Project Summary: A Trauma-Informed Intervention for Positive Youth Development and Teacher Wellness in Rural Montana is intended to help mitigate stressors that may contribute to poor behavioral and mental health in high school-aged students and teachers. The immediate goals of this study are: 1) measure the physical and mental health outcomes in adolescents resulting from a trauma-informed yoga intervention designed to foster positive youth development; and 2) promote student health by supporting teacher wellbeing through a concurrent, remotely-delivered trauma-informed yoga intervention.~Specific Aims: Aim 1: Expansion of pilot study to teachers in the Livingston school district. Aim 2: Expand to study to Livingston high school students/teachers and rural schools remotely in Park County students/teachers. Aim 3: Conduct outcome and process evaluation to determine most effective intervention design. Methods: This study will enroll a minimum 30 Livingston teachers (taught trauma-informed yoga via Zoom) in year one and will aim to add 30 Livingston high school and rural Park county high school students and teachers to the intervention in year two (delivered via Zoom). Twice weekly 45-minute trauma-informed yoga sessions during the 6-week intervention period will occur remotely (for teachers and Park county high school students) and face-to-face for Livingston students. To measure physical health outcomes, pre, mid-, and post-intervention cortisol testing will be utilized to evaluate any changes in student and teacher stress levels before and after the program. Heart rate variability will also be assessed for students and teachers pre, mid-, and post-intervention using the HeartMath Inner Balance PPG sensor and Em Wave Pro Plus software. To assess behavioral health, pre- and post-survey instruments will collect targeted wellness/mental health data from students and teachers. An Adverse Childhood Experience Self-Reporting Screener will also be given to participants to establish a baseline of exposure to childhood trauma, which is closely correlated with health outcomes. To assess teacher wellness, the same physical health data and similar mental health assessments as students (focusing on depression and anxiety) will be collected, and teachers will also complete the Teachers' Sense of Self Efficacy Survey and the Professional Quality of Life Index, which are linked to teacher mental health, retention, and career satisfaction. To explore scalability to rural communities without access to yoga instructors, we will implement a limited feasibility study of online yoga delivery to classroom teachers (both in Livingston and in rural Park county) and to students (in rural Park county).
A Trauma-Informed Intervention for Positive Youth Development and Teacher Wellness in Rural Montana is intended to help mitigate stressors that may contribute to poor behavioral and mental health in high school-aged students and teachers. The immediate goals of this study are: 1) measure the physical and mental health outcomes in adolescents resulting from a trauma-informed yoga intervention designed to foster positive youth development; and 2) promote student health by supporting teacher wellbeing through a concurrent, remotely-delivered trauma-informed yoga intervention.