ArticleJournal of youth and adolescence2020
Can Schools Reduce Adolescent Psychological Stress? A Multilevel Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of School-Based Intervention Programs.
Article in Journal of youth and adolescence, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05370443 (Effectiveness of an Online Life Skills-based Intervention on Depression, Anxiety and Stress Among Arabic Adolescents in Klang Valley, Malaysia), which is not on this map. Cited by 50 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effectiveness of an Online Life Skills-based Intervention on Depression, Anxiety and Stress Among Arabic Adolescents in Klang Valley, Malaysia: Protocol for a Cluster-randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Help-seeking processes related to targeted school-based mental health services: systematic review.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- School-based Mental Health Interventions Targeting Depression or Anxiety: A Meta-analysis of Rigorous Randomized Controlled Trials for School-aged Children and Adolescents.Journal of youth and adolescence · 2023Pooled it
- The effects of school-based interventions on physiological stress in adolescents: A meta-analysis.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2022Pooled it
- Identifying Salient Stressors of Adolescence: A Systematic Review and Content Analysis.Journal of youth and adolescence · 2021Pooled it
- What Is Needed to Create a Prosocial Classroom? The Effectiveness of the Dutch Meaningful Roles Program in Children: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Study.Journal of adolescence · 2026Trial
- The Effect of a Yoga-Based Stress Management Program on Depression, Anxiety, Stress and Psychological Well-Being in Adolescents: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of adolescence · 2026Trial
- Positive impacts of a universal trauma-informed intervention on student mental health: The Project POWER trial.Journal of school psychology · 2025Trial
- Effects of a Digital Mental Health Intervention on Perceived Stress and Rumination in Adolescents Aged 13 to 17 Years: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Trial
- Preventing Stress among High School Students in Denmark through the Multicomponent Healthy High School Intervention-The Effectiveness at First Follow-Up.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Trial
- Trial
- One SMS a day keeps the stress away? A just-in-time planning intervention to reduce occupational stress among apprentices.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Emotional intelligence as a mediator in the relationship between academic performance and burnout in high school students.PloS one · 2021Trial
- Shattered Safety? Developmental Trajectories for Conspiracy Mentality and Violent Extremist Attitudes.Journal of youth and adolescence · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of School-Based Psycho-Educational Interventions in Preventing Sub-clinical Anxiety and Stress in Adolescents.Clinical child psychology and psychiatry · 2026Review
- Improving Mental Health Literacy Among Iranian Middle School Students: A Quasi-Experimental Intervention.Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran · 2026Article
- Feasibility, safety, and preliminary outcomes of a school-based intervention combining paced-breathing HRV biofeedback and transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation in adolescents.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Article
- Reducing anxiety and depression in Chinese adolescents through group behavioral activation: a pilot study with school-based implementation.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2025Article
- Self-Regulation as a Mediator and Moderator Between School Stress and School Well-Being: A Multilevel Study.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2025Article
- School-Based Interventions for Reducing Disciplinary School Exclusion. An Updated Systematic Review.Campbell systematic reviews · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Increased levels of psychological stress during adolescence have been associated with a decline in academic performance, school dropout and increased risk of mental health problems. Intervening during this developmental period may prevent these problems. The school environment seems particularly suitable for interventions and over the past decade, various school-based stress reduction programs have been developed. The present study aims to evaluate the results of (quasi-)experimental studies on the effectiveness of school-based intervention programs targeting adolescent psychological stress and to investigate moderators of effectiveness. A three-level random effects meta-analytic model was conducted. The search resulted in the inclusion of k = 54 studies, reporting on analyses in 61 independent samples, yielding 123 effect sizes (N = 16,475 individuals). The results indicated a moderate overall effect on psychological stress. Yet, significant effects were only found in selected student samples. School-based intervention programs targeting selected adolescents have the potential to reduce psychological stress. Recommendations for practice, policy and future research are discussed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.