An international study of middle school students’ preferences about digital interactive education activities for promoting psychological well-being and mental health

Introduction. World Health Organization estimated that up to 20% of children and adolescents suffer from a problem of psychological or behavioural development worldwide and one in eight suffers from a mental disorder. Interventions promoting positive mental health may provide young people with necessary life skills to prevent mental health disorders.Methods. Computer and communication technologies are becoming more and more popular for life skills training programs. However, learning styles and communication technologies preferences of young people is understudied. Focus group interviews was used.Results. Participants were 283 students of five European countries (Bulgaria, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, and United Kingdom). The majority of preferences indicated smartphone to communicate or to get information, tablet for a better use in classroom and collaborative games for digital interactive educational activities.Conclusions. There is a need to encourage teachers to use this technology at school to improve students’ productivity and their emotional and social abilities