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Psychoeducational Interventions to Promote Mental Health and Wellbeing Through Covitality and Socio-emotional Skills in Children & Adolescents

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 17730

Special Issue Editors

Department of Health Psychology, Miguel Hernández University, 03202 Elche, Spain
Interests: personality; psychological evaluation and treatment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Faculty of Education, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia, Madrid 28040, Spain
Interests: counseling; educational psychology; education and educational research; education and pedagogy; emotional education; emotional intelligence; emotions; individual differences; personality and intelligence psychology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
Interests: covitality; positive psychology; educational psychology; developmental psychology; social emotional development; school psychology
University of Castilla-La-Mancha, Ciudad Real, 13600 Alcázar de San Juan, Spain

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are organizing a Special Issue on psychoeducational interventions to promote mental health and socio-emotional skills in children & adolescents in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The venue is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes articles and communications in the interdisciplinary area of environmental health sciences and public health. For detailed information on the journal, we refer you to https://0-www-mdpi-com.brum.beds.ac.uk/journal/ijerph.

Today's society is a very changing one, as it is subject to a multitude of social, technological, economic and other changes. One possible consequence of these changes is the psychosocial impact that affects everyone, but especially the most vulnerable groups. Child and adolescent population is probably the group most at risk for developing mental disorders, as the scientific literature has shown that 3 out of 4 mental disorders have their onset before the age of 24 and 1 out of 2 before the age of 14. In addition, when a mental disorder has an early onset, it is more persistent and chronic, diversified, co-morbid with other disorders and there is a greater risk of physical illness and mortality. The promotion of mental health and well-being seems to be an absolute political priority. Schools are the area par excellence for preventing and promoting mental health and wellbeing through the promotion of Covitality, socio-emotional skills or the so-called social and emotional learning (SEL). Consequently, to propose a special issue focused on psychoeducational interventions to promote mental health and socio-emotional skills in children & adolescents, seems to be a topic of high relevance for science and society and for political actions.

Considerable advances have been recently achieved with the availability of some evidence-based psychoeducational interventions to promote social-emotional skills among children and adolescents. However, there are still many gaps of knowledge, e.g., concerning evaluation of effectiveness, features of interventions, cross-cultural validation of interventions, etc.

Through this call, we invite you to submit high-quality original research articles or reviews to our Special Issue that provide solid new findings extending the current state of knowledge. Preference will be given to contributions using longitudinal data and or experimental/intervention designs. Studies with cross-sectional design will only be considered as exceptions if convincingly justified. All manuscripts will be peer-reviewed by experts in the field, and would be due no later than the end of May 2021.

Prof. José A. Piqueras
Prof. Juan Carlos Pérez-González
Dr. Michael Furlong
Dr. Javier Cejudo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Psychoeducational interventions
  • Mental health
  • Wellbeing
  • Socio-emotional skills
  • Social and Emotional Learning
  • Children & adolescents
  • Resilience
  • Covitality
  • Emotional Education
  • Emotional Intelligence

