Empowering Adults to Support Youth Mental Health: A Non-Randomized Controlled Trial of Youth Mental Health First Aid Training on Helping Behavior and Mental Health Literacy Outcomes
By: Hwal Lee
References
- Alam, I., Barnard, M., Osborne, J., Kumari, D. C. G., King Jr, C., Ford, M. A., ... & Alvarado, G. (2026). A scoping review of Youth Mental Health First Aid for adolescents in school, community, and healthcare settings. PLOS Mental Health, 3(1), e0000549.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmen.0000549 - American Psychological Association. (2025, April 1). U.S. teens need far more emotional and social support.
https://www.apa.o/monitor/2025/0405/teen-social-emotional-support - Bhakta, S., Tsao, E., & Stone, K. (2024). National mixed methods evaluation of Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid. Mental Health & Prevention, 35, 200358.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2024.200358 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024a, July 16). Perceived Social and Emotional Support Among Teenagers: United States, July 2021–December 2022.
https://www.c.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr206.pdf - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024b, August 6). Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2013–2023.
https://www.cdc.gov/yrbs/dstr/pdf/YRBS2023-Data-Summary-Trend-Report.pdf - Forthal, S., Sadowska, K., Pike, K. M., Balachander, M., Jacobsson, K., & Hermosilla, S. (2022). Mental health first aid: A systematic review of trainee behavior and recipient mental health outcomes. Psychiatric services, 73(4), 439–446.
https://doi.org/10.1175/appi.ps.20210002 - Geierstanger, S., Yu, J., Saphir, M., & Soleimanpour, S. (2024). Youth mental health first aid training: Impact on the ability to recognize and support youth needs. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 51(4), 588.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-024-09893-4 - Jorm, A. F., Kitchener, B. A., Sawyer, M. G., Scales, H., & Cvetkovski, S. (2010). Mental health first aid training for high school teachers: a cluster randomized trial. BMC psychiatry, 10(1), 51.
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-10-51 - Kawachi, I., & Berkman, L. F. (2001). Social ties and mental health. Journal of Urban health, 78(3), 458–467.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/78.3.458 - Kelly, C. M., Mithen, J. M., Fischer, J. A., Kitchener, B. A., Jorm, A. F., Lowe, A., & Scanlan, C. (2011). Youth mental health first aid: a description of the program and an initial evaluation. International journal of mental health systems, 5(1), 4.
https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-4458-5-4 - Mental Health First Aid. (n.d.a). Help Youth.
https://mentalhealthfirstaid.org/individuals/help-youth/ - Mental Health First Aid. (n.d.b). Our Impact.
https://mentalhealthfirstaid.org/about/our-impact/ - Mental Health First Aid International. (n.d.). What is Mental Health First Aid?
https://mhfainternational.org/ - Morgan, A. J., Fischer, J. A. A., Hart, L. M., Kelly, C. M., Kitchener, B. A., Reavley, N. J., ... & Jorm, A. F. (2019). Does Mental Health First Aid training improve the mental health of aid recipients? The training for parents of teenagers randomised controlled trial. BMC psychiatry, 19(1), 99.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2085-8 - Morgan, A. J., Fischer, J. A. A., Hart, L. M., Kelly, C. M., Kitchener, B. A., Reavley, N. J., ... & Jorm, A. F. (2020). Long-term effects of Youth Mental Health First Aid training: randomized controlled trial with 3-year follow-up. BMC psychiatry, 20(1), 487.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02860-1 - Morgan, A. J., Ross, A., & Reavley, N. J. (2018). Systematic review and meta-analysis of Mental Health First Aid training: Effects on knowledge, stigma, and helping behaviour. PloS one, 13(5), e0197102.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0197102 - Ng, S. H., Tan, N. J. H., Luo, Y., Goh, W. S., Ho, R., & Ho, C. S. H. (2021). A systematic review of youth and teen mental health first aid: Improving adolescent mental health. Journal of Adolescent Health, 69(2), 199–210.
https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(20)30632-7/fulltext - Office of the Surgeon General. (2021, December 7). Protecting Youth Mental Health.
https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeongeneral-youth-mental-health-advisory.pdf - Pew Research Center. (2025, April 22). Teens, Social Media and Mental Health.
https://www.perch.org/internet/25/04/22/teens-social-media-and-mental-health/ - Rose, T., Leitch, J., Collins, K. S., Frey, J. J., & Osteen, P. J. (2019). Effectiveness of youth mental health first aid USA for social work students. Research on Social Work Practice, 29(3), 291–302.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731517729039 - Sanchez, A. M., Latimer, J. D., Scarimbolo, K., von der Embse, N. P., Suldo, S. M., & Salvatore, C. R. (2021). Youth mental health first aid (Y-MHFA) trainings for educators: a systematic review. School Mental Health, 13(1), 1–12.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-020-09393-8 - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2025, July 28). 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Releases.
https://www.sam.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH%202024%20Annual%20Rese/2024-nsduh-nnr-highlights.pdf - Uribe Guajardo, M. G., Kelly, C., Bond, K., Thomson, R., & Slewa-Younan, S. (2019). An evaluation of the teen and Youth Mental Health First Aid training with a CALD focus: an uncontrolled pilot study with adolescents and adults in Australia. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 13(1), 73.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-019-0329-0 - Vogel, D. L., Wade, N. G., Wester, S. R., Larson, L., & Hackler, A. H. (2007). Seeking help from a mental health professional: The influence of one's social network. Journal of clinical psychology, 63(3), 233–245.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20345 - Wang, C., & Havewala, M. (2025). Cultural adaptation of youth mental health first aid training for Asian American parents. Journal of School Psychology, 110, 101448.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2025.101448 - World Health Organization. (2025, September 1). Mental Health of Adolescents.
https://www.who./news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56508/mhgcj.v9i1.367 | Journal eISSN: 2612-2138
Language: English
Page range: 135 - 154
Submitted on: May 21, 2026
Accepted on: Aug 1, 2026
Published on: Aug 5, 2026
Published by: International Platform on Mental Health
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: Volume open
Keywords:
Related subjects:
© 2026 Hwal Lee, published by International Platform on Mental Health
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.