Developing Primary Mental Health Prevention Program Through Eight Mental Flourishing Components: Lessons from Action Research in Thai Secondary Schools

Background: Thai youth face significant mental health challenges, with stress levels reaching 24.83%, depression risk at 29.51%, and suicide risk at 20.35% among those under 20 years old. Current mental health promotion in Thai schools demonstrates critical gaps, including fragmented activity design, emphasis on teaching over experiential learning, and reactive rather than preventive approaches. Objectives: This study aimed to (1) investigate factors affecting mental flourishing enhancement in secondary school students and (2) develop and implement a learning program to promote mental flourishing among secondary school students. Methods: This mixed-methods action research employed Kemmis and McTaggart’s four-stage cyclical process: planning, action, observation, and reflection. Participants included 80 grade-8 students from two classrooms with different academic abilities, school administrators, teachers, parents, and four education experts. Research instruments comprised a 10-session learning program, the Thai version of the EPOCH mental flourishing scale (reliability α = .919), semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions. Results: Findings revealed four ecological system levels affecting mental flourishing: microsystem (family, friends, teachers), mesosystem (classroom and school activities), exosystem (social value trends, social media influence), and macrosystem (COVID-19 impacts, teacher development systems). Eight mental flourishing components were synthesized into two dimensions: meaningful living (purpose in life, autonomy, resilience, positive relationships) and life satisfaction (self-efficacy, optimism, vitality, psychological safety). The program significantly enhanced students’ mental flourishing, particularly perseverance (+0.42 points) and engagement (+0.31 points) among moderate-to-low academic ability students, with sustained improvements after two months. Analysis revealed three crucial implementation components that formed an emergent Trust-Setting-Stimulus (TSS) framework comprising trust-building, appropriate environment setting, and interest stimulation through real-life connected activities. Conclusions: The eight mental flourishing components provide a conceptual framework for designing mental health promotion activities for students. Teachers and educational personnel can apply the program and TSS Model to create holistic learning environments that promote mental flourishing. This primary prevention approach offers an effective alternative for building psychological immunity against mental health problems and future challenges among Thai youth.