Promoting positive social classroom environments to enhance students’ mental health? Effectiveness of a school-based programme in Norway

Abstract

VIP partnership is a universal school-programme designed to strengthen the social classroom climate. This quasi-experimental study examined whether the effectiveness of VIP partnership on students’ happiness, joint depression/anxiety symptoms, and loneliness was moderated by baseline level of social anxiety (no, low, and high). Participants were upper secondary students from 10 test schools (n = 1101) and seven control schools (n = 734) in Norway. Data were collected at baseline, post-test (10 weeks) and six-month follow-up. Result at post-test indicated a significant main effect of participation in VIP partnership on happiness (d = .12), and simple effects on joint depression/anxiety symptoms among students with no (d = -.30) or low (d = -.14) social anxiety at baseline. No significant effects were found for post-test loneliness or either outcome measures at six-month follow-up. A universal programme targeting social participation may not be sufficiently intensive to generate substantial and lasting improvements in adolescent mental health and loneliness.