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2123 KiB  
Article
Impact of the MooN Physical Education Program on the Socio-Emotional Competencies of Preadolescents
by Pablo Luna, Javier Cejudo, José A. Piqueras, Débora Rodrigo-Ruiz, Miriam Bajo and Juan-Carlos Pérez-González
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(15), 7896; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18157896 - 26 Jul 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2501
Abstract
Few studies have analyzed emotional educational experiences through physical education interventions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects on socio-emotional competencies of a physical education intervention (i.e., the MooN program) based on the instructional model known as the sports education [...] Read more.
Few studies have analyzed emotional educational experiences through physical education interventions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects on socio-emotional competencies of a physical education intervention (i.e., the MooN program) based on the instructional model known as the sports education model (SEM), compared to a physical education intervention based on the traditional model of direct instruction (TM-DI) in preadolescents. The sample consisted of 170 students between 10 and 13 years old (mean age: M = 10.76; standard deviation: SD = 0.73). Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group (SEM; n = 87) and the active control group (TM-DI; n = 83). In the experimental group, the SEM-based intervention was applied, while in the active control group, an intervention based on the TM-DI was developed. A quasi-experimental design with repeated pre-test and post-test measures and an active control group was used. The self-efficacy inventory for multiple intelligences (IAMI-40) was used to assess the children’s socio-emotional competencies. The child perfectionism inventory was applied to evaluate the self-demand perfectionist efforts. The results confirmed that the MooN program (SEM intervention) promoted significant improvements in socio-emotional competencies. These findings support the potential of this physical education instructional model as an emotional education pathway for the socio-emotional improvement of preadolescent students. Full article
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21 pages, 1742 KiB  
Article
Innovations in Social and Emotional Learning Research and Practice: Building from Evidence and Applying Behavioral Insights to the Design of a Social and Emotional Learning Intervention in Northeast Nigeria
by Rebecca Bailey, Natasha Raisch, Sonya Temko, Britt Titus, Jonah Bautista, Tahirat Omolara Eniola and Stephanie M. Jones
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(14), 7397; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18147397 - 11 Jul 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4267
Abstract
Recent studies suggest that social and emotional learning (SEL) programming has the potential to be effective in conflict-affected regions, yet evidence is limited, and findings to date are mixed. One hypothesis about why SEL interventions in education in emergencies (EiE) settings have not [...] Read more.
Recent studies suggest that social and emotional learning (SEL) programming has the potential to be effective in conflict-affected regions, yet evidence is limited, and findings to date are mixed. One hypothesis about why SEL interventions in education in emergencies (EiE) settings have not generated the anticipated results is that the SEL content and materials have not been sufficiently localized to the context, leading to poor cultural relevance or fit. A second hypothesis is that SEL program demands tend to be high and capacity for implementation is low, undermining sustainability and impact. The current study addresses these challenges by investing in locally driven SEL content and design as a way to ensure that SEL materials are grounded in local values and needs, culturally appropriate, relevant to the specific context, and feasible to implement. The study draws on the developmental and prevention sciences as well as the field of behavioral insights to test evidence-based interventions intended to encourage desired behaviors around uptake and implementation. This paper documents the activities conducted during the project’s design phase, including landscape research, creation of initial prototypes, design workshops and rapid prototyping, and field testing. Findings suggest that using local values, practices, and framing in SEL programming increases relevance and appropriateness for the Northeast Nigeria setting. Furthermore, targeted behavioral insights interventions increased the uptake, habitual and regular use, as well as correct implementation of SEL activities. The findings contribute to the emerging literature on the cultural variability of SEL and the need to consider the context when designing and implementing programs in any setting. Full article
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27 pages, 1850 KiB  
Article
Taking Students on a Strengths Safari: A Multidimensional Pilot Study of School-Based Wellbeing for Young Neurodiverse Children
by Lauren H. Naples and Elizabeth D. Tuckwiller
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(13), 6947; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18136947 - 29 Jun 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4921
Abstract
There is a robust body of psychological research linking youth mental health and academic achievement. However, students in early childhood are rarely represented in this research, and children with disabilities and/or neurological differences are virtually absent. Thus, the present pilot study explored the [...] Read more.
There is a robust body of psychological research linking youth mental health and academic achievement. However, students in early childhood are rarely represented in this research, and children with disabilities and/or neurological differences are virtually absent. Thus, the present pilot study explored the effects of a structured psychoeducation program designed to enhance school-based wellbeing (SBWB) for young students who are neurodivergent (ND). This study utilized a quasi-experimental design to investigate the effects of the Student Strengths Safari intervention on (1) students’ self-reported covitality and (2) teacher-rated executive functioning to (3) examine data for evidence of a dual-factor model of SBWB. Two classrooms in a suburban, Mid-Atlantic private school were randomly assigned to the waitlist control group (n = 14) (1st grade) and the intervention group (n = 10) (2nd grade), and quantitative data were analyzed at pretest and posttest to determine intervention outcomes. Key findings produced evidence to support (a) a statistically significant interaction effect for improvements in executive functioning relative to the waitlist control group (p = 0.011), and (b) the utility of a new theoretical dual-factor model to advance SBWB for ND students in early elementary education. Full article
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14 pages, 373 KiB  
Article
Interpersonal Support, Emotional Intelligence and Family Function in Adolescence
by Ana Belén Barragán Martín, María del Mar Molero Jurado, María del Carmen Pérez-Fuentes, Nieves Fátima Oropesa Ruiz, África Martos Martínez, María del Mar Simón Márquez and José Jesús Gázquez Linares
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(10), 5145; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18105145 - 12 May 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4815
Abstract
Background: During adolescence, although the peer group exerts a strong influence on how the individual thinks and feels and on personal social values, the family still exerts a sustaining and supporting role. This study analyzed the relationships established between family function, emotional intelligence [...] Read more.
Background: During adolescence, although the peer group exerts a strong influence on how the individual thinks and feels and on personal social values, the family still exerts a sustaining and supporting role. This study analyzed the relationships established between family function, emotional intelligence and perceived interpersonal support in adolescence. Method: The sample was made up of 1287 high school students aged 14 to 18 (M = 15.11; SD = 0.91) in the province of Almeria (Spain). Results: The results showed moderate correlations between the intrapersonal emotional intelligence dimension and perceived availability of support (advice or orientation), and between the mood dimension of emotional intelligence and the three interpersonal support dimensions (appraisal, belonging and tangible). In addition, significant positive correlations were found between family function and the intrapersonal and mood dimensions of emotional intelligence, with medium and large effect sizes, respectively. Apart from that, the data revealed that students who could count on a more functional family referred to high empathy and acceptance by others and greater support in material or financial matters, followed by those with moderate family function. In addition, students from homes with severely dysfunctional families perceived less available support. Finally, students who said they could count on strong family function also scored higher on the intrapersonal factor of emotional intelligence. Conclusions: The implications of these findings for the development of emotional intelligence in early adolescence are discussed from the family context, considering the relationship between emotional intelligence and social support. Full article
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