International Journal of Community Service ISSN 2961-7162 .
https://ejournal.
com/index.
php/ijcs Vol.
XX.
Issue XX, 2026 DOI : 10.
55299/ijcs.
Implementation of Peer Group Support to Improve Mental Health and Resilience in Adolescents PostOnline Learning in Public High Schools Moh Solehuddin1.
Nur Faliza2.
Jenuri3.
Mustangin4.
Yasriuddin5 STAI AR-ROSYID SURABAYA, msolehuddin28@gmail.
com 2 Universitas Malikussaleh, nurfaliza@unimal.
id 3 Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, jenuri@upi.
edu 4 Universitas Jayabaya, hamanap.
joyo@gmail.
com 5 Universitas Negeri Makassar, yasriuddin@unm.
ABSTRACT
The transition from emergency remote learning to in-person schooling following the COVID-19 pandemic has left Indonesian high school students confronting substantial mental health vulnerabilities, including elevated stress, anxiety, and diminished resilience.
This study investigated the effectiveness of a structured peer group support intervention in improving mental health outcomes and resilience among adolescents in a public senior high school (SMA Neger.
Employing a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group design, the research involved 218 students .
in the intervention group, 108 in the control grou.
from a state high school in East Java.
Indonesia.
The intervention group participated in an eightweek peer support program comprising weekly group sessions, psychoeducation modules, and guided peer interactions, while the control group received standard school guidance services.
Mental health was assessed using the Depression.
Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-.
, and resilience was measured with the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC).
Data were collected at pre-test, post-test, and an eightweek follow-up, and analyzed using independent and paired sample t-tests, repeated measures ANOVA, and ANCOVA.
Results indicated that the intervention group exhibited statistically significant improvements in mental health .
eductions in depression, anxiety, and stres.
and resilience scores compared to the control group, with medium to large effect sizes .
A ranging from .
09 to .
The findings demonstrate that peer group support represents a culturally congruent, scalable, and cost-effective strategy for addressing post-pandemic mental health challenges in Indonesian secondary education settings.
The study underscores the critical role of peer relationships in adolescent psychological well-being and provides an evidence-based framework for integrating peer support programs into national school health Keywords:
Received:
peer group support, mental health, resilience, adolescents, post-pandemic online Revised:
Accepted:
Available online:
Suggested citations:
Solehuddin.
Faliza.
Jenuri.
Mustangin.
, & Husain.
Implementation of peer group support to improve mental health and resilience in adolescents post-online learning in public high schools International Journal of Community Service, 5 .
, 231-255.
DOI: 10.
55299/ijcs.
Corresponding Author Name: Affiliation.
Email: x@x.
Moh Solehuddin.
Nur Faliza.
Jenuri.
Mustangin.
Yasriuddin
INTRODUCTION
The global outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-.
precipitated an unprecedented disruption to educational systems worldwide, compelling governments to enforce widespread school closures and a rapid pivot to emergency remote learning.
In Indonesia, the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbu.
mandated the suspension of face-to-face instruction in March 2020, affecting over 60 million students across the archipelago and initiating a prolonged period of online learning that, for many students, extended well beyond two academic years.
While this policy was essential for mitigating viral transmission, the protracted reliance on digital platforms for instruction and social interaction has engendered a complex array of psychological sequelae for Indonesian adolescents, a demographic already navigating normative developmental challenges of identity formation, autonomy seeking, and peer group The post-pandemic educational landscape in Indonesia is now characterized by a pressing need to address the mental health fallout of extended social isolation, academic disruption, and erosion of protective school-based social networks that traditionally buffer adolescent stress (Bertoletti et al.
, 2.
Empirical evidence from Indonesia and comparable contexts paints a sobering picture of adolescent psychological well-being in the wake of emergency remote A national survey conducted among Indonesian Islamic junior and senior high school students revealed that 13.
29% experienced high stress levels, with 41.
reporting moderate stress, accompanied by somatic complaints including fatigue, headaches, and irritability, as well as emotional difficulties such as anxiety and diminished motivation.
Similarly, a descriptive observational study of senior high school students in Surakarta.
Central Java, identified stress as the most prevalent psychopathological manifestation during online learning, surpassing both anxiety and depression in terms of frequency.
These findings align with international data demonstrating that pandemic-onset remote learning is associated with lower daily positive affect, increased daily stress, and heightened psychological distress in The cumulative impact of these stressors extends beyond transient research has documented that prolonged exposure to academic and social disruption during critical developmental windows can precipitate enduring mental health difficulties, including an increased risk of anxiety disorders, major depressive episodes, and suicidal ideation.
Resilience conceptualized as the dynamic process of positive adaptation in the face of significant adversity has emerged as a critical protective factor in mitigating the mental health consequences of pandemic-related disruptions.
For Indonesian adolescents, resilience encompasses a constellation of capacities including emotional regulation, optimistic thinking, causal analysis, empathy, self-efficacy, and goaldirected persistence.
However, empirical assessments of adolescent resilience in Indonesia during and after the pandemic reveal concerning deficits.
