Development of a teacher-delivered transdiagnostic universal prevention program for adolescents and examining its usability by teachers

• Published in: Mental health & prevention 2022-12, Vol.28, p.200252, Article 200252
• Main Authors: Kishida, Kohei, Hida, Noriko, Matsubara, Kohei, Abe, Nozomi, Kira, Yugo, Takebe, Masaya, Fukumoto, Takumi, Takemori, Keiko, Shimotsu, Sakie, Nakanishi, Yo, Ishikawa, Shin-ichi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Prevention; School; Usability; User-centered design
• ISSN: 2212-6570; 2212-6570
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mhp.2022.200252

•A development of age-suitable prevention program for mental health is indispensable.•A new adolescent version of mental health prevention program was developed through three phases.•However, the child version showed higher teacher's usability than the adolescent version.•Age appropriateness must be examined using multiple methods from multi-informants. Various mental problems and disorders may start to occur and develop during adolescence. Therefore, appropriate preventive interventions are required. This study aimed to develop a teacher-delivered transdiagnostic universal prevention program for adolescents and examine its usability in educational settings. A new 12-session program for adolescents was created based on the Unified Universal Prevention Program for Diverse Disorders (Up2-D2); it was delivered by teachers for children based on cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT) and positive psychology interventions (PPI). The new program for adolescents, “Up2-D2 Plus,” was developed through three phases. In phase 1, researchers who have expertise in CBT and/or PPI developed a preliminary version of the Up2-D2 Plus. In phase 2, the preliminary version of the program was implemented in junior and senior high schools, post which, feedback was obtained from both teachers and students. In phase 3, eight teachers of first-year students (i.e., seventh grade) in junior high schools implemented the Up2-D2 Plus or the Up2-D2. Usability data was obtained from the teachers who implemented the adolescent version (n = 5) and the child version (n = 3). The results of the Mann-Whitney U test showed that the Up2-D2 Plus had lower satisfaction, understanding, and several usability than the original Up2-D2. This indicates that the adolescent version of the program may have room for improvement when implemented for first-year junior high school students aged 12 and 13 years. Further research is thus needed to conduct usability assessments by students themselves and to implement the program for higher age groups of adolescents.