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Symposia

Prevention

Translational Research Using Community Engaged Methodologies to Promote Positive Youth Development

2 - (SYM 2) Evaluation of the Get Schooled Tour: A School-based Program to Reduce Mental Illness Stigma and Increase Intentions to Seek Help

Friday, November 21, 2025
10:27 AM - 10:48 AM CST
Location: Imperial 12, Level 4
Keywords: Adolescents, Community-Based, Prevention
Recommended Readings: Nixon, C. L., & Linkie, C. A. (2023). Bullying prevention: A developmental, public health framework using trauma-informed and strength-based approaches. In Handbook of anger, aggression, and violence (pp. 1807-1829). Cham: Springer International Publishing.,   Hetzel-Riggin, M. D. (2020). System response to intimate partner violence: Coordinated community response. In Geffner, R., White, J. W., Hamberger, K., Rosenbaum, A., Vaughn-Eden, V., & Veith, V.I. (Eds.), Handbook of Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan New York, NY: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62122-7_157-2,   Brown, W. J., Nedelman, A. J., Phillips, W. G., Stankus, J. S., Amoscato, L. E., & Schwartz, E. (2022). Traumatic stress symptoms predict restraint incidents in children and adolescents in psychiatric residential treatment. Journal of traumatic stress, 35(2), 694-705.,   ,  
Abstract Body

Adolescents’ mental health concerns continue to rise. According to the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 42% of adolescents felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, and more than 1 in 5 adolescents considered attempting suicide. Across 192 studies, the peak age of onset for mental health disorders is 14.5 years (Solmi et al., 2022). Thus, adolescents are a critical population to study. Adolescence is a particularly difficult time period for youth as they navigate complex cognitive, socio-emotional, and physical changes, Moreover, peer influence peaks during this time (Deater-Deakard, 2021), making adolescents particularly sensitive to mental health stigma (Calear et al., 2011), which unfortunately, is a critical barrier to seeking treatment (Corrigan, 2004).



The Get Schooled Tour (GST) is a dynamic mental health education program that provides middle and high school students with an hour-long interactive experience utilizing a combination of live entertainment, interactive polling, and compelling videos to address and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health. The program emphasizes the importance of taking care of one’s mental health and provides constructive coping strategies such as journaling and meditation to help students manage stress and anxiety. The desired outcome of GST is to engage students in a meaningful discussion about mental health, increase help-seeking behavior, and reduce mental health stigma.



Students from four middle schools in Indiana (n = 1,115) were surveyed before and after taking part in GST. Results revealed that students reported an increased intention to seek help for mental health issues after GST, and a greater willingness to help their friends who may be experiencing mental health issues. Additionally, students reported less self-stigma around mental health after experiencing GST. Qualitative data revealed that students felt more informed about mental health resources after GST and would recommend GST to their peers. Lessons learned and future work will be discussed.