Should it be compulsory for mental health to be taught in schools?

Natasha Jones

Introduction Discussions about mental health has been prevalent in the 20th century resulting in more people becoming aware of its common nature and thus realizing its norm. Shaffer (1999) found that 90% of children and adolescents suffer from mental illness or have committed suicide. If we could educate children where to find support and have the right crisis procedures, we could reduce the percentage of children suffering from mental illness and suicide rates among the youth. Mental Health Foundations (2002) statistics page reveal that the UK shows one of the highest rates of self-harm in Europe: 400 per 100,000 population. Similarly if children were educated and support groups were put in place that would provide a safe environment to discuss distressing issues with the aid of trained mental health professionals, the rate of self-harm could also be reduced. The aim of this research is find out the publics opinion on whether mental health should be compulsory to be taught in schools. Evidence found in this research will go towards supporting the petition To make it compulsory mental health is to be taught in schools and any highlighted aspects to be investigated such as bullying.

Method Participants 100 participants were recruited using volunteer sampling. Participant age and gender were absent from the questionnaire as the information is irrelevant to the question. All participants however have experienced at least secondary school level of education.

Materials Custom created questionnaires were formulated on the website Survey Monkey. Participants used a computer with internet access to answer the 9 questions on the questionnaire (See in Appendix A).

Procedure The Mental Health questionnaire was first created using Survey Monkey (3/4/14 till 6/4/14 ) with a mixture of closed and open ended questions. At the start of the questionnaire there was a short description on what the research entailed: -In 2010, males ages 15 to 19 were nearly four times more likely to commit suicide, six times more likely to be victims of homicide, and eight times more likely to be involved in a firearm-related death than were females of the same age. -One study found that more than 90 percent of children and adolescents who committed suicide had some type of mental disorder. This questionnaire is now asking what your opinion is on the current state of mental health and what do you think can be done to improve support, reduce suicide and increase awareness at school. Questionnaire is completely anonymous and if you have any questions please email me at: w0h82@students.keele.ac.uk (Above statistics are from: http://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=teen-homicide-suicide-andfirearm-deaths) The questionnaire was advertised on various social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Wordpress. Also the questionnaire was emailed to students who attend Keele University. After 100 respondents had replied to the questionnaire, the data was analysed using bar graphs for closed questions and thematic analysis for open questions. A separate poll asking participants about their opinion on how mental health should be taught was created on Word Press (see Appendix B for results).

Results and discussion

Q1 ) When you was in school did you experience any mental health problems or stress related difficulties?
80.0% 70.0%

Percentage of participants

60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Yes No

Recorded response

Table 1. Recorded responses for experiencing mental health problems in school Table 1 reflects that there were a high number of participants who suffered from mental illness and stress related difficulties whilst at school. Which even though this selection of participants may not be representative of the whole population, it is still quite a large number considering there are 100 participants taking part with 75% responding yes to the above question. However, biases must be taken into account as the questionnaire was titled mental health, leading to a biased sample of individuals who have experienced mental health difficulties.

Q2) If so did you know who to contact to receive support?

60.0%

50.0%

Percentage of participants

40.0%

30.0%

20.0%

10.0%

0.0% Yes No

Recorded responses

Table 2. Recorded responses on did individuals with mental health problems know where to receive support Table 2 asks a follow on question from the question asked in Table 1. Which even though there appears to be less people saying they did not know who to contact to receive support compared to Table 1 reflecting 75% of participants suffering from mental illness. There was still 50% of participants in this questionnaire who were ill informed of support. In the original data set, N/A was also an option for this question but not included in this graph as it is irrelevant to our question. A possible issue with this question is that we are relying on the participants memory to recall whether they did know who to contact at the time. Therefore this data could arguably be invalid in both response options, due to memory decay.

Q3) If you suffered from mental health problems at school, do you think that it would have been helpful to you to know where you could get support?
80.0% 70.0%

Percentage of participants

60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Yes No

Recorded responses

Table 3. Recorded responses if participants felt that it would have been helpful to be informed of support Table 3 contains the recorded responses of whether the participants felt that it would have been helpful to know where to get support when they suffered from mental health difficulties. Similarly to Table 2, the N/A category has been ignored for this graph. Table 3 appears to correspond better to Table 1 than the previous table. This suggests that participants may have wanted to know where to receive more support even if they previously received it at school. Or that they were unsure if they knew where to receive support whilst they was at school, therefore chose yes on this question as they felt it would have been beneficial to be informed. Participants who responded with no on this question may have had very supportive parents who knew contacts already or they may have felt that by educating where to find support could have negative consequences (see question 4 and 5 in thematic analysis).

