Impact of a psychoeducational intervention on gender norms and mental health outcomes in Jamaican adolescents

 

Violence towards women and girls is of particular concern to Jamaican adolescents because of its emotional and mental health impact as well as the stigma associated with it. This study will examine how a three-month trauma-informed psychoeducational training program called “Creating A Future Together (CrAFT)” originally developed for use among minority youth in New Orleans, USA, and adapted for Jamaica, can help address gender inequities facing vulnerable in- and out-of-school adolescents in Jamaica.

The study aims to determine the impact of this intervention on adolescent mental health, perceived gender norms, gender-based violence and the sense of empowerment among adolescents. It will gather data on a cohort of adolescents by sex and age in Kingston and St. Andrew parishes, in urban and rural secondary schools, and within community-based organizations working with at-risk youth. Pre- and post-intervention assessments will be done through an online questionnaire and focus group discussions. The project will also explore the feasibility of scaling up this intervention at the community and national levels.

This project is part of a cohort of new projects in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East and North Africa to support research on the understudied area of the interface between sexual and reproductive health and rights and mental health.