title: A Universal Mental Health Promotion Programme for Young People in Italy.
abstract: In Italy, the Mental Health Unit of the National Institute of Public Health has developed a school-based mental health programme based on a structured handbook. The aim of this programme is to promote self-efficacy, psychological well-being, and life satisfaction. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of this programme. We used data from 308 students who participated in a study in 9 Italian high schools during the 2011-2012 school year. In order to analyse the school intervention programme, we set up a pre-post test design study involving 18 classrooms (8 of which acting as a control). The schools were selected via a snowball technique, and then the classrooms that agreed to participate were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The programme was performed during regular school hours in one-hour a week sessions for a total of 20 hours of classroom time. Assessments before and 2 months after the programme were performed using Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy, Satisfaction With Life, and Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scales. The results showed an improvement in self-efficacy in regulating negative affect, overall psychological well-being, and satisfaction with life. These results demonstrate that the programme produced significant positive effects on the mental health status of participating students.
authors.affiliation: National Centre of Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gigantesco
authors.affiliation: National Centre of Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Debora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Del Re
authors.affiliation: National Centre of Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cascavilla
authors.affiliation: National Centre of Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Palumbo
authors.affiliation: National Centre of Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: De Mei
authors.affiliation: National Centre of Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cattaneo
authors.affiliation: National Centre of Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Giovannelli
authors.affiliation: National Centre of Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Health Promotion, Italian National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bella
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000067697:Adolescent Health; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011897:Random Allocation; D020377:Self Efficacy