Q6) Do you feel that mental health is stigmatized?

100.0% 90.0%

Percentage of participants

80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Yes No

Recorded responses

Table 4. Recorded responses of whether participants feel mental health is stigmatised Question 6 asked the participants if they felt that mental health is stigmatized (this question was also paired with an open question, analysis of the open question can be found in the thematic analysis section). Most participants answered the question with yes, reflecting that there still needs to be a reduction in the stigma currently surrounding mental health. The participants who chose no for this question either havent experienced mental illness (themselves or know people who suffer from mental illness). Or they have not been subjected to what the majority have in this questionnaire, as 90% of participants agreed that mental health is stigmatized.

Q8) Do you feel that teaching mental health to children should be compulsory and part of a lesson plan?
60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Yes Yes but not part of a subject Yes but not the subjects listed (add in the comments box) No

Percentage of participants

Recorded responses

Table 5. Recorded responses of the participants opinion on teaching mental health Question 8 asked participants their opinions on how mental health should be taught in the classroom. The suggestion list of lessons provided in the question were: citizenship, R.E or biology. The majority agreed that mental health should be a part of a lesson plan and in one of the subjects listed in the title. However, some participants felt that mental health should be taught in other areas such as PSHE, form time and group discussions. Also some participants commented with their concerns on teaching children mental health in a biology lessons, that it might be too complex for young individuals to learn. The participants who responded no to this question felt that negative consequences may arise if mental health was to be taught in schools (see question 4 and 5 in thematic analysis for more details on this theme).

Below states the thematic analysis of Mental Health questionnaire that was conducted on Survey Monkey from 3/4/14 till 6/4/14 with 100 participants obtained through social networking. All participants are anonymous and specific quotes will be deleted if desired. Contact Natasha on: w0h82@students.keele.ac.uk

Q4 Sexual health is taught across the UK in schools. Do you feel teaching mental health to children would be helpful? and Q5 What would be the benefits by teaching children about mental health?

Theme Contact

Description Students are aware of who to get in touch with if they need support. Quote example:
Yes, as by informing people about it they will be more aware of symptoms and who they can go to for help and advice about mental health

Total 32

Support for others

By educating students about mental health this will in turn help with aiding their friends and overall see a more realistic picture of mental health in the youth. Quote example:
Would help students to be able to support and guide their friends who may be struggling.

25

Awareness/stigma

Students are aware of the signs of mental illnesses thus can identify if they need help. Also education will lead to reduction in stigmatization possibly throughout their lives. Quote example:
Most definitely, there seems to be a stigma on mental health which makes young people embarrassed and hide away from their problems

69

Negative aspects

Some concerns with educating children of mental health could be bullying, attention seekers and overall no improvement would be made. Quote example:
To some degree but it would have to be carefully scripted to avoid possible bullying or be seen as a weakness

The most dominant reoccurring theme present in question 4 and 5 appears to be that students will gain more awareness of mental health and possibly there will be a reduction in stigma due to education. The second most reoccurring theme in the comments is that through awareness, students will be more knowledgeable of where to contact for support should they ever need it. An interesting theme that arose from thematic analysis was that, participants felt that through education of mental health students would be able to support and understand their friends more if the case of mental illness arises. One comment also suggested that through education, we could obtain a more accurate overall picture of how many students are affected by mental illness as more would be aware of where to receive support. Four individuals brought up negative aspects which may arise if mental health was to be taught in schools e.g an increase in bullying. Anti-bullying campaigns are already present in most schools and additional protection could be put in place to reduce bullying to vulnerable individuals, such as different sanctions. When bullying involves racism, the perpetrators are usually dealt with very seriously. The same sanctions should be in place if the victim discloses that the bully has been insensitive about their mental illness to the pastoral team. While this may not help in all cases, the stigma of mental illness needs to be reduced so that people can freely talk about their issues and not be the victim because of it. Q6 Do you feel that mental health is stigmatized? And if so, how could we reduce the stigma in a school environment? Theme Education Description Teach children about mental health in a classroom based activity. Quote example:
Teach the children that mental illness is much more common than they think.

