INTERNET AND MASS MEDIA: PREVENTION OF RISK BEHAVIOURS AND MENTAL HEALTH PROMOTION AMONG EUROPEAN YOUNG – SUPREME PROJECT

OBJECTIVES The researches show a rapid growth of mental disorders among adolescents and young adults that often co-occurs with risk behaviours, such as suicide, which is one of the leading cause of death among young ages 15-34. Therefore it’s necessary to use some tools that can promote mental health getting to young lives such as Internet and media. Some web site produced encouraging results about their use in prevention of risk behaviours (Calear et al., 2009; Gilat & Sahar, 2009) and in increasing of well-being (Ellison et al. 2009). METHOD SUPREME (Suicide Prevention by Internet and Media Based Mental Health Promotion) is an European project for the prevention of risk behaviours and mental health promotion through the use of mass media and Internet, financed by DG SANCO EU Public Health and developed by a consortium of 7 European countries. In each country, a sample of 300 pupils in the age 14 - 24 years will be selected and randomized in one of the three different intervention arms. A baseline questionnaire will be administered to the pupils for require the data on lifestyles, values and attitudes, psychological well-being, familiar relationship and friendship. Follow-up at 3 and 12 months will be performed. CONCLUSION With the implementation of SUPREME project we will be able to identify the best practices to promote mental health through the internet and the media: these will include evidence based information about the overall effectiveness of the internet based intervention, about the most effective way to involve large numbers of adolescents and young adults in these intervention, about its the capacity to include subjects in need who suffer of social exclusion, and about the most utilized and effective service that will be offered in the intervention package.