UC Santa Barbara

Adolescence is a crucial point for mental health intervention given that three-quarters of all life-time mental health concerns emerge by the age of 24 (National Alliance of Mental Health, 2021). Limited engagement in treatment is often due to structural barriers (e.g., transportation, cost, access) and other intrapersonal barriers, such as low perceived need and limited knowledge about mental health (Radez et al., 2019). My dissertation presents an initial feasibility and acceptability study of a modular mental health promotion program that I created, Youth Engagement and Action in Mental Health (YPEAM), which aims to increase mental health literacy, decrease stigma, and influence the perceived effectiveness of mental health treatment among youth in a community organization.YPEAM was implemented at a youth community organization with eight participants between the ages of 12 – 17 years old across 13, 1-hour sessions. By using a convergent mixed methods design, I was able to answer three main questions: how feasible (i.e., easy or difficult) is the implementation of YPEAM within a community youth center, how acceptable (i.e., how much youth enjoyed and valued it) was it among the youth, and how did it affect self-reported levels of stigma about mental health and their knowledge of mental health? Pre- and post-YPEAM implementation survey data and semi-structured interviews offered insight into how YPEAM may contribute to alleviating some of the initial barriers to youth seeking mental health support that drove the development of this unique program. Results regarding feasibility indicated a recruitment rate of 75% of youth that were already involved in the center and met age criteria. Six of the eight youth attended all 13 sessions. Regarding acceptability, one youth reported that the flexibility of the curriculum was “a nice freedom to have.” This finding supports one of the initial goals of YPEAM, which was to use youth voices to increase engagement in mental health programs. Additional semi-structured qualitative data indicated favorable views of the program, while also providing suggestions for future iterations of the program. Survey results indicated that all participants “strongly agreed” or “agreed” when asked if they liked YPEAM. Results related to stigma and mental health knowledge were evaluated using qualitative and quantitative data. In their semi-structured interviews after the program, several youths reported feeling more confident in their ability to recognize mental health symptoms and knowing how to seek support. Nearly all youth reported reduced mental health stigma scores after YPEAM. This pilot study provided insight into implementation of a novel program within a community center and highlighted the potential benefits of the curriculum. This study provides an example of using the Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) framework as a guide for a novel mental health promotion program. YPEAM incorporated youth decisions into the delivery of a mental health program, which showed a positive influence on some barriers to youth engagement, such as stigma and mental health literacy. Additionally, given that the seven of the eight participants of the study sample were from a marginalized identity, this study aligns with literature that highlights that YPAR strategies may benefit marginalized youth. Taken together, my dissertation contributes to the literature base of how mental health promotion programs can be specifically tailored to youth’s needs and shift how researchers are developing and implementing prevention efforts. YPEAM provides a model of how to create and implement flexible curriculums so that they are more socially, culturally, and geographically attuned to youth mental health needs.