A comparative study on resilience level between WHO health promoting schools and other schools among a Chinese population

The WHO health promoting school (HPS) approach covers key areas including school-based programmes improving students' psychological health, but there have been few studies evaluating the resilience performance of these schools. This study compared the resilience scores between schools within the healthy school award (HSA) scheme (HPS group) and those not (non-HPS group). We conducted a cross-sectional survey of grade-one students (aged 12), all teachers and parents of mainstream secondary schools recruited by stratified random sampling in one large Territory of Hong Kong using validated resilience questionnaires during November-December 2005. Four non-HPS and four HPS secondary schools were recruited, respectively, involving 1408 students, 891 parents and 91 teachers, with similar baseline characteristics. The HPS students were found to have better scores than non-HPS students (average age 12.4 year-old in both groups) in all dimensions with significantly higher scores in 'Peer Support' (p = 0.013), 'Making a Difference' (p = 0.011), 'About Me' (p = 0.027) and 'Generally Happy' (p = 0.011). There was no difference in the scores between non-HPS and HPS parents. The HPS teachers reported significantly higher scores in 'Health Policies' (p = 0.023), 'Social Environment' (p = 0.049), 'School Community Relations' (p = 0.048), 'Personal Skills Building' (p = 0.008) and 'Partnership & Health Services' (p = 0.047). The secondary HPS students and teachers reported significantly higher resilience scores than those of non-HPS. This study shows that the HSA scheme under WHO has the potential to exert positive changes in students and teachers and the concept of HPS is effective in building resilience among major school stakeholders.

General partnership · Mainstream · Mental health · Psychiatry · Psychological resilience · Stratified sampling · Health, psychology, and well-being · Medicine · Psychology · Resilience and Mental Health · School Health and Nursing Education · Social Psychology

• Positive psychology interventions

  Open Access•Linda Bolier, Merel Haverman et al.•BMC Public Health•2013

  Incluir item

• Community resilience and Chagas disease in a rural region of Mexico

  Open Access•José Antonio Santana Rangel, Luz Arenas Monreal et al.•Revista de Saúde Pública•2016

  Incluir item

• Resilience

  Open Access•Michael Rutter•Journal of Adolescent Health•1993

  Incluir item

• Research on Resilience

  Open Access•Suniya S Luthar, Laurel Bidwell Zelazo•Resilience and Vulnerability•2003

  Incluir item

• Towards a new public health

  Open Access•Halfdan Mahler•Health Promotion International•1986

  Incluir item

• The health promoting school

  Open Access•Christopher Smith, Chris Roberts et al.•Health Promotion International•1992

  Incluir item

• The health promoting school

  Open Access•Don Nutbeam•Health Promotion International•1992

  Incluir item

• Psychosocial resilience and protective mechanisms

  Michael Rutter•American Journal of Orthopsychiatry•1987

  Incluir item

• Ordinary magic

  Ann S Masten•American Psychologist•2001

  Incluir item