A study of 657 Indonesian senior high school students found that the ability to regulate emotionsAia foundational component of resilienceAirequires substantial improvement, and that overall resilience levels are significantly influenced by optimism, empathy, and selfefficacy, but not by demographic factors such as gender, parental income, or geographic Another study of 202 adolescents across Java Island reported that 67.
demonstrated only moderate resilience, with only 6.
9% exhibiting high resilience.
International Journal of Community Service, 5 .
, 2026, pp.
| 233
underscoring the vulnerability of this population.
These data suggest that a substantial proportion of Indonesian high school students may lack the psychological resources necessary to cope effectively with the ongoing and residual challenges of the postpandemic educational environment (Dell et al.
, 2.
Social support, particularly from peer networks, has been consistently identified as a robust protective factor against psychological distress and a facilitator of resilience in The theoretical underpinnings of peer support's efficacy are grounded in multiple frameworks, including attachment theory, which posits that secure relational bonds provide a safe haven and secure base for exploration and coping.
social cognitive theory, which emphasizes the role of observational learning and social modeling in developing self-efficacy and adaptive behaviors.
and the stress-buffering hypothesis, which suggests that perceived availability of social support attenuates the pathogenic effects of stress on mental health.
In the context of adolescent development, peer relationships assume particular salience due to the normative shift from familial to extra familial sources of support and identity validation.
During the pandemic, when traditional face-to-face peer interactions were severely curtailed, the protective functions of peer support were simultaneously most needed and least accessible, creating a perfect storm of psychological vulnerability (Bovornchutichai et al.
, 2.
Research conducted in the Indonesian educational context has begun to elucidate the specific contributions of peer support to adolescent well-being during periods of educational disruption.
A correlational study of 253 high school students in Makassar.
South Sulawesi, demonstrated that peer social support contributed significantly to academic resilience, accounting for 20% of the variance in resilience scores during online learning.
Furthermore, a cross-sectional survey involving 665 Indonesian students engaged in home-based learning found that social support from friends, family, and significant others was strongly associated with school-related subjective well-being, and that this relationship was mediated by the satisfaction of basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
These findings corroborate international evidence that peer support is particularly beneficial for enhancing daily positive affect during remote learning and that peer relationships, along with parenting style and broader social support, significantly enhance students' coping strategies in online learning environments.
Collectively, this body of research underscores that peer support functions as a critical resource for Indonesian adolescents navigating the psychological demands of educational transitions However, the majority of studies to date have been correlational or descriptive in nature, leaving a significant gap in experimental evidence regarding the efficacy of intentional peer support interventions in improving mental health outcomes.
Despite the mounting evidence linking peer support to enhanced psychological well-being and resilience, translating these findings into structured, school-based interventions in Indonesia remains nascent.
Several scholars have advocated for the development and implementation of peer support programs in the Indonesian educational system.
Maximizing the role of peer support groups would significantly increase awareness of the importance of mental health in schools, and curriculum design should intentionally integrate peer support mechanisms to promote student mental health both during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Similarly, educators and counselors provide psychological interventions through guidance and counseling .
Moh Solehuddin.
Nur Faliza.
Jenuri.
Mustangin.
Yasriuddin services and approaches to enhance student resilience.
However, to date, systematic evaluations of structured peer group support interventions targeting both mental health and resilience outcomes among Indonesian high school students in the postpandemic period are conspicuously absent from empirical literature.
This gap is particularly concerning given the scalability and cost-effectiveness of peer-led approaches, which have demonstrated promising results in improving youth mental health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC.
A recent scoping review of peer-led mental health interventions for youth in LMICs identified 19 studies, all of which reported improved mental health outcomes, yet noted the need for rigorous quantitative evaluations in diverse cultural contexts (Nurmala et al.
, 2.
The present study seeks to address this critical gap in the literature by evaluating the effectiveness of a structured peer group support intervention in improving mental health outcomes and resilience among adolescents in an Indonesian public senior high school (SMA Neger.
after returning to in-person learning.
Specifically, the research is guided by three primary objectives: .
to examine whether participation in a peer group support intervention leads to significant reductions in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress compared to a control group receiving standard school guidance .
to assess whether the intervention yields significant increases in resilience scores relative to the control condition.
to determine whether any observed improvements are sustained over an eight-week follow-up period.
The following hypotheses were formulated for empirical testing: (H.
The intervention group will demonstrate significantly lower scores on measures of depression, anxiety, and stress at post-test and follow-up compared to the control group after controlling for baseline (H.
The intervention group will exhibit significantly higher resilience scores at post-test and follow-up than the control group after controlling for baseline (H.
The magnitude of change in mental health outcomes .
epression, anxiety, and stres.
will be positively correlated with the magnitude of change in resilience scores within the intervention group, suggesting a synergistic relationship between peer support processes and the cultivation of resilience.
The significance of this study extends across theoretical, empirical, and practical Theoretically, thise study contributes to the growing literature on social support and adolescent development by testing the efficacy of an intentional peer support intervention within Indonesia s specific cultural and educational context, a setting characterized by strong collectivist values that may amplify the benefits of peerbased approaches.
Empirically, thise study provides much-needed experimental evidence to complement the existing body of correlational and descriptive research, thereby strengthening causal inferences regarding the relationship between peer support and adolescent mental health outcomes.
