Child, Teacher and Parent Perceptions of the FRIENDS Classroom-Based Universal Anxiety Prevention Programme: A Qualitative Study

Elena Skryabina; Joanna Morris; Danielle Byrne; Nicola Harkin; Sarah Rook; Paul Stallard

doi:10.1007/s12310-016-9187-y

Child, Teacher and Parent Perceptions of the FRIENDS Classroom-Based Universal Anxiety Prevention Programme: A Qualitative Study

Elena Skryabina, Joanna Morris, Danielle Byrne, Nicola Harkin, Sarah Rook, Paul Stallard

University of Bath

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

22 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

School-based mental health prevention programmes can be effective but their adoption within schools will depend on their social acceptability. We report a qualitative evaluation summarising the views of children (115), parents (20) and school staff (47) about a universal school-based anxiety prevention programme FRIENDS. This study was conducted as part of a large scale randomised controlled trial (n = 1362) involving 40 schools in the UK providing primary education to children aged 7–11. Reported overall experience of the programme was very positive, with all three major components of the cognitive behaviour therapy programme (emotional, cognitive, and behavioural) being accepted well and understood by children. The programme was considered to be enjoyable and valuable in teaching children important skills, particularly emotional regulation and coping. Children provided examples of using the skills learned during FRIENDS to manage their emotions and solve problems. However, teachers were concerned that the programme overlapped with the current school curriculum, required additional time and almost half were unable to identify any tangible changes in the children’s behaviour. Whilst this paper provides evidence to support the social validity of the FRIENDS anxiety prevention programme, the concerns raised by teachers question the longer-term sustainability of the programme.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	486-498
Number of pages	13
Journal	School Mental Health
Volume	8
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-016-9187-y
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2016

Funding

This study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme (09/3000/03). The views and opinions expressed therein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Health. The authors would like to thank all participating teachers, children and parents for taking part in this study. We also would like to thank Sarah Sedman for her help with transcribing interview audio records and Dr Rhiannon Buck for her guidance with the data analysis. We acknowledge the support and guidance of the Trial Steering Committee and Data Monitoring and Ethics Committee and in particular their respective chairs, Professor Alan Emond and Professor Tamsin Ford.

Keywords

Anxiety
CBT
Children
FRIENDS
Prevention
Schools

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Education
Developmental and Educational Psychology

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1007/s12310-016-9187-yLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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Child, Teacher and Parent Perceptions of the FRIENDS Classroom-Based Universal Anxiety Prevention Programme: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

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Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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