Russia's invasion of Ukraine has deeply impacted the nation's children, perhaps most
strikingly those who remain in Ukraine and are confronted by the trauma of war. 2.5
million have fled their homes, but even those still at home endure explosions, violence,
loss of loved ones, and an estimated average of 900 hours hiding in bunkers. Research in
Ukraine shows high levels of child mental health (MH) problems, including anxiety,
depression, interpersonal stress, and difficulty regulating emotions. PI Weisz works with
child MH researchers and clinicians from Ukraine and 5 other countries (the GROW
consortium) to plan psychological support for these children. The group has concluded
that Ukrainian-language digital MH interventions teaching evidence-based coping skills
are the optimum form of early psychological support at this time, given the massive
number of war-exposed Ukrainian children, the dearth of professional clinicians, and the
ready accessibility of digital devices. Brief digital interventions (BDIs) for MH have
been found effective with children in >90 randomized controlled trials (RCTs). They
require no professional training or funding, and are easily implemented via digital
devices used in nearly all schools. Ukrainian children may be helped via a BDI that
teaches them evidence-based procedures for calming themselves when they experience
distressing emotions.
The Harvard Lab for Youth Mental Health is collaborating with Ukrainian schools in the
Zhytomyr region, which has been repeatedly targeted by Russian missiles since the first
month of the invasion, spreading fear throughout the population and destroying airports,
residential neighborhoods, hospitals, and at least one school. Children in Zhytomyr
experience war-related MH problems identified in Ukrainian research reviews, including
anxiety, sadness, and difficulty calming and regulating distressing negative emotions.
Students will be offered a BDI that addresses these problems by teaching well-established
skills that have robust empirical support: Project Calm teaches children to calm and
regulate distressing emotions by using skills such as slowed breathing, relaxing of tense
muscles, and peaceful mental imagery. This 30-minute BDI, which has been refined via
student and school staff feedback over a 2-year period, is highly rated by children and
teens, and has already been accessed >1000 times in North America.
Project Calm will be tested via an RCT with a time-matched, school-related control
activity; students will be randomized 50/50 to complete Project Calm after the baseline
assessment or after a 2-month lag. Students in grades 4-12 will complete MH, wellbeing,
and BDI-skills measures at baseline and 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-months post-baseline. Data
collection will span January - June of 2024. Findings may point the way to a highly
scalable, accessible, and disseminable approach to MH support-easily implemented in
schools or community settings-that could benefit Ukrainian children and, with translation
and adaptation, war-affected children of other nations.