The findings are intended to inform the development of evidence-based, culturally appropriate mental health promotion strategies that can be integrated into the Indonesian school curriculum and guidance counseling framework, offering a scalable and cost-effective approach to addressing the post-pandemic mental health crisis among Indonesian youth.
In an era where mental health resources in Indonesian schools remain severely constrainedAiwith an estimated ratio of one guidance counselor to over 500 students in many public schoolsAipeerbased interventions represent a promising and sustainable pathway for expanding the reach of mental health support (Carlsson, 2.
International Journal of Community Service, 5 .
, 2026, pp.
| 235
METHOD
Research Design This study employed a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group design with pre-test, post-test, and eight-week follow-up assessments.
This design was selected as it is well-suited for evaluating the effectiveness of educational and psychological interventions in naturalistic school settings where the random assignment of individual students to conditions may be impractical or ethically problematic (Creswell, 2.
The non-equivalent control group design allows for a comparison between an intervention group that receives the peer group support program and a control group that receives standard school guidance services, while controlling for potential confounding variables through statistical procedures .
, analysis of covarianc.
The inclusion of a follow-up assessment at eight weeks post-intervention permitteds the examination of the durability of any observed treatment effects over time, an important consideration for determining the practical utility of the intervention (Sugiyono, 2.
The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and received approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Universitas Negeri Surabaya (Approval No.
2024/UNESA/IRB/0.
prior to data collection.
Participants and Sampling The target population for this study comprised students enrolled in grades 10 and 11 at public senior high schools (SMA Neger.
in East Java.
Indonesia, during the 2024/2025 academic year.
A single public senior high school located in Surabaya, the capital city of East Java, was purposively selected based on the following criteria: .
the school had fully transitioned to in-person learning for a minimum of one academic year following the COVID-19 pandemic remote learning period.
the school administration expressed willingness to participate in the research and allocate the necessary time and resources for intervention implementation.
the school served a socioeconomically diverse student body, enhancing the generalizability of findings.
the school had not previously implemented a structured peer support or peer mentoring program, ensuring that the intervention would represent a novel experience for participants.
Following school selection, 218 students were recruited through purposive and voluntary sampling.
The inclusion criteria were as follows: .
enrolled in grades 10 or 11 at the participating school.
provided written parental consent and personal assent to participate.
had no diagnosed severe mental health condition .
, psychosis, bipolar disorde.
that would preclude safe participation in a peer support group, as determined by school counseling records.
were willing to commit to attending all eight weekly intervention sessions .
or the intervention grou.
or to completing all three assessment waves .
or both group.
The exclusion criteria were as follows: .
inability to read and comprehend Bahasa Indonesia at a level sufficient to complete the self-report questionnaires.
anticipated school transfer or extended absence during the study period.
Students were assigned to the intervention .
= .
or control group .
= .
based on their class section, with the school administration allocating entire class sections to either condition to minimize cross-contamination between Moh Solehuddin.
Nur Faliza.
Jenuri.
Mustangin.
Yasriuddin This allocation procedure resulted in a non-randomized quasi-experimental design with naturally occurring groups.
A priori power analysis was conducted using G*Power software .
Faul et al.
, 2.
to determine the minimum sample size required to detect a medium effect size (Cohen's d = 0.
with adequate statistical power.
Based on a repeated measures ANOVA design with two groups .
ntervention vs.
and three measurement occasions .
re-test, post-test, follow-u.
, assuming an alpha level of .
05, a desired power of .
80, and a correlation among repeated measures of 0.
50, the analysis indicated a minimum required sample size of 86 participants per group .
otal N = .
The actual sample of 218 participants exceeded this minimum requirement, providing a margin of safety against potential attrition (Miles.
, & Huberman, 2.
The demographic characteristics of the study sample are presented in Table 1.
The sample consisted of 218 students, with 110 in the intervention group and 108 in the control group.
The overall sample was 55.
5% female .
= .
5% male .
= .
, with a mean age of 16.
24 years (SD = 0.
The distribution by grade level was 51.
8% in grade 10 .
= .
2% in grade 11 .
= .
Chi-square tests and independent samples t-tests revealed no statistically significant differences between the intervention and control groups on any demographic variable at baseline .
ll p > .
, supporting the comparability of the groups prior to intervention delivery.
Table 1.
Demographic Characteristics of Study Participants.
Characteristic Intervention Group .
= Control
Group
= Total
(N =
Gender, n (%) Male 48 .
Female 62 .
Grade Level, n (%) Grade 10 58 .
Grade 11 52 .
Test Statistic NA = NA = International Journal of Community Service, 5 .
, 2026, pp.
| 237
Characteristic Intervention Group .
= Control
Group
= Total
(N =
Test Statistic Age .
(SD)
t = 0.
NA =
NA =
Parental Education, n (%) O Senior High School 68 .
> Senior High School 42 .
Monthly Household Income (IDR), n (%) < 5,000,000 71 .
Ou 5,000,000 39 .
Note.
IDR = Indonesian Rupiah.
NA = Chi-square test statistic.
t = independent samples ttest statistic.
M = Mean.
SD = Standard Deviation.
3 Intervention: Peer Group Support Program The intervention consisted of an eight-week structured peer group support program designed specifically for the Indonesian high school context.
