Anne Stevenson , Supriya Misra , Engida Girma , Dickens Akena , Melkam Alemayehu , Amantia A. Ametaj , Bizu Gelaye , Stella Gichuru , Symon M. Kariuki , Karestan C. Koenen , Edith Kamaru Kwobah , Joseph Kyebuzibwa , Rehema M. Mwema , Carter P. Newman , Charles R.J.C. Newton , Linnet Ongeri , Adele Pretorius , Manasi Sharma , Dan J. Stein , Rocky E. Stroud II , Lukoye Atwoli
{"title":"The relationship between lifetime trauma exposure and psychosis in a multi-country case-control study in Africa","authors":"Anne Stevenson , Supriya Misra , Engida Girma , Dickens Akena , Melkam Alemayehu , Amantia A. Ametaj , Bizu Gelaye , Stella Gichuru , Symon M. Kariuki , Karestan C. Koenen , Edith Kamaru Kwobah , Joseph Kyebuzibwa , Rehema M. Mwema , Carter P. Newman , Charles R.J.C. Newton , Linnet Ongeri , Adele Pretorius , Manasi Sharma , Dan J. Stein , Rocky E. Stroud II , Lukoye Atwoli","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100466","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100466","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Exposure to traumatic events is a known risk factor for psychosis. Additionally, psychosis may be a risk factor for exposure to traumatic events. There are little data on the relationship between traumatic events and psychosis in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in large, cross-country samples using the same instrument.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>In a case-control study, 21,606 adults were recruited with psychosis (cases) and 21,329 adults without any history of psychosis (controls) in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda from 2018 to 2023 (n = 42,935). Lifetime trauma exposure was assessed using the Life Events Checklist-5. Regression models included the: i) prevalence of any trauma exposure; ii) cumulative burden of trauma exposure; and iii) the odds of exposure to specific trauma types. Analyses were run by case-control status for the full sample and within each country; trauma types endorsed by cases and controls were further stratified by sex.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>There was a modest increased odds of trauma among cases compared with controls. Cases had higher odds of reporting exposure to ≥1 trauma and ≥3 trauma types (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.23, 95 % CI: 1.18–1.28 and AOR = 1.19, 95 % CI: 1.15–1.23, respectively). The trauma types with the highest odds were sexual violence (AOR = 1.99, 95 % CI: 1.86–2.14), physical violence (AOR = 1.69, 95 % CI: 1.62–1.76), and network trauma (causing injury, harm, or death to someone else) (AOR = 1.52, 95 % CI: 1.38–1.67). Similar trends were seen within each country. Sexual violence and physical violence were most endorsed by female cases and male cases, respectively. Network trauma was most endorsed by male cases and particularly from South Africa.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>People in eastern and southern Africa report significant exposure to trauma with a slightly higher prevalence among individuals with psychosis. Special attention should be paid to potential trauma exposure including interpersonal violence when providing treatment for this population.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74861,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Mental health","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100466"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144195672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
François Gonon , Henri Gouraud , André Gillibert , Bruno Falissard , Lisa Cosgrove , Kasper P. Kepp , Ioana A. Cristea , Florian Naudet
{"title":"Advocacy by nonprofit scientific institutions needs to be evidence-based: a case study","authors":"François Gonon , Henri Gouraud , André Gillibert , Bruno Falissard , Lisa Cosgrove , Kasper P. Kepp , Ioana A. Cristea , Florian Naudet","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100464","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100464","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Scientific institutions, including universities and research centers, occasionally engage in advocacy to gain financial support. However, this can be problematic if they selectively present scientific evidence. We describe a case involving a French semi-public foundation dedicated to clinical research on four adult psychiatric disorders: autism without intellectual disability, treatment-resistant depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. The foundation has claimed that an initial assessment at any of its Expert Centers led to a 50 % reduction in hospitalization days. We analyzed communication directed at the public in the French press, advocacy efforts towards members of the French Parliament (MFPs), evidence supporting this claim within those activities, and MFPs' initiatives that addressed the foundation's request. However, the reduction in hospitalization originated from a single study of bipolar disorder patients, which lacked a control group and had other methodological flaws. No scientific publications supported similar claims for the other three disorders. On May 2, 2024, 70 members of the French Parliament introduced a bill aimed at integrating these Expert Centers into the healthcare system. Justifications for the bill explicitly cited the 50 % reduction in hospitalization for <em>all</em> four conditions. This case highlights the need for policy makers and journalists to verify the robustness of scientific claims before these become policy. It also emphasizes the responsibility of scientists and journal editors to recognize and mitigate spin in research studies and opinion articles and to develop tools that help evaluate advocacy and lobbying claims in scientific contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74861,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Mental health","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100464"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144166849","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mental health futures in post-war Sri Lanka: Resilience, relational