HENKA: Growing in Emotional Well-being

NCT07796867 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: PIC-187-23
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 1,084
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

HENKA is a universal, whole-community, school-based program that aims to promote emotional well-being and prevent mental health problems among adolescents enrolled in 1st to 3rd year of Secondary Education (ESO) in Catalonia, Spain (approximately 12 to 16 years old), through the development of resilience. The programme's name takes its origin from the Japanese term Henka, meaning a positive and transformative change, reflecting its focus on fostering sustainable improvements in adolescents' socioemotional functioning.The program targets adolescents, their families and school professionals. Its effectiveness is being evaluated through a non-randomized, two-arm, cluster-controlled quantitative phase (intervention schools compared to control schools), combined with a qualitative phase using focus groups. The study builds on the HENKA Pilot study (Ethics Committee code PIC-85-22), which assessed the feasibility of the evaluation process, including the validity of the assessment instruments and participants' viability and acceptability, before scaling up the program to a larger population.

Conditions

Mental Health; Resilience, Psychological; Emotional Well-being

Keywords

adolescents; resilience; school-based prevention; universal prevention program; mental health promotion; families; teachers; non-randomized cluster-controlled trial; mixed-methods; qualitative research; focus groups

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Change in Resilience - adolescents

  Resilience Scale for Adolescents (READ), 28 items, mean item score, theoretical range 1- 5. Higher scores indicate greater resilience.

  From baseline (T0) to 3-month and 12-month follow-up

• Change in Resilience - families

  Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA-33), 33 items, mean item score, theoretical range 1- 5. Higher scores indicate greater resilience.

  From baseline (T0) to 3-month and 12-month follow-up

• Change in school resilience - educational professionals

  School Resilience Scale (SRS), 20 items, mean item score, theoretical range 1- 5. Higher scores indicate greater school resilience.

  From baseline (T0) to 3-month and 12-month follow-up

Secondary Outcomes (20)

• Change in coping strategies - adolescents

  From baseline (T0) to 3-month and 12-month follow-up

• Change in assertiveness - adolescents

  From baseline (T0) to 3-month and 12-month follow-up

• Change in perceived self-efficacy - adolescents

  From baseline (T0) to 3-month and 12-month follow-up

• Change in empathy - adolescents

  From baseline (T0) to 3-month and 12-month follow-up

• Change in emotional repair - adolescents

  From baseline (T0) to 3-month and 12-month follow-up

Study Arms (2)

HENKA Intervention Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Schools that formalize participation in HENKA (\~100 schools). Students receive 8 classroom sessions (55 min each) on self-efficacy, emotional self-regulation, assertiveness, interpersonal skills and mindfulness; teachers receive HENKA training; families are offered a 90-minute workshop.

Behavioral: Henka program

Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

Schools that agree to participate in the evaluation only (\~25 schools), continuing their usual mental-health-related talks and resources; they receive the HENKA materials to implement independently after the study ends.

Interventions

Henka program BEHAVIORAL

A universal, whole-community, school-based program to promote resilience and prevent mental health problems among adolescents. The program comprises eight approximately 55-minute classroom sessions covering self-efficacy/self-esteem, emotional self-regulation, assertiveness, interpersonal skills and mindfulness, delivered by teachers previously trained through the HENKA train-the-trainer program. In some sessions, teachers are accompanied by Community Emotional Well-being Representatives (RBEC), health professionals provided by the Department of Health who support classroom delivery and help identify and manage mental-health-related situations among students. Families are offered a parent workshop.

HENKA Intervention Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 11 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Enrolled in Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO) in Catalonia, Spain.
• Adolescents enrolled in 1st, 2nd or 3rd year of ESO.
• Adolescents under 18 provide assent to participate; parents/guardians provide written informed consent.
• Parents/guardians and teachers who sign informed consent participate in the program evaluation.
• Representatives from the Wellbeing for Being Well Program (BxB), Community Emotional Well-being Representatives (RBEC), or Health and School Program (PSiE) who have collaborated with the HENKA program in Catalonia and sign informed consent (qualitative phase only).

You may not qualify if:

• Parents/guardians who do not sign informed consent for minors under 18.
• Adolescents who do not assent to participate.
• Parents/guardians who do not sign their own informed consent.
• Teachers who do not sign their informed consent.
• Representatives or professionals from any of the three programs (BxB, RBEC, or PSiE) who do not sign informed consent (qualitative phase only).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Fundació Sant Joan de Déu: lead
• Education Department (Catalonia): collaborator
• Health Department (Catalonia): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona / Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu

Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, 08950, Spain

Location

Related Links

• HENKA program website

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Psychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Personal Satisfaction; Behavior

Study Officials

• Claudia Palma-Vasquez, PhD

  PRISMA Research Group, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu (IRSJD)

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Ester Camprodon Rosanas, PhD

  Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Deputy Medical Director; HENKA Strategy Director

Model Details: Non-randomized, cluster-controlled, two-arm study, with the school as the unit of allocation. Recruitment was coordinated with the Department of Education and the Department of Health of the Government of Catalonia. Schools voluntarily enrolled in either the HENKA intervention group or the control group, depending on whether they formalized full participation in the program or chose to take part in the evaluation component only. Allocation was based on convenience (schools' willingness and capacity to implement the program), not randomization. All schools that requested to join the intervention group were accepted, without a cap on the number of participating schools. Baseline characteristics of control schools were reviewed for descriptive comparability with the intervention group, without a formal matching procedure. All eligible students, families and teachers within a participating school are exposed to the same condition (intervention or control). Qualitative phase has no arms.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 27, 2026
• First Posted: September 1, 2026
• Study Start: January 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 30, 2026
• Last Updated: September 14, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

ES (1)