The program was developed based on principles drawn from positive youth development (Lerner et al.
, social-emotional learning (Durlak et al.
, 2.
, and peer support literature (Dennis, 2.
, and was culturally adapted to reflect Indonesian collectivist values and adolescent developmental norms.
The intervention was delivered in small groups of 1012 students, each facilitated by two trained peer facilitators .
tudents in grade 12 who had undergone a 16-hour training program conducted by the research team and school Peer facilitators were selected based on nominations from teachers and counselors and screened for emotional maturity, communication skills, and commitment to confidentiality.
Facilitator training covered group facilitation skills.
Moh Solehuddin.
Nur Faliza.
Jenuri.
Mustangin.
Yasriuddin active listening, psychoeducation content, confidentiality and ethical considerations, recognizing signs of distress, and appropriate referral procedures.
The intervention comprised eight weekly 90-minute sessions held during school hours in the designated classrooms.
Each session followed a consistent structure: .
check-in and grounding activity .
sychoeducation and skill-building .
guided peer discussion and support .
closing reflection and between-session practice assignment .
The session topics, presented in Table 2, were sequenced to build progressively from self-awareness and emotional literacy to interpersonal skills and future-oriented planning.
Table 2.
Outline of Peer Group Support Intervention Sessions Session Topic Objectives Key Activities Building Connection and Trust Establish group rapport and trust among group Icebreaker activities.
collaborative creation of group agreements.
introduction to peer support principles Understanding Emotions and Stress Increase emotional personal stressors related to postpandemic school Emotion mapping discussion of common post-pandemic to stress response Coping Strategies and Self-Care Introduce adaptive coping strategies.
personalized selfcare plans Psychoeducation on problem-focused vs.
emotion-focused self-care menu peer sharing of effective coping Effective Communication and Seeking Support Enhance help-seeking Role-play scenarios.
discussion of barriers to seeking help.
giving and receiving peer support Building Resilience and Growth Mindset Understand the components of a growth mindset Resilience stories challenges as opportunities for International Journal of Community Service, 5 .
, 2026, pp.
Session Topic Objectives | 239 Key Activities personal resilience Navigating Peer Relationships and Social Pressures Address challenges in peer develop skills for managing social Discussion of social media influences.
pressure role-plays.
strategies for maintaining authentic Managing Academic Stress and Setting Goals Apply coping strategies to academic contexts.
set realistic academic and personal goals Time management test anxiety reduction techniques.
SMART goal-setting Sustaining Growth and Looking Forward Consolidate plans for maintaining gains.
celebrate group Review of key creation of personal wellness plans.
group celebration and closure ritual Throughout the intervention, peer facilitators were supervised weekly by the research team and school counselors to ensure fidelity to the program protocol and address any emerging concerns.
Fidelity was assessed using a structured observation checklist completed by research assistants who observed 20% of all sessions .
andomly The checklist assessed adherence to the session content, facilitator engagement, group dynamics, and time management.
The overall fidelity ratings across the observed sessions averaged 92.
4% (SD = 5.
8%), indicating high levels of protocol Control Condition Students in the control group received standard guidance and counseling services provided by the school, which included individual counseling sessions upon student request, occasional classroom guidance lessons on topics such as career planning and academic motivation, and general wellness announcements during school assemblies.
The control group did not participate in the peer group support intervention nor receive any additional mental health programming beyond standard services.
Following the completion of the follow-up assessment, students in the control group were offered the .
Moh Solehuddin.
Nur Faliza.
Jenuri.
Mustangin.
Yasriuddin opportunity to participate in a condensed version of the peer support program .
our session.
as a gesture of appreciation and to ensure equitable access to the intervention's potential benefits.
Measures and Instruments Mental Health (Depression.
Anxiety.
Stres.
Mental health outcomes were assessed using the Depression.
Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21.
Lovibond & Lovibond, 1.
, a 21-item self-report instrument measuring symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress over the past week.
The DASS-21 is comprised of three 7-item subscales: Depression .
, "I felt that life was meaningless").
Anxiety .
, "I felt scared without any good reason"), and Stress .
, "I found it hard to wind down").
Respondents rate each item on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 0 ("Did not apply to me at all") to 3 ("Applied to me very much, or most of the time").
Subscale scores are calculated by summing the relevant items and multiplying by two to yield scores comparable to the full 42-item DASS.
Higher scores indicate greater severity of The DASS-21 has been extensively validated across diverse cultural contexts, including Indonesia, and demonstrates strong psychometric properties.
In the Indonesian adolescent population, the DASS-21 has shown good internal consistency (Cronbach's ranging from .
80 to .
and adequate convergent and discriminant validity (Kinanthi et al.
, 2.
In the present study, internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach's ) for the three subscales at pre-test were as follows: Depression = .
Anxiety = .
82, and Stress = .
85, indicating good to excellent reliability.
Resilience.
Resilience was assessed using the 25-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC.
Connor & Davidson, 2.
, a widely used self-reported measure of The CD-RISC assesses the ability to cope with adversity across five domains:
personal competence, high standards, and tenacity.
trust in one's instincts, tolerance of negative affect, and strengthening effects of stress.
positive acceptance of change and secure relationships.
and spiritual influences.
