Resilience-Building Interventions in Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Resilience-building interventions in children and adolescents focus on strengthening the capacity to adapt positively to stress, challenge and adversity. These programmes draw on developmental science to identify protective factors—such as supportive relationships, cognitive-behavioural skills and self-efficacy—that buffer against anxiety, depression and behavioural difficulties. Interventions range from universal, school-wide curricula to targeted small-group or individual approaches, often incorporating social–emotional learning, peer mentoring and family engagement. In classroom settings, participatory methods empower young people to co-design supportive routines, while community or digital platforms can extend access to skill-building content. Meta-analytic evidence indicates that fostering intrapersonal domains (self-awareness, problem solving) and interpersonal domains (communication, peer support) yields small to moderate improvements in wellbeing. Long-term follow-up studies emphasise the importance of sustained engagement and carefully selected components to maintain gains in resilience, psychological functioning and social competence. Globally, these interventions are adapted to cultural context and delivered across varied settings—schools, clinics, youth clubs—highlighting their practical application for policy makers and practitioners seeking to promote mental health at scale.

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Resilience-Building Interventions in Child and Adolescent Mental Health publication trend

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Technical terms

Resilience: The dynamic capacity to maintain or regain mental health by adapting successfully to stress or adversity.

Protective factor: An individual or environmental attribute that reduces risk and supports healthy development under challenge.

Universal intervention: A prevention or promotion programme delivered to all individuals in a defined population, regardless of risk status.

Social–emotional learning (SEL): A framework for teaching skills in self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship building and decision-making.

Self-efficacy: One’s belief in their own ability to organise and execute the actions required to manage prospective situations.

References

1. Building Resilience into Classrooms: A Participatory Action Approach. Education Sciences (2024).
2. Components of School-Based Interventions Stimulating Students’ Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Domains: A Meta-analysis. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review (2020).
3. Components Related to Long-Term Effects in the Intra- and Interpersonal Domains: A Meta-Analysis of Universal School-Based Interventions. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review (2022).
4. Parallel Changes in Positive Youth Development and Self-awareness: the Role of Emotional Self-regulation, Self-esteem, and Self-reflection. Prevention Science (2022).