Students with mental health conditions observe that it is easier to open up about their problems after the VIP Programme. It appears that a year after the programme was carried out, the number of students who struggle with anxiety was reduced by half, and bullying was reduced by one third.
Tromsø University’s electronic scientific journal “Ungsinn” has also assessed the VIP Programme as a functionally effective measure for the mental health of children and adolescents.
You can see the assessment of the VIP Programme here. – Note that the text is in norwegian
Research Articles
The first and the second articles in Bror Just Andersen's doctoral thesis on the effects of preventive mental health work, published in Norsk Epidemiologi (The Norwegian Journal of Epidemiology) on the 10th of March 2010. Note that the texts are in norwegian:
The effects of school programmes aimed at preventing mental health problems
The effects on the way students seek help and their mental health
The third article by Bror Just Andersen, published in Tidsskrift for Norsk Psykologforening (The Journal of the Norwegian Psychological Association), no. 9, 2012. Note that the text is in norwegian:
Teaching the students of secondary schools about mental health problems: Learning outcomes 6 and 12 months later
The fourth article by Bror Just Andersen, published in the Journal of the International Hospitals Federation, 2013, Vol 49; 4, page 8–11:
The effects of preventive mental health programmes in secondary schoolsResearch Described in the Book Mental Health in School
An account of both the VIP Programme and the research is given in the book Psykisk helse i skolen (Mental Health in School) (Ed. Bru, E., Cosmovici Idsø, E., Øverland, K. Universitetsforlaget). The chapter is called “Information on Mental Health — the Key Measure for Promoting Students’ Social and Emotional Competence” (page 257–270).
You can read more about the book «Mental Health in School» here
Research Described in Other Media
Please note that the following articles are in norwegian.
On nrk.no you can read the the article “Knowledge makes us healthier”, published on February 27th 2012, about the VIP results study
In Dagbladet you can read the article “Bullying can be reduced by half”, published on May 9th 2011, about the VIP results studyOther languages