Respondents rated each item on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 ("Not true at all") to 4 ("True nearly all the time"), based on how they felt over the past month.
The total scores ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater resilience.
The CD-RISC has been validated for use with Indonesian adolescents and has demonstrated strong psychometric properties, including high internal consistency (Cronbach's = .
and good test-retest reliability .
= .
(Wahyuni et al.
, 2.
In the present study, the internal consistency of the CDRISC in thepre-test was = .
88, indicating good reliability.
Demographic Questionnaire.
A brief demographic questionnaire was administered at the pre-test to collect information on participants' age, gender, grade level, parental education .
oded as O senior high school vs.
> senior high schoo.
, and monthly household income .
oded as < 5,000,000 IDR vs.
Ou 5,000,000 IDR, based on the East Java provincial minimum wag.
This information was used to characterize the sample and examine potential demographic moderators of the intervention effects.
Procedure Data collection occurred in three waves: pre-test (Week 0, prior to intervention commencemen.
, post-test (Week 9, immediately following the final intervention sessio.
, and follow-up (Week 17, eight weeks after the post-tes.
At each assessment International Journal of Community Service, 5 .
, 2026, pp.
| 241
wave, participants completed the DASS-21.
CD-RISC, and .
t pre-test onl.
demographic questionnaire.
Questionnaires were administered in a paper-and-pencil format in group settings within the school, supervised by trained research assistants who were blind to the participants' group assignment.
Participants were assured of the confidentiality of their responses and were provided with a unique identification code to link their data across assessment waves while maintaining their anonymity.
The pre, post, and follow-up assessment sessions each lasted approximately 30-40 minutes.
All participants provided written informed consent .
arental/guardian consent for students aged 18 year.
and personal assent prior to enrollment in the study.
The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Universitas Negeri Surabaya (Approval No.
2024/UNESA/IRB/0.
Participants were informed of their right to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty.
referral protocol was established for students who exhibited elevated levels of distress on the DASS-21 or disclosed suicidal ideation.
such students were referred to the school counselor for further assessment and support.
Data Analysis Plan Data were entered into Microsoft Excel and imported into IBM SPSS Statistics 0 for analysis.
Prior to conducting the primary analyses, the data were screened for missing values, outliers, and violations of statistical assumptions .
ormality, homogeneity of variance, and sphericit.
Missing data were minimal (< 5% across all variable.
and were handled using multiple imputation with 10 imputed datasets based on the assumption that data were missing at random (MAR).
The normality of continuous variables was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk tests and visual inspection of the Q-Q plots.
The homogeneity of variance was assessed using Levene's For repeated measures analyses.
Mauchly's test of sphericity was employed.
sphericity was violated.
Greenhouse-Geisser corrections were applied.
Descriptive statistics, including means, standard deviations, frequencies, and percentages, were calculated to characterize the sample and summarize scores on all outcome measures at each assessment wave.
Independent samples t-tests and chi-square tests were used to compare the intervention and control groups on demographic variables and baseline outcome measures to assess the success of group allocation.
To evaluate the effects of the intervention on mental health outcomes .
epression, anxiety, stres.
and resilience, a series of 2 (Group: intervention vs.
y 3 (Time:
pre-test, post-test, follow-u.
mixed-model repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVA.
were conducted for each dependent variable.
Significant Group y Time interactions were followed by simple main effects analyses with Bonferroni corrections to examine within-group changes over time and between-group differences at each time Additionally, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was employed to compare posttest and follow-up scores between groups while controlling for pre-test scores, providing a more precise estimate of intervention effects and reducing the error Effect sizes were calculated using partial eta-squared .
A) for ANOVA analyses, with values of .
01, .
06, and .
14 interpreted as small, medium, and large effects, respectively (Cohen, 1.
For ANCOVA and pairwise comparisons.
Cohen's d was calculated, with values of 0.
20, 0.
50, and 0.
80 interpreted as small, medium, and large effects, respectively, respectively.
Moh Solehuddin.
Nur Faliza.
Jenuri.
Mustangin.
Yasriuddin To examine the relationship between changes in mental health and resilience.
Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated between change scores .
ost-test minus pre-tes.
for the DASS-21 subscales and CD-RISC total scores within the intervention group.
An alpha level of .
05 was used to determine the statistical significance of all analyses.
Given the multiple comparisons conducted across the primary outcome measures, a Holm-Bonferroni correction was applied to control the family wise error rate.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Preliminary Analyses and Baseline Equivalence Prior to conducting the primary analyses, the data were screened for completeness, outliers, and violations of statistical assumptions.
Of the 218 participants enrolled at baseline, 210 .
3%) completed the post-test assessment .
ntervention group: n = 107, control group: n = 103, 95.
4%), and 203 .
1%) completed the follow-up assessment .
ntervention group: n = 104, 94.
control group: n = 99, 91.
7%).
The attrition rates did not differ significantly between the intervention and control groups at either the post-test (NA = 0.
58, p = .
or follow-up (NA = 0.
67, p = .
Little's MCAR test indicated that the data were missing completely at random (NA = 184.
27, df = 171, p = .
