Evaluating the mental health outcomes of delivering peer-led interventions for young people in primary and secondary schools

Youth mental health is a global concern. Research shows that early intervention is key in order to mitigate disruptive and damaging effects, such as social and family issues, poor educational and employment outcomes, and increased risk of lifelong disease. The global literature now recognises the school setting as a key platform to address these issues. Peer-led interventions have been identified as a promising method to address mental health problems in schools. However, the quality of the evidence base is unknown despite wide reported usage of these programs. The aim of this thesis was to address this gap by exploring the mental health outcomes of delivering peer-led interventions in primary and secondary schools. A large systematic review was conducted in order to evaluate the global evidence on the mental health outcomes of peer-led interventions in primary and secondary schools. An extensive search of academic databases identified 11 studies that were eligible for analysis. A small-scale pilot study was also conducted to evaluate the feasibility of delivering an online peer mentor training tool (‘Friend2Friend’) to a sample of secondary school students (N = 18). Quantitative data were collected using a questionnaire at pre-test, post-test and follow-up and analysed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were collected using open-ended questions and a small focus group and analysed using a thematic approach. This thesis makes a valuable contribution to the literature base. The systematic review identified some significant results for both mentors and mentees. The overall literature base was found to lack robust evaluations and recommendations are given for future research to address. The pilot study was feasible although some minor amendments are recommended. The intervention was widely accepted by the students and showed some positive effects.