Date of Graduation

5-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Nursing

Advisor/Mentor

Vowell-Johnson, Kelly

Committee Member

Smith-Blair, Nancy J.

Second Committee Member

Smith-Blair, Nancy J.

Third Committee Member

Shreve, Marilou

Fourth Committee Member

Hale, Cathy

Abstract

Abstract

Despite years of school mental health services, today’s youth remain in need of mental health resources. While schools provide a variety of services to help reduce mental health disparities, there is limited information concerning the success of services offered. The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of middle school children towards mental health programs offered at the selected study site. The design utilized was a cross sectional design using a convenience sample of middle school children in Northwest Arkansas. The results indicated that middle school children need a unique variety of programs offered to support their needs. Middle school children not only desire additional resources (85% desired to make improvements to their current programs or restructure current programs) but also wanted to be involved in decisions concerning the types of resources offered. The children were asked about a variety of mental health resources that have shown promise in other areas. Children surveyed reported they were interested in using more applications or technology (81%) and were open to peer-led programs (84%). The results from this study support the ongoing need for offering a variety of mental health resources in an effort to meet the needs of today’s youth.

Keywords

mental health; middle school; attitudes; programs

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