“HAPPY HOUSE” PROGRAM: EFFECTIVENESS ON STRESS, ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSION AMONG STUDENTS AT EIGHT HIGH SCHOOLS IN HANOI

Thị Nga Nguyễn1,, Thanh Hương Nguyễn1, Đức Thạch Trần2, Fisher Jane 2, Thị Minh Hậu Nguyễn2, Linh Nga Lã3, Shochet Ian 4, Wurfl Astrid4, Orr Jayne4
1 HUPH
2 Monash University, Australia
3 Center for Research and Application of Psychological Science - Education (PPRAC), Vietnam
4 Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia

Main Article Content

Abstract

Aims: To assess the effects of Happy House program on stress, anxiety and depression among grade-10 students in 8 high schools in Hanoi. Methods: A school-based, two-arm parallel controlled trial was conducted in Hanoi from 2020 to 2023. A total of 531 students received six weekly 90-minute group sessions of Happy House (Intervention group); and 552 students received the usual curriculum (Control group). The outcomes were measured using


 


 


 


the 21-items Depression, Anxiety and Stress. Data were collected at pre-intervention, and at two weeks and six months post-intervention. Mixed-effect models were conducted to estimate the effects of the intervention on the outcomes at an individual level following intention-to-treat principles. Results: The mean scores of stress, anxiety and depression in the Intervention group decreased at 2-week and 6-month follow-up, but the differences were not statistically significant compared to the control group. At 2-week post-intervention, Happy House program had an impact on reducing stress and depression symptoms among female students. However, there were no differences at the six-month follow-up between the two groups or between males and females. Conclusion: Further research with a more robust study design using diagnostic tools is warranted to confirm the findings of this study.

Article Details

References

1. Silva SA, Silva SU, Ronca DB, Gonçalves VSS, Dutra ES, KMB C. Common mental disorders prevalence in adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analyses. PLoS ONE. 2020;15(4).
2. Viện Xã hội học, Đại học Queensland, Trường Y tế Công cộng Bloomberg - Đại học Johns Hopkins. Điều tra Sức khỏe Tâm thần Vị thành niên Việt Nam: Báo cáo Kết quả chủ yếu. Viện Xã hội học; 2022.
3. Ian M. Shochet, Roslyn Montague, David Ham, editors. The Resourceful Adolescent Program: A Universal Approach to the Prevention of Depression in Adolescents. International Perspectives on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Volume 2: Proceedings of the Second International Conference; 2002; Australia: Elsevier Science Ltd.
4. Rivet-Duval E, Heriot S, Hunt C. Preventing Adolescent Depression in Mauritius: A Universal School-Based Program. Child and adolescent mental health. 2011;16(2):86-91.
5. Lai ES, Kwok CL, Wong PW, Fu KW, Law YW, Yip PS. The Effectiveness and Sustainability of a Universal School-Based Programme for Preventing Depression in Chinese Adolescents: A Follow-Up Study Using Quasi-Experimental Design. PLoS One. 2016;11(2):e0149854.
6. Raes F, Griffith JW, Van der Gucht K, Williams JMG. School-Based Prevention and Reduction of Depression in Adolescents: a Cluster- Randomized Controlled Trial of a Mindfulness Group Program. Mindfulness. 2014;5(5):477-86.
7. Johnson C, Burke C, Brinkman S, Wade T. A randomized controlled evaluation of a secondary school mindfulness program for early adolescents: Do we have the recipe right yet? Behaviour research and therapy. 2017;99:37-46.
8. Shochet IM, Dadds MR, Holland D, Whitefield K, Harnett PH, Osgarby SM. The efficacy of a universal school-based program to prevent adolescent depression. Journal of clinical child psychology. 2001;30(3):303-15.
9. Thach Duc Tran, Huong Nguyen, Ian Shochet, Nga Nguyen, Nga La, Astrid Wurfl, et al. School-based universal mental health promotion intervention for adolescents in Vietnam: two-arm, parallel, controlled trial. 2023.
10. Tran TD, Tran T, Fisher J. Validation of the depression anxiety stress scales (DASS) 21 as a screening instrument for depression and anxiety in a rural community-based cohort of northern Vietnamese women. BMC psychiatry. 2013;13:24.