pluralism, and implementation pathways","authors":"Nuwan Jayawickreme , Eranda Jayawickreme , Amy Z. McCaffrey , Mahendran Thiruvarangan","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100465","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100465","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the state of psychosocial health in Sri Lanka fifteen years after the end of its civil war, analyzing both the lingering impact of the conflict and the additional challenges posed by recent events, including the 2019 Easter bombings that particularly impacted the Catholic community, and the severe economic crisis that began in 2022. Drawing on research published in this SSM-Mental Health special collection, as well as other research and recent stakeholder dialogues, we examine how Sri Lankan institutions have managed these compounded challenges and propose evidence-based approaches for improving mental health outcomes and promoting pluralism among the country's many communities. We specifically focus on three promising frameworks: resilience, locally-adapted models of pluralism that emphasize relational coexistence across religious and ethnic divides, and implementation science. The paper outlines how these approaches can be effectively deployed in the Sri Lankan context while accounting for linguistic barriers, power dynamics, and the need for early childhood intervention. We conclude by proposing concrete steps for developing and implementing these interventions while considering Sri Lanka's current economic constraints and healthcare infrastructure limitations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74861,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Mental health","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100465"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144084080","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ling Wang , Xizhao Li , Chengzhu Jian , Jianjian Wang , Ting Liu , Lina Zeng , Ziqing Zhong , Tao Xiao , Ian Norman , Mary Leamy
{"title":"Tailoring Psychological First Aid for frontline healthcare workers to manage trauma and stress beyond emergency response to routine healthcare settings--- a qualitative multi-stakeholder consultation study in China","authors":"Ling Wang , Xizhao Li , Chengzhu Jian , Jianjian Wang , Ting Liu , Lina Zeng , Ziqing Zhong , Tao Xiao , Ian Norman , Mary Leamy","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100461","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100461","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Healthcare workers (HCWs) are frequently exposed to trauma, either by witnessing patients' suffering or directly experiencing workplace violence and responding to public health emergencies yet a historical lack of mental health preparedness existed for them. Although Psychological First Aid (PFA) has been widely advocated as a training approach to support HCWs, limited evidence on its' cultural adaptation and implementation in healthcare settings hinders its’ uptake.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>Guided by cultural adaptation and implementation science frameworks, this qualitative study employed a multi-step stakeholder consultation approach to adapt the PFA model and develop an implementation strategy tailored for Chinese HCWs. Diverse stakeholders, including mental health experts, key informants, medical education experts, scholars, and HCWs, participated in three phased activities: 1) In-depth individual expert consultations, 2) Focus group discussions, and 3) Expert workshops. Ethical approval was obtained in both the UK and China. Data was analysed using framework analysis.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The original PFA model was adapted to make cultural, contextual, structural, delivery format, and implementation strategy changes. Through adapting PFA model, modifying the training format and developing implementation strategy, resulted in the development of the READ-Y PFA model: R-Rapport, E-Evaluation, A-Aid, D-Disposition, and Yourself-Self-Care for others. The model includes a flexible training protocol and implementation strategies, integrated into a logical framework, to enable its use in frontline routine healthcare settings in China.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>This study presents a culturally adapted a READ-Y PFA model and training protocol extending PFA use beyond emergency response to routine healthcare. The stakeholder-informed approach offers a replicable framework for potentially scaling up PFA to better equip HCWs to manage trauma and stress.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74861,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Mental health","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100461"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144262900","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Grace H. Yoon , Natalie E. Johnson , Irene Falgas-Bague , Mahlatsi Palesa , Moleboheng Mokebe , Nadine Tschumi , Malebanye Lerotholi , Alastair van Heerden , Niklaus D. Labhardt , Jennifer M. Belus
{"title":"Drivers of chronic depressive and harmful alcohol use symptoms among adults living with HIV in Lesotho: pathways for integrated interventions","authors":"Grace H. Yoon , Natalie E. Johnson , Irene Falgas-Bague , Mahlatsi Palesa , Moleboheng Mokebe , Nadine Tschumi , Malebanye Lerotholi , Alastair van Heerden , Niklaus D. Labhardt , Jennifer M. Belus","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100462","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100462","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Mental health problems are prevalent among people with HIV (PWH) in Southern Africa. However, mental health problems are substantially under-diagnosed and under-treated in this setting. This study explores the drivers, explanatory factors, and coping mechanisms of mental health problems among PWH in Lesotho who have lived experience with depressive symptoms and/or alcohol use problems and attempts to contextualize the findings to local realities and norms.