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Evidence on implementing effective adolescent mental health promotion and prevention interventions in the European context is underdeveloped. The purpose of this paper is to identify evidence-based mental health promotion and prevention interventions for adolescents that have been developed and/or implemented across the school, community and digital settings in Europe. This review also sought to identify the relevant implementation processes in relation to what works, for whom and under what circumstances.

A narrative synthesis of the evidence was conducted which included two stages: a systematic search of studies assessing adolescent mental health promotion and prevention interventions; and a selection of interventions with the most robust evidence base, using pre-defined criteria, that have been either developed and/or implemented in Europe.

A total of 16 interventions met the inclusion criteria. The majority of interventions were school-based programmes. The review findings support the delivery of interventions aimed at enhancing young people’s social and emotional learning (SEL) and preventing behavioural problems. Results indicate that the effective delivery of SEL interventions on a school-wide basis could provide an important platform on which other universal interventions such as anxiety and bullying prevention, and targeted depression prevention could be developed in a multi-tiered fashion. There were a limited number of studies providing robust evidence on the effectiveness of suicide prevention, digital and community-based interventions.

This review identifies a number of robust evidence-based promotion and prevention interventions for promoting adolescent mental health. While the interventions have been implemented in Europe, the majority has not been evaluated rigorously and few included detailed information on the quality of programme implementation. Evidence of the effective cross-cultural transferability of these interventions needs to be strengthened, including more systematic research on their implementation across diverse country contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to report on a process and impact evaluation of the Positief Educatief Programma (Positive Education Programme (PEP)), a whole school approach to supporting children’s well-being and creating a positive school climate in primary schools in the Netherlands. PEP adopts a competence skill enhancement approach with a focus on developing children’s positive emotions and strengths.

A process and impact evaluation was performed within the context of two schools piloting the programme. Employing questionnaires and interviews, the evaluation sought to examine the implementation of PEP, participants’ experiences with key components and the programme impact of PEP.

The findings reveal largely positive attitudes towards PEP. Staff and parents were positive about the core components of PEP. Results from standardised questionnaires provide preliminary evidence about the positive impact of PEP on children’s self-reported well-being and problem behaviour, teachers’ awareness of children’s strengths and overall school climate. The provision of practical strategies and activity-based resources was considered essential to the ongoing implementation of PEP.

This study reports on findings from two implementation schools and therefore lacks generalisability. Further research using more robust research methods exploring the effectiveness of PEP when compared with “business as usual” is needed.

School frameworks aimed at creating a positive school climate and promoting well-being at the whole school level have not been carried out in the Netherlands to date. The results from this study provide a unique insight into the implementation and perceived impact of a whole school framework in the context of two primary schools.

This paper seeks to report on the evaluation of Zippy's Friends, an international emotional wellbeing programme, for primary school children in disadvantaged schools in Ireland. The paper aims to present case studies of the profile and ethos of two specific schools participating in the programme, their links with the local community, the degree of parental involvement and the factors that influence programme implementation in the local context.

Within the framework of the overall evaluation study, which employs a randomised controlled design, two schools self‐selected to participate in case studies. Employing interviews and group discussions, the case study method was used to explore the views of teachers, pupils, parents and key informants from the wider community on the delivery of the programme within the context of a whole school approach.

The findings from two contrasting schools are presented, a large urban school with a multi‐cultural profile in an area of multiple disadvantage, and a smaller, almost monocultural, rural school on the border region with Northern Ireland. The findings reveal largely positive attitudes on the benefits of the programme and support for a whole school approach. The data indicate contrasting levels of parental involvement in the two schools and highlight the importance of socio‐ economic and cultural influences in the local communities and the challenges these present for effective implementation.

The paper explores the specific contextual factors in two schools and may, therefore, lack generalisability. However, this effort to focus on the specific local context is useful within the framework of the overall randomised control trial evaluation study.

The reality of implementing an emotional wellbeing programme in disadvantaged school settings and effectively engaging teachers, parents and the wider community, is explored through the use of case study methods.

The paper explores the real‐life context of two schools participating in the Zippy's Friends programme and provides an insight into the contextual factors impacting on programme implementation in disadvantaged school settings.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical perspective on the international evidence on promoting young people’s social and emotional well-being in schools. The challenges of integrating evidence-based interventions within schools are discussed and the need for innovative approaches to research and practice are considered in order to support more sustainable approaches that can be embedded into the everyday practice of school systems.

A common elements approach to intervention development and implementation is explored. A case study is presented on piloting this approach with post-primary students, based on consultations with students and teachers concerning their needs in supporting youth social and emotional well-being.

The integration and sustainability of evidence-based social and emotional skills programmes within the context of whole school systems is far from clearly established. Research on the use of a common elements approach to evidence-based treatment and youth prevention programmes is presented and the application of this method to the development and implementation of social and emotional learning interventions is considered. Preliminary case study findings are presented exploring this approach in school-based intervention development for post-primary school students.

The potential of adopting a common elements approach is considered; however, more rigorous research is needed to identify the most potent strategies for social and emotional skills development.

Identifying a common set of evidence-based strategies for enhancing adolescents’ social and emotional skills could lead to innovative approaches to intervention delivery that would extend the impact and reach of evidence-based practice across diverse educational systems and school settings.

While the research literature on Recovery Colleges is relatively well-established, comprehensive research concerning Recovery Education for young people is currently scarce. The purpose of paper is to provide an overview of determinants of, and barriers to, the successful implementation of youth-adapted Recovery Colleges, known as Discovery Colleges, and to explore the wider impact of Discovery Colleges and Recovery Colleges.

In consultation with a Recovery College Peer Educator, three undergraduate applied psychology students conducted a literature review with no date limits on publications in the Google Scholar and PubMed electronic databases.

A total of 15 publications were included. Determinants for successful implementation included the importance of previously established Recovery College foundations, service and content accessibility and evaluative feedback. Barriers were primarily related to differences in how development, identity and environment between adults and young people impact positive educational outcomes. The wider impact of Discovery Colleges highlighted an improvement in relationships between service users and health-care professionals, an improved attitude towards education; improvements in well-being, self-worth and social connection; and promotion of transformative learning and personal autonomy. Through this, Discovery Colleges also continue to challenge the contemporary medical model of mental health.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this was the first literature review conducted specifically focussing on important factors in establishing Discovery Colleges. This literature review provides an important overview for both service users and staff members in how the development and implementation of this exciting and relatively new initiative can be further explored and enhanced going forward.

This paper aims to offer fresh insight into attitudes towards casually used brands and the role of tie strength in the building of online non-brand-related network relationships amongst young consumers.

Thirteen consumers aged between 18 and 24 years took part in in-depth interviews. The interviewees were matched on gender, age, occupation, residency and social media usage.

Tie strength effects are evident in changes to brand attitudes, choice of social media platforms and in the casual use of brands to further consumer relationship building and identity creation goals.

This paper answers calls for greater understanding of the way in which network structure influences consumers’ online motivations and attitudes towards the brand.

This paper explores the importance of managers viewing brands as embedded in broader social contexts and tailoring social media communications to those broader contexts.

This paper is the first to combine tie strength with casual brand use to examine non-brand-related network effects on brand attitudes, growing and maintaining consumer relationships and building online identity.