HUNTER students will participate in a world-first five-year study to investigate how mobile phone apps can be used to prevent depression in young people.
St Paul's Catholic College at Booragul is one of more than 150 schools across the state to sign up to the Black Dog Institute at the University of NSW's Future Proofing Study in 2020 and 2021.
The school's assistant principal of community and wellbeing, Anne-Maree Shipman, said St Paul's already used a lot of resources from the institute, which she said she trusted for both raising awareness about and offering support around mental health.
She said the study - which comprises online surveys and the use of between one and three apps to identify factors that lead to depression and mental health problems - allowed students to be anonymous, which was key to protecting their privacy and making them comfortable to provide honest feedback about how they're feeling.
"Data about wellbeing is just as important as data about academics," Ms Shipman said.
"If you're tracking a group, a longitudinal study shows those different issues that children or adolescents have as they move from year eight through to year 12 and what works and what doesn't.
"That's what this study is trying to gauge as well, to identify what extra supports do we need to put in place for our kids to make sure they aren't falling through the cracks and are getting the right support they need."
Year eight students who opt to participate next year will complete a 45 minute online survey which will measure symptoms of depression, anxiety, suicide, self harm, drug and alcohol use, traumatic experiences, bullying, gender and puberty.
If a student expresses any thoughts or plans about suicide, the school counsellor will be notified and required to follow up.
Students will then use the Black Dog Institute's Future Proofing app at school for 15 minutes at least four times in the one term and then complete another survey.
The app will collect information through games, mood ratings, voice recordings and inbuilt GPS and movement sensors.
Students will complete a survey every year until year 12.
Half of the participating schools will be randomly assigned to use an additional app called SPARX FP for six weeks. It's a game based on cognitive behaviour therapy.
When they are in year nine, students may also be invited to use another app, Sleep Ninja.
The Black Dog Institute - which is aiming to recruit 20,000 students to participate - wrote in its introduction to the study that 50 per cent of all mental health problems emerge during adolescence and can have lifelong consequences.
It wrote future proofing was a process to anticipate the future and develop methods that minimise negative impact.
"This 'Future Proofing' study is designed to minimise the incidence of poor mental health," it wrote.
"Much like the way we vaccinate to prevent disease, our aim is to protect young people against the onset of depression and anxiety before problems arise.
"Tuning in to this tech savvy group, at the prime age of 13-14, this study aims to discover how we can use smartphones as a prevention tool, equipping students with strategies to deal with issues that might arise now or in the future.
"The Future Proofing app has been designed to increase knowledge about factors that lead to depression and other mental health problems.
"The app will collect information from phones about movement, location and voice, because there is evidence that physical activity levels and changes in voice and sleep can indicate declining mental health.
"Comprehensive data collection and analysis will help us to determine what triggers the development of mental health symptoms."
Ms Shipman said she had noticed an increase in the number of young people seeking help for their mental health.
She said some of this related to demands to achieve academically, body image, fitting in and the transition to adolescence, plus the associated social and emotional development and changes to friendships.
She said social media also played a "big part" in how students viewed themselves.
"It's that constant attempt to be perfect because images that are posted, stories about family, friends, adventures, everything looks perfect on social media," she said.
"But it's also the fact that kids are almost addicted to that as well, they've always got their phones in their hands, they're always wanting to communicate and see what's happening and how many likes they might get on a post.
"If people don't respond, why aren't they responding? So it's all this self-questioning all the time and the thought they're not reaching that image or sense of perfection.
"It's 24/7. If we're talking about bullying for instance, kids can't escape from that. We often advise kids to delete supposed friends if they are the target or the subject of inappropriate comments."
She said fake accounts that circulate incorrect and inappropriate comments and stories about students also cause significant damage.
She said there was a certain irony that the study involved the use of phones.
"Social media and the use of phones is an addiction, but on the other hand this study is going to be using that as a method, which is what the kids are engaged in, that's what they're using. "
Ms Shipman said the increase in students seeking help also reflected a growing willingness to talk about problems.
"This comes from students being very well educated about how they feel and seeking help when they are feeling distressed or anxious instead of letting it slide or holding it in and dealing with it themselves, they're actually happy and comfortable to be speaking to others and seeking that extra help."
She said the school's student coordinators discussed pastoral and wellbeing issues with students in year groups and work closely with a counsellor, who is on site five days a week.
"A problem shared is a problem halved," she said.
"Parents are also now more connected to their kids and are happy to ask certain questions and are very aware of where their sons and daughters are and aware of what they are doing.
"Our generation would just deal with it ourselves and probably not seek that extra support. The parental support is well and truly there."
St Paul's parent Tamara Tate said she trusted the school's judgement and had let her daughter Latisha participate after gauging how she felt about the survey.
"If it's going to help children and adolescents and their wellbeing, then why not," she said.
"Whatever we can do to help our children and other parents' children I'll do.
"I like that it's anonymous and potentially providing data and information to a reputable institute that could then turn that into helping others."
Ms Tate said her family talked openly around the dinner table and at home about the importance of maintaining good physical and mental health and wellbeing.
"I try to be open with them and like to think they can always come to me," she said.
"It's important for me to be there for them so they don't feel alone."
Latisha, 13, said her friends also spoke openly with and supported each other.
She said she knew it was important to maintain good mental health, which she does through extra curricular activities including dance and playing clarinet.
"If you're not feeling right it's going to impact on other people, your studies, on everything in your life," Latisha said.
"I want to be part of the study so we can get as much information as possible so that everyone else can benefit from it.
"I think it's pretty good to have it on our phones because it's a constant in our daily lives and it probably will encourage a lot more students to say yes to participating.
"Rather than it being on paper, this makes it seem more easy."
Details: futureproofing.org.au
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