Mental Illness Curriculum for Adolescents

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Danya International proposes to develop the Mental Illness Curriculum for Adolescents, a multimedia, modular curriculum package designed to educate adolescents, ages 13 to 15 in grades seven through nine, about mental illness. The curriculum consists of an interactive CD-ROM, teacher's resource guide, counselor's guide, parent newsletters, and posters. The curriculum will consist of four modules that cover the topics of Mood Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, Eating Disorders, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. During Phase I, Danya will develop the content of each module of the curriculum and program the Mood Disorders module of the CD-ROM curriculum. During the final two months of the Phase 1 period, a randomized experimental/control group feasibility study will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Mood Disorders module to influence knowledge and attitudes about mental illness in a group of students in the target age group. The Phase II project period will be devoted to refining and programming the CD-ROM and conducting a full-scale evaluation of the entire curriculum package.