Emotional Intelligence Intervention to Improve Mental Well-Being of Adolescents With Emotional Distress (BEAM)

Background:Adolescence involves biological, psychological and social transformations that increase vulnerability to mental health problems. Emotional intelligence is a protective factor that improves mental well-being. Given the sensitivity of adolescence to mental health disorders, emotional intelligence emerges as a valuable tool for promoting mental well-being.The investigators hypothesize that adolescents aged 14-16 with emotional distress who receive the multicomponent intervention based on emotional intelligence will obtain better scores on the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale compared to the control group, after the intervention and at 24 weeks post-intervention.

Method :The study is a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT). The participants and their parents will sign an agreement to participate in the study and will be randomly allocated in control and intervention groups by external researcher using a computer-generated random number. The intervention will be conducted in a school setting during the 2025-2026 academic year. It will comprise a multicomponent program consisting of nine sessions, each lasting 55 minutes, addressing various topics related to emotional intelligence. Data will be collected from April 2026 to december 2026."Three psychometric scales will be used: Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWB), Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24) and Child Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-32), with measurements before the intervention (T0), 9 (T1) and 24 weeks follow-up (T2).The group receiving the intervention is expected to show improvements in emotional well-being, emotional intelligence and resilience compared to the control group.

Accepting an alpha risk of 0.05 and a beta risk of 0.20 in a bilateral contrast, 52 subjects in the first group and 52 in the second group are required to detect a difference equal to or greater than 5 units on the WEMWBS scale. A common standard deviation of 6.8 is assumed. A loss to follow-up rate of 0.1 (10%) and a correlation between observations of 0.4 was estimated.

Inclusion criteria

• Adolescents with emotional distress scores on the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well- being Scale.
• Adolescents aged 14-16 ( in 9th Grade).
• Informed consent form signed (by adolescents and their parent or legal guardian)

Exclusion criteria

• Physical illnesses that prevent attendance at scheduled sessions, severe mental disorders (such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, major depression, schizophrenia).
• No comprehension of the language
• Lack of consent from the adolescents or their parents or legal guardians