---
title: "Psych News Alert: Inadequate Evidence Backs School MH Efforts"
description: Only limited evidence supports the role of school environment in impacting adolescent mental health, according to a review by researchers at...
image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/SchoolgirlNotHappy_13534669-Jun-24-2025-05-33-29-4333-PM.jpg
---

 4/4/12 12:00 AM

# Inadequate Evidence Backs School MH Efforts

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert)

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Only limited evidence supports the role of school environment in impacting adolescent mental health, according to a review by researchers at England's University of Bristol. They evaluated reports from five controlled trials and 23 cohort studies. “Two nonrandomized trials found some evidence that a supportive school environment improved student emotional health, but three randomized controlled trials did not,” they said in the journal *Pediatrics*, published online April 2. “Six cohort papers examined school-level factors but found no effect. Methodological shortcomings were common.”

Perceptions of school connectedness and teacher support predicted future emotional health, but school effects were smaller than individual-level effects, they said. M ore studies, especially randomized controlled trials, are needed to  understand which school-based interventions can benefit students' mental health.

To read more in about mental health interventions in schools, see *Psychiatric News* [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=108385) and [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=108340).

(Image: Elena Eliseeva/Shutterstock.com)

[psychiatry](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/psychiatry), [child mental health](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/child-mental-health), [schools](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/schools)

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## [Members of Congress Push for More Mental Health Funding for Schools](https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/01/members-of-congress-push-for-more.html)

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[stigma](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/stigma), [mental illness stigma](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/mental-illness-stigma)

## [Antistigma Programs Increase in Workplace, but Effectiveness Needs Further Study](https://alert.psychnews.org/2013/04/antistigma-programs-increase-in.html)

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[health insurance](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/health-insurance), [mental illness](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/mental-illness), [healthcare reform](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/healthcare-reform)

## [Mental Illness Among Most Common Pre-Existing Conditions for Americans](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/04/mental-illness-among-most-common-pre.html)

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