Adolescents’ mental health problems, teacher support, and school adaptation: A qualitative analysis based on the Trajectory Equifinality Model

Abstract

ABSTRACT Adolescents who do not seek help from others, concealing their problems, make it difficult for teachers to detect students’ mental health problems early and provide preventive interventions. Individual interviews of secondary-school teachers (n = 15; 8 men and 7 women) were conducted for this study, where they were asked to report their experiences of providing support to students who did not seek help but were deemed to need it. The analysis was based on thematic analysis and the Trajectory Equifinality Model. The 26 cases (11 boys and 15 girls) included in the final analysis were categorized into four problem areas: family problems, school refusal, developmental disabilities, and interpersonal relationships at school, and the interaction processes in each problem domain were described. The results identified effective support behaviors that were common to all problem domains, such as environmental adjustment, as well as support behaviors that were effective for specific problem domains, such as support developing future vision and one-on-one tailored approach. However, it was also indicated that direct interventions without consent from the student risk breaking the connection between schools and students. Future research in other cultures with different teacher roles, and studies for the purpose of theory generation are indicated.