A meta-analysis of school-based mental health interventions

This meta-analysis was designed to examine the effectiveness of school-based mental health interventions. Articles that used a school-based mental health intervention in K-12 schools and written in English and offered an effect size with a comparison group were considered for the study. We pulled articles from the American Psychological Association, PsychInfo, Education Resources Information Center, Psychology and Behavioral Science Collection, Google Scholar, Rand, and PubMed resulting in the identification of 1262 studies. After screening, 60 studies offering 210 effect sizes remained in the meta-analysis and were included in a meta-regression. The study is limited by publication bias as published studies are more likely to yield a positive result. A higher effect in this study reflects positive effects on student outcomes related to schoolbased mental health interventions. Key findings show a positive average effect of school-based mental health interventions in K-12 schools, with a stronger average effect in secondary settings. Therefore, implications for practice are that decision makers should be intentional about incorporating school-based mental health interventions into their school community.