Total 26

Talking

Have open talks and discussions in form time or mini sessions out of class. Quote example:
Talking about it - like the LGBT movement

11

Examples

Using examples of public figures when conversing about mental health. Quote example:
Make it something that is discussed more - bring in people to talk about their previous experiences with mental health

Most participants answered this question with yes with regards to feeling mental health is stigmatised. Education appears to be the majority opinion on how to reduce stigma in a school environment, possibly because it provides interactions between their fellow peers and teacher

resulting in a greater understanding of each other. The mental health poll (see appendix B) reflects that the public feel that interactive classroom activities would be most beneficial. In addition, support groups within classes or outside of classes could also be set up so that through discussion students could talk about their life experiences, how they have overcome them and be there to support their peers. Whilst educating students about mental health, it could be beneficial to use examples of celebrities who have experienced mental health problems, this could make the concept of mental health more real and their feelings are not imagination that it can happen to anybody.

Q7 How can the support that schools currently provide be improved?

Theme Awareness

Description Increase awareness of mental health, leads to reduced stigma, understanding where to go if help is needed and creates a greater overall understanding of mental health in general. Quote example:
Raise more awareness, more information displayed or taught to those in a school environment via guest talkers etc.

Total 22

Mental Health experts

Have more mental health experts such as school counsellors (they should be present at every school), one to one sessions and mental health specialist visits. Quote example:
An increased number of child mental

32

health specialists would mean under 18's could receive a form of counselling and diagnosis without needing to rely on GP's or parents initially

Teachers education

Teachers to be more informed, less patronizing, empathic, knowledge in signposting and awareness of mental health. Quote example:
Starting with external teachers, and gradually training some, then all, teachers to be able to actively listen and discuss mental health issues with children.

25

Identification

Increasing training of staff so that mental health can be easily identified thus

treatment and interventions can be started before conditions worsen/or the consequences of undiagnosis occurs. Quote example:
Not write off children who are troublesome/ misunderstood as just being hindrances. Schools should delve deeper and assess if it is the result of an underlying illness. I.e. my boyfriend was expelled from school for being badly behaved / difficult, to later be diagnosed with schizophrenia. If this had been determined earlier, he may of stood a chance and got help from the school - as a result he is now in his early 20s with 0 qualifications.

Interesting points HE + FE issue After school club? Prevents stereotyping Compulsory life education class

The most popular opinion on how services in schools can improve in supporting mental health is through the interaction with more mental health professionals such as guest visit days, one to one sessions and more school counsellors in every school. The guest visit days would also raise awareness of mental health and in turn inform students of who to contact if they feel they need help. Another popular opinion is that teachers should be educated in mental health, possibly on where to signpost students and be aware of how to identify students who could be in the need of help. First aiders could also be educated in mental health so that if crisis occurs they would know how to deal with the situation. Comments in the questionnaire also suggested that mental health needs to also be addressed in higher education and further education which is something we could look into in the nearby future. After school support sessions have been previously mentioned in this document and prevention of stereotyping/bullying as well. One comment also mentioned that mental health could be taught in a Life Class, which I assume would also inform students of sexual health, educate them about work life, finances, work experience (optional) and university etc. Personally I find this suggestion rather applicable for the current state of the job market. All schools provide an opportunity for work experience but they seem to not continue to promote this throughout school life. Some professions such as being a doctor require extensive amount of work experience. So whilst Life class will help with awareness of mental health, Life class could also help to enhance their future job prospects even if they dont know what they want to do, the transferable skills they learn will aid them in the long term.

Conclusion In conclusion, with regards to the publics opinion the petition should aim to address reducing stigma of mental health by raising awareness in schools through interactive classroom activities, optional support groups, guest visit days of mental health professionals, appropriate training for first aiders, identification training for teachers and more refined procedures in place to protect vulnerable individuals from bullying. And possibly suggest the concept of a compulsory Life class where aspects of mental health could be taught in.

References Mental Health Foundation (2002). Mental Health Statistics: Self-harm. Retrieved April 7, 2014, from http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/help-information/mental-health-statistics/selfharm/?view=Standard Shaffer, D., & Craft, L., (1999). Methods of adolescent suicide prevention. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 60(Suppl. 2), 70-74. Retrieved April 7, 2014, from: http://www.healthri.org/disease/violence/vppsuicide_shaffer.htm

Appendix A: Questionnaire

Appendix B: Mental Health Poll