Missing data were imputed using multiple imputation with 10 iterations, and sensitivity analyses comparing the results from the complete-case analysis and imputed datasets revealed no substantive differences in the pattern or significance of the Subsequent analyses weare performed based on the imputed datasets.
Shapiro-Wilk tests indicated that scores on the DASS-21 subscales (Depression.
Anxiety.
Stres.
and the CD-RISC were approximately normally distributed at each assessment wave .
ll p > .
Levene's tests confirmed homogeneity of variance between groups for all outcome measures at pre-test, post-test, and follow-up .
ll p > .
For repeated measures analyses.
Mauchly's test indicated violations of sphericity for depression (W = 0.
82, p = .
, anxiety (W = 0.
79, p = .
, and stress (W = 0.
84, p = .
Greenhouse-Geisser corrections were applied to these The CD-RISC satisfied the assumption of sphericity (W = 0.
91, p = .
Baseline equivalence between the intervention and control groups was assessed for both demographic characteristics .
s reported in Table .
and pre-test scores foro all outcome measures.
Independent samples t-tests revealed no statistically significant differences between groups at pre-test for depression .
= 0.
82, p = .
, anxiety .
= 1.
15, p = .
, stress .
= 0.
67, p = .
, or resilience .
= -1.
23, p = .
These findings indicate that the groups were comparable on all outcome measures prior to the intervention delivery, lending credibility to the quasi-experimental design.
Descriptive Statistics The means and standard deviations for all outcome measures at pre-test, post-test, and follow-up are presented in Table 3.
The table displays the scores separately for the intervention and control groups, along with the results of between-group comparisons International Journal of Community Service, 5 .
, 2026, pp.
| 243
at each time point.
Visual representations of the mean scores across time for each outcome measure are shown in Figures 14.
Table 3.
Means and Standard Deviations for Mental Health and Resilience Outcomes by Group and Time.
Outcome Measure Group
Pre-test
M (SD)
Post-test
M (SD)
Follow-up
M (SD)
Depression Intervention .
Control .
t-test .
-valu.
*t=0.
*t=-6.
(<.
*t=-5.
(<.
Intervention .
Control .
t-test .
-valu.
*t=1.
*t=-6.
(<.
*t=-5.
(<.
Intervention .
Control .
t-test .
-valu.
*t=0.
*t=-6.
(<.
*t=-5.
(<.
Anxiety Stress Moh Solehuddin.
Nur Faliza.
Jenuri.
Mustangin.
Yasriuddin
Outcome Measure Group
Pre-test
M (SD)
Post-test
M (SD)
Follow-up
M (SD)
Resilience Intervention .
Control .
t-test .
-valu.
*t=-1.
*t=8.
(<.
*t=6.
(<.
Note.
M = Mean.
SD = Standard Deviation.
t-tests were used for independent samples comparisons between the intervention and control groups at each time point.
P-values in bold indicate statistical significance at = .
Intervention Effects on Mental Health Outcomes Depression.
A 2 (Grou.
y 3 (Tim.
mixed-model repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to examine the effects of the intervention on depression scores.
The analysis revealed a statistically significant main effect of Time.
78, 384.
= 34.
67, p < .
001, pA = .
14, a significant main effect of Group.
, .
= 18.
92, p < .
001, pA = .
08, and, critically, a significant Group y Time interaction.
78, 384.
= 41.
23, p < .
001, pA = .
The significant interaction indicates that the pattern of change in depression scores over time differed between the intervention and control groups.
Simple main effects analyses with Bonferroni correction revealed that the intervention group exhibited a significant decrease in depression scores from pre-test to post-test .
ean difference = -5.
35, 95% CI
[-6.
18, -4.
, p < .
001, d = 1.
and from pre-test to follow-up .
ean difference = -4.
95% CI [-5.
54, -3.
, p < .
001, d = 0.
, with a small but significant increase from posttest to follow-up .
ean difference = 0.
65, 95% CI .
18, 1.
, p = .
003, d = 0.
contrast, the control group showed no significant changes in depression scores across any time points .
ll p > .
Between-group comparisons at post-test indicated significantly lower depression scores in the intervention group compared to the control group .
ean difference = -4.
42, 95% CI [-5.
67, -3.
, p < .
001, d = 0.
, a difference that was largely maintained at follow-up .
ean difference = -3.
91, 95% CI [-5.
22, -2.
, p < 001, d = 0.
Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) controlling for pre-test depression scores further substantiated the intervention effect at post-test.
, .
= 78.
45, p < .
001, pA = 27, and follow-up.
, .
= 54.
32, p < .
001, pA = .
The adjusted post-test means .
ontrolling for baselin.
34 (SE = 0.
for the intervention group and 14.
02 (SE
= 0.
for the control group, respectively.
The adjusted follow-up means were 9.
98 (SE
= 0.
for the intervention group and 14.
16 (SE = 0.
for the control group.
International Journal of Community Service, 5 .
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| 245
Anxiety.
The 2 y 3 repeated measures ANOVA for anxiety scores revealed a significant main effect of Time.
76, 380.
= 28.
91, p < .
001, pA = .
12, a significant main effect of Group.
, .
= 16.
45, p < .
001, pA = .
07, and a significant group y time interaction.
76, 380.
= 35.
87, p < .
001, pA = .
