My Health Diary, a School-Based Well-Being Program: A Randomized Controlled Study

Abstract

Background: A positive transition to adulthood entails developing the individual and social skills needed to cope with critical situations. The “My Health Diary” program was designed as a school-based and teacher-led intervention focusing on the active engagement of 12- to 13-year-old pre-adolescents. The study analyzes the role of several primary variables (psychological well-being, psychosomatic symptoms, health status), secondary variables (health-risk behaviors, prosocial behavior, academic success, physical and verbal aggression), and mediator variables of emotional and social skills in terms of empathic and social self-efficacy, and satisfaction with school. Methods: Sixty schools were involved, divided into control groups (N = 29) and intervention groups (N = 31). The program was administered only to the intervention group. Of the 2306 students at the baseline, 2078 were still involved at post-intervention 6 months later. Results: The program was not found to have significant effects on the primary outcome variables and most of the secondary variables. For the mediators, however, the association was stronger for the girls in the intervention group, and there was a statistically significant difference in the empathic skills shown by girls, who reported higher levels than boys. Conclusions: The program was found to have encouraging effects on some mediators and in enhancing socio-relational and emotional skills among pre-adolescents.