Youth mental health first aid training outcomes among public safety professionals serving high-risk youth

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA), an educational training program designed to teach adults how to identify and respond to youth in crisis. Two samples of public safety professionals were included in the study to assess training effectiveness and whether individual and work-related characteristics account for differences in training outcomes. Sample 1 consisted of support service providers who interact with high-risk youth (n = 173) and Sample 2 consisted of law enforcement personnel (n = 102). Effectiveness was assessed through improvements in self-reported measures of confidence, preparedness, and help-seeking intentions collected at three time points – prior to, immediately after, and 90-days after training completion. One-way, repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) estimated change in each construct across time and tested whether individual and work-related covariates interacted with time. Across both samples, the magnitude of change was the largest immediately following the training, although meaningful improvements in confidence and preparedness to utilize help-seeking skills were retained at the 90-day follow-up, suggesting minimal training decay. Three covariates interacted with time – prior mental health training, mental health interactions with youth, and years worked with youth. These findings add to the growing body of research on YMHFA and provide evidence that it can be a beneficial training program for public safety professionals who work with high-risk youth.