Effectiveness and Implementation Outcome Measures of Mental Health Curriculum Intervention Using Social Media to Improve the Mental Health Literacy of Adolescents

Purpose: Globally, adolescent mental health problems reportedly manifest more severely in individuals with lower mental health literacy. Mental health curriculum interventions using social media have been associated with positive implementation outcomes. This study aimed to investigate whether such an intervention significantly improves adolescent mental health literacy and is associated with positive implementation outcome measures. Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental design, comparing the before-and-after difference between the intervention group (n1=77) and the control group (n1=76). A mental health literacy module was delivered using social media. Data were collected using validated questionnaires. Effect size and difference-in-differences model calculations (and associated 95% confidence intervals, CI) were conducted alongside other descriptive analyses. Results: The estimated intervention effect size and difference-in-differences estimates were greater than zero. The effect was greater in the intervention than in the control group (p<0.05) despite sex and age differences. The effect size estimate provided by Cohen’s d and Hedges’ g values was medium-to-large (d/g=0.429–0.767, p<0.05). The difference-in-differences reflected a significant effect (DID=0.348, CI: 0.154–0.542, p