Effectiveness of Mental Health Programme on Promoting Mental Health Characteristics among Adolescents in PSG Schools Coimbatore

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Today s children are tomorrow s responsible citizens of the world. The future of our country depends on the mental health of our young ones. Healthy children are the greatest resource and pride of a nation. Investment of child s development is an investment in the future of the nation. Children ought to be healthy and happy to become productive and contended adults of future. OBJECTIVES: 1. To assess the mental health characteristics among adolescents in PSG schools. 2. To evaluate the effectiveness of mental health programme on mental health characteristics among adolescents in PSG schools. 3. To associate the mental health characteristics among adolescents with selected demographic variables. The conceptual framework based on Wiedenbach s helping art of clinical nursing theory. RESULTS: The analysis of pretest level of mental health characteristics revealed that almost all 195 (100%) had inadequate level of mental health characteristics. The analysis of post test level of mental health characteristics revealed that majority 147 (75.38%) had adequate and 48 (24.62%) had moderate level of mental health characteristics. A quasi experimental one group pre-test and post-test design has been adapted for the study. The independent variable for the study was life skills education programme on communication, coping with emotions and coping with stress. The study was conducted in PSG Sarvajana Higher Secondary school, Coimbatore. The samples of the study were adolescents between the age group of 11-16 years. Total of 195 adolescents were selected through stratified random proportionate sampling technique. CONCLUSION: The study concluded that mental health programme among adolescents was found to be effective in improving on mental health characteristics. The study recommended the health professionals should work in collaboration for the implementation and evaluation of mental health educational interventions in order to identify evidence based interventions for the purposes of the mental health promotion.