Adolescent Mental Health Education and Changes in Mental Health Scores among Students at Trimurti Husada Health Vocational School, Ambon

Abstract

Adolescents are vulnerable to mental health issues due to biological, psychological, and social changes. The WHO (2025) estimates that one in seven adolescents aged 10–19 years experiences a mental disorder. To improve adolescents' knowledge and skills in maintaining mental health through education. A comprehensive educational program was conducted on June 12, 2026, at the Trimurti Husada Ambon Vocational School for Health, involving 37 students aged 16 from the eleventh grade. The program consisted of a pre-test, an interactive educational session utilizing the "Recognize-Manage-Connect" approach, and a post-test. Evaluation was carried out using the Adolescent Mental Health Questionnaire (KMR), which comprises 29 statements, followed by a paired t-test and a correlation analysis. Following the educational intervention, the mean score increased from 32.48 (pre-test) to 43.95 (post-test). The correlation analysis between the pre-test and post-test scores yielded a significance value of 0.001. This significant relationship reinforces the argument that the provided education was successful in improving adolescent mental health. Mental health education resulted in changes to KMR scores following the activity. Further evaluation is required to assess the sustainability of these changes and the effectiveness of the education.