Jóhanna Birna Bjartmarsdóttir, Brittany Kester, Ragnhildur Bjarnadóttir and Bergljót Gyða Guðmundsdóttir
Introduction: Mental health concerns represent a significant public health issue worldwide, requiring effective prevention and intervention. Because most mental health concerns emerge by adolescence, schools have been identified as an ideal setting for universal mental health promotion. Thus, we conducted a scoping review of research regarding school-based universal mental health literacy curricula for K-12 students, to help inform future research and school-based practice.
Methods: We built a comprehensive search string and established inclusion/exclusion criteria to locate research articles published in 2013-2024 about universal mental health literacy curricula and related interventions in K-12 education worldwide. Using a review manager, Covidence, approximately 7500 abstracts were identified and reviewed.
Results: Multiple studies relating to mental health literacy (e.g., social-emotional learning) in schools were identified, many of which indicated positive effects. The included studies, however, varied greatly in scope and quality. Moreover, most of the studies were conducted in North America, Europe, or Australia, and/or by researchers from these areas. Despite an urgent need for mental health support in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), research addressing universal mental health efforts for youth in LMICs is sorely lacking.
Conclusions: The past decade has seen a large accumulation of studies concerning universal youth mental health interventions, some of which may be effective. Given the breadth in scope and quality of the studies reviewed, however, the field may lack cohesion. Additional research of greater quality is needed, especially in LMICs, using culturally sensitive methods, to ensure equity and access to mental health care for youth worldwide.
