A Trauma-Informed Intervention for Positive Youth Development and Teacher Wellness in Rural Montana Year 2

Participants will provide a saliva sample in which cortisol levels will be analyzed through salivary assay kits (through Salimetrics.com). Samples will be collected on the first day of the intervention (week 1) and on the last day of the intervention (week 6) to determine if the intervention has improved stress levels (as indicated by a reduction in cortisol levels). A biostatistician will provide analysis and conclusion of these samples at the conclusion of the study

This 9 item questionnaire is designed to evaluate severity of depressive symptoms in participants. It is scored on a Likert scale from 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day) on items linked to depression indicators. The minimum score is a 0 and the maximum score is a 27, and a reduction in score from pre- to post-assessment indicates an improvement in symptomology.

This 7 item questionnaire is based on a likert scale of 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day) for items related to anxiety disorders. The lowest score is a zero and the maximum score is a 21. A reduction in score from pre- to post-assessment indicates an improvement in symptomology.

Participants enrolled will have their heart rate data measured by the Biopac BioNomadix PPG & EDA System with Pulse Transduce to determine heart rate variability. Due to circumstances beyond the research team's control, only teachers at one study site were able to provide heart rate variability data, so fewer than our total enrollment was able to provide this data.

The CD-RISC 10 is a unidimensional self-reported scale consisting of 10-items measuring resilience. Respondents rate items on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (not true at all) to 4 (true nearly all the time). Each item has a minimum score of 0 and a maximum score of 4. The minimum score possible is a 0 and the maximum score is a 40. A higher score indicates an improvement (increased resilience).

Teachers will complete this self-reporting scale consisting of 30 items measuring levels of compassion satisfaction, secondary trauma, and professional burnout. Respondents rate items on a 5 point Likert scale ranging from 0 (never) to 5 (very often). Scores within each subscale were added together to produce a mean for each subscale; subscale means were then averaged together for a total mean score. The minimum score for each subscale is a 0, and the maximum score for each subscale is a 50. Reduced scores indicate an improvement in burnout and secondary trauma.

Teachers will complete this self-reporting scale consisting of 12 items measuring levels of self-perceived levels of impact on student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management. Respondents rate items on a 9 point Likert scale ranging from 0 (nothing) to 9 (a great deal). The minimum score possible is a 0 and the maximum score is a 90. Subscale scores were averaged together to produce a single mean. Higher mean scores indicate improvements in self-perceptions of self-efficacy.

Participants will complete this self-reporting scale consisting of 8 items measuring perceived levels of sleep quality over the previous 7 days. Items are scored on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much). The minimum score possible is 8 and the maximum score is a 40. Lower scores indicate an improvement in sleep quality, and higher scores indicate increased severity of sleep disturbances.

Teachers will complete this self-reporting scale consisting of 20 items measuring traumatic stress symptoms in the previous month. Items are scored on a Likert scale from 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely). The minimum score possible is a 0 and the maximum score is an 80. Lower scores indicate improvements in traumatic stress symptoms, and higher scores worsening levels of traumatic stress in respondents.