The Effects of a School-Based Educational Intervention on Preadolescents' Knowledge of and Attitudes towards Mental Illness

Abstract

Educational interventions for school-aged children to reduce the stigma of mental illness have mainly targeted high school students, and the long-term effects have rarely been considered. This article presents an evaluation of a school-based educational intervention on promoting positive attitudes and increased knowledge about mental illness in a sample of Victorian pre-adolescents. Sixty-nine grade 5 and 6 children received a 165-minute educational intervention about mental illness over two sessions. A group of 126 grade 5 and 6 children made up a control group. Knowledge, social distance and attitudes towards mental illness were assessed for both groups before and after the intervention. There was significant improvement in the intervention group on all measures compared with controls one week following the intervention, and a significant change remained four months after the intervention. These findings support the effectiveness of the intervention in changing attitudes favourably and improving knowledge about mental illness in senior primary school children.

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