Potential mechanisms by which cash transfer programmes could improve the mental health and life chances of young people: A conceptual framework and lines of enquiry for research and policy

Mental health is inextricably linked to both poverty and future life chances such as education, skills, labour market attachment and social function. Poverty can lead to poorer mental health, which reduces opportunities and increases the risk of lifetime poverty. Cash transfer programmes are one of the most common strategies to reduce poverty and now reach substantial proportions of populations living in low- and middle-income countries. Because of their rapid expansion in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have recently gained even more importance. Recently, there have been suggestions that these cash transfers might improve youth mental health, disrupting the cycle of disadvantage at a critical period of life. Here, we present a conceptual framework describing potential mechanisms by which cash transfer programmes could improve the mental health and life chances of young people. Furthermore, we explore how theories from behavioural economics and cognitive psychology could be used to more specifically target these mechanisms and optimise the impact of cash transfers on youth mental health and life chances. Based on this, we identify several lines of enquiry and action for future research and policy.Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press.

Pilot Implementation of Psychoeducational Workshops on Behavior Management and Stress Management for Parents and Teachers

The COVID-19 pandemic created compounding stressors for school-aged children, parents, and teachers and underscored the urgent need to widely implement evidence-based programs for promoting youth mental and behavioral health. In two community-engaged studies, we piloted psychoeducational workshops that taught behavior management and stress management strategies to parents and teachers. The research team partnered with a northern California school district to develop and implement these psychoeducational workshops. In study 1, parents (N = 165) participated in a series of workshops on behavior management. Parents perceived the strategies covered in each workshop to be acceptable, appropriate, and feasible and were able to accurately describe behavior management strategies following each workshop. In study 2, teachers (N = 113) participated in workshops on behavior management and stress management. Teachers perceived the strategies covered in each workshop to be acceptable, appropriate, and feasible and were able to accurately describe the strategies following each workshop. Findings suggest that psychoeducational workshops may be a promising avenue for promoting youth mental and behavioral health. Lessons learned from conducting this community-engaged research are discussed, as well as future directions for widely implementing psychoeducational workshops for parents and teachers.