What do Adolescents Know about Mental Health Illnesses? A Case Study based on Learning and Service in a Secondary School

Abstract

The aim of this study is to show how the perceptions and attitudes of secondary school students towards mental health issues changed over the course of a Learning and Service project. The Learning and Service project was carried out by 58 students, together with the residents of a mental health institution during three months. Both students and residents shared several activities to bring them closer. Secondary school students did not have any previous experience with mental health residents before. The analysis took place during the course of the process, with the students responding to four questionnaires, each one after having done an activity together. The study demonstrates that through this Learning and Service project most of the students' perspectives changed for the better, some even viewed radical change while others were positive and finally few students only experienced neutral evolution of their ideas with respect to people with mental health disorders.