes,
2005; Hu et al, 2007).
The determinants of well-being (as well as
mental illness) are complex and include both risk
and protective factors that operate at the levels
of individual, family and community (Adi et al,
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