Building resilience, building the future: evaluating a school-based resilience building programme for second year students

Background: Worldwide, suicide among adolescents is considered a significant public health concern. One key suicide prevention strategy has been the increased implementation of school-based programmes aiming to reduce risk factors associated with suicidality and promote protective factors, specifically, resilience. One such resilience-building programme, recently developed for Irish students, is the Pieta House Resilience Academy (RA). The current study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the RA. While research examining effectiveness of such programmes has primarily focused on outcome measures using quantitative research methods, less is known about how or why changes in resilience and symptomatology occur. Method: This research utilised a mixed methods approach to evaluate change in resilience and symptoms of depression and anxiety from beginning to end of the programme (quantitative phase) and examine the processes of change through focus groups (qualitative phase). Four measures were used: Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC); Resilience Questionnaire (RQ); Beck Depression Inventory – Second Edition (BDI-2); Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Quantitative data (n = 86) were analysed using parametric and non-parametric tests comparing scores on these measures pre- and post-programme. Thematic Analysis (TA) was used to examine the qualitative findings (n = 13). The overarching mixed methodology utilised was the embedded design. Results: Quantitative results showed significant increases in resilience on two measures from pre- to post-programme. No significant reductions in depression and anxiety were evident, however, anxious and depressed students showed increases in resilience similar to their peers. The qualitative phase resulted in the emergence of four main themes relating to students’ experience of the programme; ‘A Positive Experience’, ‘Peer Connection’, ‘Learning How to Cope’, and ‘Student Recommendations (The Student Voice)’. Moreover, the RQ was shown to be a valid and reliable measure of resilience loading on four factors: (1) Perceived Support; (2) School Connection; (3) Coping; (4) Self-Efficacy. Conclusion: Results suggest that the RA ‘builds’ resilience for Irish students. This research supports preliminary positive findings on the effectiveness of the programme. It also addressed several gaps in the literature in relation to understanding and measuring adolescent resilience and providing insights into students’ experience of resilience-focused programmes.