TY - JOUR A1 - Scheiner, Christin A1 - Daunke, Andrea A1 - Seidel, Alexandra A1 - Mittermeier, Sabrina A1 - Romanos, Marcel A1 - Kölch, Michael A1 - Buerger, Arne T1 - LessStress - how to reduce stress in school: evaluation of a universal stress prevention in schools: study protocol of a cluster-randomised controlled trial JF - Trials N2 - Background Chronic stress is detrimental to health, and children and young people have had to cope with significantly more stress since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, stress at school and in relation to learning is a major problem in this age group. Studies in Germany have indicated that the pandemic has led to a reduced quality of life (QoL) and an increased risk for psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents. Schools are an ideal setting for interventions against stress, which is one of the strongest predictors for the development of psychosocial problems. The present study seeks to address stress by means of a short prevention training programme in schools, including emotion regulation, mindfulness, and self-compassion. In addition to information material for self-study, students should have the opportunity to actively deal with the topic of stress and develop coping strategies within a short space of time. In contrast to very long stress reduction programmes that often last several weeks, the programme is delivered in just 90 min. Methods The effectiveness of the short and economical prevention programme LessStress will be examined in a cluster-randomised controlled trial (RCT) encompassing 1894 students. At several measurement time points, students from two groups (intervention and control) will be asked about their subjectively perceived stress levels, among other aspects. Due to the clustered nature of the data, mainly multilevel analyses will be performed. Discussion In Germany, there are no nationwide universal prevention programmes for students against stress in schools, and this gap has become more evident since the outbreak of the pandemic. Universal stress prevention in schools may be a starting point to promote resilience. By dealing with stress in a healthy way, mental health can be strengthened and maintained. Moreover, to reach at-risk students at an early stage, we advocate for a stronger networking between child psychiatry and schools. KW - stress reduction KW - selfcompassion KW - mindfulness KW - emotion regulation KW - resilience KW - prevention KW - RCT KW - school KW - stress Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300393 VL - 24 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scheiner, Christin A1 - Seis, Christian A1 - Kleindienst, Nikolaus A1 - Buerger, Arne T1 - Psychopathology, protective factors, and COVID-19 among adolescents: a structural equation model JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health N2 - Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019 and the associated restrictions, mental health in children and adolescents has been increasingly discussed in the media. Negative impacts of the pandemic, including a sharp increase in psychopathology and, consequently, reduced quality of life, appear to have particularly affected children and young people, who may be especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of isolation. Nevertheless, many children and adolescents have managed to cope well with the restrictions, without deterioration of their mental health. The present study therefore explored the links between COVID-19 infection (in oneself or a family member, as well as the death of a family member due to the virus), protective factors such as self-efficacy, resilience, self-esteem, and health-related quality of life, and measures of psychopathology such as depression scores, internalizing/externalizing problems, emotion dysregulation, and victimization. For this purpose, we examined data from 2129 adolescents (mean age = 12.31, SD = 0.67; 51% male; 6% born outside of Germany) using a structural equation model. We found medium to high loadings of the manifest variables with the latent variables (COVID-19, protective factors, and psychopathology). Protective factors showed a significant negative correlation with psychopathology. However, COVID-19 had a weak connection with psychopathology in our sample. External pandemic-related factors (e.g., restrictions) and their interaction with existing psychopathology or individual protective factors appear to have a greater influence on young people’s mental health than the impact of the virus per se. Sociopolitical efforts should be undertaken to foster prevention and promote individual resilience, especially in adolescence. KW - adolescence KW - mental health KW - psychopathology KW - protective factors KW - COVID-19 Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-304475 SN - 1660-4601 VL - 20 IS - 3 ER -