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Semi-structured interviews were conducted in Butha Buthe (peri-urban) and Mokhotlong (rural) districts in Lesotho at district- and village-level health facilities with 28 PWH recruited based on past year's record of depressive symptoms (n = 22), harmful alcohol consumption (n = 4), or both (n = 2). Thematic analysis identified overarching themes, which were synthesized into a conceptual model.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Economic and interpersonal challenges were perceived as drivers of mental health problems. Perceived lack of tangible resources and agency to alleviate these problems led participants to feel helpless and experience chronic depressive symptoms. Participants described coping with these symptoms through harmful alcohol use, which is often unaddressed due to local norms surrounding alcohol consumption. Chronic depressive symptoms and harmful alcohol use reduced individuals’ cognitive capacity to resolve their economic and interpersonal problems, reinforcing the cycle between these problems and corollary mental health problems. Participants suggested three intervention areas to target this cycle in their community: economic empowerment, social engagement in the form of group activities, and public education coupled with professional counseling to raise awareness and support for mental health problems.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Findings reveal that PWH in Lesotho view economic and interpersonal problems as the main drivers of chronic depressive symptoms and harmful alcohol use, which only serve to reinforce the underlying problems. Addressing these drivers alongside HIV care may be effective in reducing the depression and alcohol use burden experienced by this population.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74861,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Mental health","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100462"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144083649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Syed Shabab Wahid , Christine Musyimi , Benjamin Oestericher , Linda Khakali , Lauren Carruth , Emily Mendenhall , Edna N. Bosire
{"title":"Ecological grief among farmers and pastoralists in Ethiopia and Kenya","authors":"Syed Shabab Wahid , Christine Musyimi , Benjamin Oestericher , Linda Khakali , Lauren Carruth , Emily Mendenhall , Edna N. Bosire","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100456","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100456","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate change is a major cause of mental distress worldwide. In many ways, climate change has become a chronic disaster, while in other ways each acute event can accumulate and present challenges within and between communities. A growing body of evidence indicates that a changing climate can precipitate a cluster of negative affective states scholars call “ecological grief.” Ecological grief reflects psychological responses to climate changes and destruction of nature, species, culturally significant or sacred spaces. Until now, ecological grief has been conceptualized as a psychological response connected primarily to the destruction of the natural environment, and has not fully considered forms of distress connected to displacement and dispossession, particularly through loss of lifeworlds. By drawing on case studies from Ethiopia and Kenya, we reconsider and expand on the climate-related causes of ecological grief and the downstream effects of climate change on mental health and wellbeing. In doing so, we explore how climate change exacerbates the historical, political, social, and structural vulnerabilities faced by displaced pastoralists in the Somali region of Ethiopia and farmers in drought-affected Kilifi County, Kenya. We characterize the striking contrast between these two communities and their experiences of ecological disasters, but also find a shared sense of individual and communal distress and ill-health that is connected to how climate change is altering the environments in which people live. Accordingly, we propose a critical conceptualization of ecological grief to include ecology of lived experience and displacement, and its connection to human distress and ill-health.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74861,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Mental health","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100456"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143948242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anneliese Long , Amanda L. Thompson , Margaret Bentley , Harlyn G. Skinner , Alexis Woods Barr , Khristopher Nicholas , Ivonne Headley , Heather Wasser
{"title":"Examining the role of socioeconomic adversity on depressive symptoms during pregnancy among non-Hispanic Black women","authors":"Anneliese Long , Amanda L. Thompson , Margaret Bentley , Harlyn G. Skinner , Alexis Woods Barr , Khristopher Nicholas , Ivonne Headley , Heather Wasser","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100463","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100463","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":74861,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Mental health","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100463"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144069298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The politics of exhaustion and its impact on mental health among people seeking asylum in the UK: A service provider perspective","authors":"Tianne Haggar , Hanna Kienzler (Professor)","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100460","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100460","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>People fleeing war and violence often face complex asylum procedures in host countries which have been described as ‘exhausting by design’. This study explored service providers' perspectives on how the UK asylum process gives rise to exhaustion, and the ways in which exhaustion affects the mental health of people seeking asylum. Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals providing social, legal, medical or mental health services to people seeking asylum in the UK. Results demonstrate that the UK asylum process seemingly exhausts those seeking asylum through the intersection of policies and practices that create conditions of hostility, discrimination and deprivation. The resultant exhaustion contributes to, and is exacerbated by, poor mental health, creating a vicious cycle of psychological harm. Based on these findings, we argue that the ‘politics of exhaustion’ embedded within the UK asylum process is a form of structural violence that harms mental health and wellbeing by fundamentally undermining the resilience of people seeking asylum to cope with continued adversity in the UK.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74861,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Mental health","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100460"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144071059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kaitlyn Burnell , Diana J. Meter , Fernanda C. Andrade , Ashley N. Slocum , Madeleine J. George
{"title":"The effects of social media restriction: Meta-analytic evidence from randomized controlled trials","authors":"Kaitlyn Burnell , Diana J. Meter , Fernanda C. Andrade , Ashley N. Slocum , Madeleine J. George","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100459","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100459","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Calls to limit social media use permeate public discourse, with the fundamental assumption that limiting social media use will improve subjective well-being. This meta-analysis quantifies whether social media restriction affects subjective well-being. Included studies were those that were randomized controlled trials, instructed participants to limit or entirely abstain from social media use for a discrete period, and had at least one subjective well-being outcome. Thirty-two articles fit our criteria and were included in analyses (5544 individuals; 91 effect sizes). All studies included college student or adult samples (<em>M</em><sub>age</sub> = 23.38) and samples skewed female (70 %). Random effects models revealed that restricting social media use significantly improved subjective well-being (<em>ḡ</em> = 0.17, 95 % CI [0.08, 0.27]). Effects were observed across both positive subjective well-being indicators (<em>ḡ</em> = 0.17, 95 % CI [0.04, 0.29]) and negative subjective well-being indicators (<em>ḡ</em> = 0.18, 95 % CI [0.08, 0.27]). There was some variability in estimates based on individual indicators (e.g., life satisfaction, depressive symptoms). Moderation by study characteristics (age, gender, length of intervention, type of intervention) was not consistent. Although significant, the pooled estimates were small in magnitude, suggesting only weak support for the effectiveness of restricting social media use. Implications are discussed in the context of theoretical mechanisms in which negative (and positive) social media effects are expected to emerge. Future studies should focus on these mechanisms, rather than broadly restricting time spent using social media.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74861,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Mental health","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100459"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144166745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kevin O'Malley , Elaine L. Kinsella , Eric R. Igou , Alison English , Jennifer McMahon
{"title":"Hero-based interventions to promote health and education in young people: A scoping review","authors":"Kevin O'Malley , Elaine L. Kinsella , Eric R. Igou , Alison English , Jennifer McMahon","doi":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100439","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100439","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>Programs using heroes to promote positive health and educational outcomes for children and adolescents have been increasingly implemented. However, a comprehensive review of such interventions is lacking. This scoping review maps the existing empirical literature on hero-based interventions.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>A systematic search of databases including CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, and others (final search February 2025), covering all years up to January 2025 identified peer-reviewed studies in English on hero-based interventions targeting health or educational outcomes in children and adolescents. Exclusions in-cluded non-English papers, those lacking empirical results, focusing on adults, or classified as grey literature. Data on study characteristics were extracted and analyzed using Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) framework.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>From 134 screened articles, 39 met the inclusion criteria, identifying 11 distinct programs targeting diverse populations across regions such as the U.S., U.K., India, Turkey, and Japan. These programs, im-plemented in both educational and clinical settings, addressed physical and mental health, education, social skills, and trauma recovery. The review assessed empirical support for these programs, noting variability in evidence strength, and highlighted their adaptability across different cultural contexts.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Hero-based interventions show promise in supporting youth across various outcomes, though no universal approach exists. Tailoring interventions to the specific cultural and contextual needs of young people is essential. Future research should focus on refining these methods, matching heroes to participants, and independent replication.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":74861,"journal":{"name":"SSM. Mental health","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100439"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144229545","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}