Improving Mental Health and Resilience of School-aged Children in Rural China

Project Overview

Mental health challenges are widespread among rural children in China, with serious consequences for learning and long-term well-being. Yet until recently, there was little evidence on what kinds of support actually work—especially in rural areas, where mental health services are scarce and awareness remains low. In response, REAP launched a large-scale impact evaluation to assess the effects of a classroom-based social-emotional learning (SEL) program designed to improve student mental health and resilience.

From 2022 to 2023, we conducted a randomized controlled trial across more than 50 elementary schools in rural China. We trained more than 200 local teachers to deliver the SEL curriculum, monitored implementation of 36 weekly SEL sessions over a full academic year, and surveyed over 2,000 students and teachers before and after the program. 

Results from the trial indicate that the SEL program significantly and positively impacted student social-emotional skills and attitudes as well as their well-being (i.e., flourishing). The program also significantly reduced depression and internet use and did not impact academic performance negatively. Female students derived greater benefits from the SEL program. These findings suggest that integrating an SEL curriculum is an effective strategy for enhancing human capital outcomes among rural students.