Swedish compulsory teachers' knowledge and experience in mental health prevention for students

Abstract: The current study explored how teachers in Swedish schools experience their involvement in the prevention of mental health issues among students, within what areas they need enhanced knowledge as well as how they think their relationship to their students influence the students’ mental well-being. Data were collected through nine semi-structured interviews with fourth to seventh-grade teachers, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Teachers engage in prevention through methods such as structuring the environment around the students, arranging the educational environment, and cooperating with professionals and parents. Teachers’ preventive work was further described to center around establishing warm teacher-student relationships. Prevention programs were seen as dissatisfactory in teachers’ preventive work due to a lack of scientific evidence and their indirect approach to mental health issues. Working experience was identified as important regarding teachers’ knowledge about prevention of mental health issues. Shortages in economic resources, time, and support were perceived as barriers to the preventive work. Future recommendations include more research on prevention programs for internalized behavior problems within a Swedish school context. This study also identifies the need for more research regarding how preventive actions can be implemented by teachers through the teacher-student relationship. Teachers and schools are part of a unique community resource for prevention of mental health issues among students, but much more research is needed to further consolidate their position in the prevention of mental health issues. Keywords: teacher-student relationship, school-based prevention, students’ mental health issues