Promoting Wellbeing: The Five Ways at School Intervention

As a measure of present wellbeing, a version of the Cantril Ladder Scale will be used, one that has been used in the Young in Norway study (Cantril, 1965). Pupils are asked to evaluate their life at the present time, on a scale from 0 (feeling very poor) to 10 (feeling very well).

As a measure of the pupils' expected future wellbeing, a version of the Cantril Ladder Scale will be used, one that has been used in the Young in Norway study (Cantril, 1965). Pupils are asked to estimate how good or bad their life will be in five years from now, on a scale from 0 (feeling very poor) to 10 (feeling very well).

The following measures of life satisfaction and self-esteem will be assessed on a four-point scale ranging from "totally agree" to "totally disagree": "My life is good", "I have all I want in life", "I like myself the way I am", and "I am very satisfied with how I am".

Satisfaction with the different life domains will be measured by asking the pupils "how satisfied are you with the following aspects of your life: your parents, your friends, your school, your neighborhood, your health, and your appearance?". Pupils respond to each item on a four-point scale ranging from "not at all" to "very satisfied".

Relationships with friends will be assessed by asking the pupils: "Do you have a friend whom you can trust and talk to about everything?", with response options "Yes, I am sure", "Yes, I think so", "I don't think so", and "I have no friends, nowadays".

The pupils will be asked two items; "Do you have [a friend] to be with during 1) your leisure time and 2) in the school breaks?" These items will be measured by a four-point scale ranging from "Yes, always" to "No, never".

Depressive symptoms will be measured by Kandel and Davies's six-item Depressive Mood Inventory, assessing depressive symptoms during the preceding week on a four-point scale from 'affected not at all' to 'affected extremely'. In addition, the prosocial items from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) will be used.

Loneliness will be assessed by one item on feelings of loneliness in the past week, on a four-point scale from 'affected not at all' to 'affected extremely'.

The respondents' weekly leisure activities will be assessed with the following items: "In your leisure time, how often do you 1) meet with friends in their homes, 2) hang out with friends [outdoor], 3) exercise or do sports, 4) ride a horse, 5) stay at a youth activity club, 6) play an instrument, 7) do things together with your family, 8) help at home doing chores, 9) relax on your own most of the evening". The pupils will respond on a six-point scale ranging from "never" to "every day".

The respondents' daily leisure activities and screen time will be assessed with the following items: "In your leisure time, how many hours a day do you 1) watch tv, tv series, or online videos 2) read books, 3) play computer games, 4) play games on your mobile phone, 5) use social media, 6) read/watch news". The pupils will respond on a six-point scale ranging from "no time" to "3 hours or more".

The teachers will respond on a four-point scale from "agree completely" to "disagree completely" to the following items: "1) I was well motivated to teach the 5Ways@School, 2) I enjoyed teaching the 5Ways@School, 3) Teaching life skills through the 5Ways@School is a natural part of my job as a teacher, 4) I got sufficient information and/or training before I started teaching the 5Ways@School, 5) I think the pupils learned something new and useful, 6) There was too little activities in the 5Ways@School, 7) There was too much activities in the 5Ways@School, 8) I followed the teaching manual to a high degree, 9) I completed all the six lessons in the 5Ways@School, 10) I had to abbreviate one or more lesson(s), 11) I think that the 5Ways@School should be part of the ordinary school curriculum in 5h to 7th grade, and 12) I think that the 5Ways@School should be part of the ordinary school curriculum in 8th to 10th grade."

The teachers who will be teaching the interventions will be asked: "Based on your experiences, which of the five elements in the 5Ways@School do you think was 1) most useful for the pupils?, easiest for you to teach, and 3) most challenging for you to teach?" The teachers will respond to these questions by choosing any of the five elements of the 5Ways@School: Take notice, Be active, Keep Learning, Connect, and Give.

The pupils will be given a questionnaire with the following items: "1) I enjoyed learning about 5Ways@School, 2) I learned something new, that I can make use of, 3) The teaching was easy to understand, 4) The teaching was boring, 5) The teaching was interesting, 6) There was too little activities, 7) There was too much activities, 8) The teaching made me sad, afraid, or angry, 9) The teaching made me happy, 10) I will practise more of the five ways in the future, 11) I think all pupils should learn about the five ways." The pupils will respond on a four-point scale from "agree completely" to "disagree completely"

Family socio-economic status will be assessed by a composite score four items from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Family Affluence Scale (Currie et al., 1997, 2008), which include frequency of traveling for family holidays in the previous year, number of computers and cars in the family, and the participant having an individual room at home. The scale ranges from 0 to 9, where a low score indicates low socio-economic status.

Gender will be assessed. Only school grade (grades 5 to 10) but not age will be assessed. The pupils will be asked whether both their parents are born in a country other than Norway, and whether they have one or two homes.

Pupils will be asked whether their class/school has completed one of the following teaching programs: 1) "Sam", and 2) "Robust Youths". Response options are "yes" and "no".