The RAW wellbeing program for adolescents at risk of disengaging from education, employment, and training

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the RAW Wellbeing program in vocational schools. This 6-week program aims to improve the mental distress and wellbeing of adolescents at-risk of not being in education, employment, or training (NEET). Participants were 57 senior students (23 females; mean age 16.19 years, SD = 0.89) attending two vocational schools in Queensland, Australia. Students completed two baseline surveys (week 0, week 4) before receiving the RAW Wellbeing program and two follow-up surveys (week 13, week 17). An interrupted time-series design evaluated the outcomes of the RAW program. Results revealed significant reductions in mental distress at 4 weeks follow-up and a significant increase in mental wellbeing post-intervention. No improvements in resilience, self-esteem, sense of belongingness, or functioning were found. A randomized controlled trial is now required to confirm the efficacy of the program on mental health, school, and NEET outcomes in a larger sample.

KEYWORDS:

• RAW wellbeing program
• mental health
• mental distress
• young people
• not in education, employment, or training

Acknowledgments

None of the hypotheses, results or methods reported in this manuscript have been presented, published, or submitted for publication previously.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data and code for analyses for the present study are available upon request from the corresponding author.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2024.2322431.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Department of Education and Training, Queensland Government [Education Horizon Research Grant]; National Health and Medical Research Council [Senior Research Fellowship].