Simple main effects analyses indicated that the intervention group demonstrated a significant decrease in anxiety scores from pre-test to post-test .
ean difference = -5.
09, 95% CI [-5.
92, -4.
, p < .
001, d = 1.
and from pre-test to follow-up .
ean difference = -4.
51, 95% CI [-5.
36, -3.
, p < .
001, d = 0.
with a small but significant increase from post-test to follow-up .
ean difference = 0.
95% CI .
11, 1.
, p = .
011, d = 0.
The control group showed no significant changes in anxiety scores over time .
ll p > .
Between-group comparisons at post-test indicated significantly lower anxiety scores in the intervention group .
ean difference = -3.
90, 95% CI [-5.
11, -2.
, p < .
001, d = 0.
, with this difference partially sustained at follow-up .
ean difference = -3.
50, 95% CI [-4.
79, -2.
, p < .
001, d = 0.
ANCOVA controlling for pre-test anxiety scores confirmed the intervention effect at post-test.
, .
= 67.
82, p < .
001, pA = .
24, and follow-up.
, .
= 46.
91, p < .
pA = .
The adjusted post-test means were 8.
72 (SE = 0.
for the intervention group 89 (SE = 0.
for the control group.
The adjusted follow-up means were 9.
29 (SE
= 0.
for the intervention group and 13.
07 (SE = 0.
for the control group.
3 Stress.
The 2 y 3 repeated measures ANOVA for stress scores yielded a significant main effect of Time.
79, 386.
= 31.
56, p < .
001, pA = .
13, a significant main effect of Group.
, .
= 19.
78, p < .
001, pA = .
08, and a significant group y time interaction.
79, 386.
= 38.
92, p < .
001, pA = .
Simple main effects analyses showed that the intervention group experienced a significant decrease in stress scores from pre-test to post-test .
ean difference = -5.
54, 95% CI [-6.
41, -4.
, p < .
001, d = 1.
and from pretest to follow-up .
ean difference = -4.
85, 95% CI [-5.
73, -3.
, p < .
001, d = 0.
, with a small but significant increase from post-test to follow-up .
ean difference = 0.
69, 95%
CI .
19, 1.
, p = .
003, d = 0.
The control group showed no significant changes in stress scores over time .
ll p > .
Between-group comparisons at post-test indicated significantly lower stress scores in the intervention group .
ean difference = -4.
70, 95%
CI [-6.
00, -3.
, p < .
001, d = 0.
, with this difference largely maintained at follow-up .
ean difference = -4.
19, 95% CI [-5.
54, -2.
, p < .
001, d = 0.
ANCOVA controlling for pre-test stress scores confirmed the intervention effect at post-test.
, .
= 72.
34, p < .
001, pA = .
25, and follow-up.
, .
= 51.
67, p < .
pA = .
The adjusted post-test means were 11.
09 (SE = 0.
for the intervention group 08 (SE = 0.
for the control group The adjusted follow-up means were 11.
77 (SE
= 0.
for the intervention group and 16.
27 (SE = 0.
for the control group.
Table 4.
Summary of Repeated Measures ANOVA Results for Mental Health Outcomes Moh Solehuddin.
Nur Faliza.
Jenuri.
Mustangin.
Yasriuddin Outcome Effect pA Depression Time 78, 384.
< .
Group
1, 216
< .
Time y Group 78, 384.
< .
Time 76, 380.
< .
Group
1, 216
< .
Time y Group 76, 380.
< .
Time 79, 386.
< .
Group
1, 216
< .
Time y Group 79, 386.
< .
Anxiety Stress Note.
df = degrees of freedom (Greenhouse-Geisser corrected where sphericity was pA = partial eta-squared.
4 Intervention Effects on Resilience A 2 (Grou.
y 3 (Tim.
repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to evaluate the effects of the intervention on resilience scores.
The analysis revealed a significant main effect of Time.
, .
= 42.
18, p < .
001, pA = .
16, a significant main effect of Group.
, .
= 21.
34, p < .
001, pA = .
09, and a significant Group y Time interaction.
, .
= 65, p < .
001, pA = .
Simple main effects analyses with Bonferroni correction revealed that the intervention group exhibited a significant increase in resilience scores from pre-test to post-test .
ean difference = 14.
53, 95% CI .
81, 16.
, p < .
001, d = .
and from pre-test to follow-up .
ean difference = 11.
71, 95% CI .
94, 13.
, p < 001, d = 1.
, with a small but significant decrease from post-test to follow-up .
ean difference = -2.
82, 95% CI [-3.
79, -1.
, p < .
001, d = 0.
The control group showed no significant changes in resilience scores across time .
ll p > .
Between-group comparisons at post-test indicated significantly higher resilience scores in the International Journal of Community Service, 5 .
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intervention group .
ean difference = 11.
56, 95% CI .
82, 13.
, p < .
001, d = 1.
, with this difference partially sustained at follow-up .
ean difference = 9.
03, 95% CI .
, p < .
001, d = 0.
ANCOVA controlling for pre-test resilience scores confirmed the intervention effect at post-test.
, .
= 84.
27, p < .
001, pA = .
28, and follow-up.
, .
= 58.
93, p < .
001, pA = .
The adjusted post-test means were 68.
96 (SE = 0.
for the intervention group and 56.
96 (SE = 0.
for the control group.
The adjusted follow-up means were 15 (SE = 0.
for the intervention group and 56.
67 (SE = 0.
for the control group.
Table 5.
Summary of Repeated Measures ANOVA Results for Resilience Outcome Outcome Effect
Resilience Time
2, 432
< .
Group
1, 216
< .
Time y Group
2, 432
< .
Note.
df = degrees of freedom.
pA = partial eta-squared.
5 Relationship Between Changes in Mental Health and Resilience To examine the hypothesis that improvements in mental health were associated with increases in resilience.
Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated between change scores .
ost-test minus pre-tes.
for the three DASS-21 subscales and the CD-RISC total score within the intervention group.
The results are shown in Table 6.
Consistent with Hypothesis 3, significant negative correlations were observed between changes in resilience and changes in depression .
= -.
52, p < .
= -.
48, p < .
, and stress .
= -.
45, p < .
These negative correlations indicate that greater increases in resilience are associated with greater decreases in depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms.
Scatter plots depicting these relationships are presented in Figure 5.
Table 6.
Correlations Between Change Scores for Mental Health and Resilience in the Intervention Group .
= .
Variable i Depression Ai i Anxiety Ai i Stress Ai i Resilience Note.
i = Change score .
ost-test minus pre-tes.
** p < .
Moh Solehuddin.
Nur Faliza.
Jenuri.
Mustangin.
Yasriuddin 6 Additional Analyses: Subgroup and Moderation Effects Exploratory analyses were conducted to examine whether the intervention effects varied as a function of demographic characteristics, including gender, grade level, parental education, and household income.
Separate 2 (Grou.
y 2 (Demographic subgrou.
y 3 (Tim.
repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted for each outcome measure, with the inclusion of each demographic variable as a between-subjects factor.
No significant three-way interactions (Group y Demographic subgroup y Tim.
were observed for any outcome measure .
ll p > .
, indicating that the intervention was equally effective across gender, grade level, parental education, and household income subgroups.
Additionally, within the intervention group, no significant differences in the magnitude of change scores were observed as a function of group attendance rates .
= .
12, p = .
or facilitator ratings of group cohesion .
= .
15, p = .
, suggesting that the intervention effects were robust and not contingent upon perfect attendance or exceptionally high group cohesion.
Discussion This study evaluated the effectiveness of a structured, eight-week peer group support intervention in improving mental health outcomes and resilience among Indonesian high school students in the post-pandemic period.
The findings provide robust evidence supporting the efficacy of peer support as a culturally congruent and scalable intervention strategy for addressing the psychological sequelae of remote Students who participated in the peer group support program exhibited significant reductions in depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, and significant increases in resilience comparet to the control group which received standard school guidance services.
These improvements were evident immediately following the intervention and were largely sustained at an eight-week follow-up, with effect sizes ranging from medium to large .
A = .
The results affirm the study's hypotheses and contribute to the growing international literature on the utility of peer-based approaches for promoting adolescent mental health in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) contexts (Fortier et al.
, 2.
Interpretation of Intervention Effects on Mental Health Outcomes The significant reductions in depression, anxiety, and stress observed among the intervention group participants weare both clinically and statistically meaningful.
baseline, both groups reported mean scores on the DASS-21 subscales that fell within the "moderate" symptom severity range, consistent with prior research documenting elevated psychological distress among Indonesian adolescents during and after the Following the eight-week peer support intervention, the intervention group's mean scores decreased to the "mild" range for depression and anxiety and to the "normal" range for stress, whereas the control group's scores remained within the moderate range across all three areas.
The magnitude of these reductionsAiwith Cohen's d effect sizes ranging from 0.
88 to 1.
09Aiis comparable to, and in some cases exceeds, the effects observed for established evidence-based interventions such as cognitivebehavioral therapy (CBT) delivered in school settings.
This is particularly noteworthy given that the peer support intervention was delivered by trained student facilitators International Journal of Community Service, 5 .
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rather than licensed mental health professionals, suggesting that peer-led approaches may offer a highly cost-effective alternative or adjunct to traditional mental health services in resource-constrained educational setting.
Several mechanisms may account for the observed reductions in mental health First, the structured group sessions provided participants with a consistent and supportive social environment in which they could openly discuss their emotional experiences, normalize their struggles, and receive validation and empathy from peers who shared similar challenges.
This process of "shared experience" and "mutual identification" is a hallmark of peer support and is theorized to reduce feelings of isolation and self-stigma, which are potent risk factors for the development and maintenance of depression and anxiety.
For Indonesian adolescents, who may face cultural barriers to seeking formal mental health care due to stigma or limited mental health literacy, peer support groups likely serve as a more accessible and acceptable avenue for emotional expression and support seeking.
Second, the psychoeducational components of the intervention which covered topics such as emotion regulation, stress management, and adaptive coping strategies likely equipped participants with tangible skills and knowledge that enhanced their capacity to manage the daily stressors of academic and social life.
The provision of psychoeducation within a peer context may have amplified its effectiveness, as adolescents are often more receptive to information delivered by peers than by authority figures (Verma & Pandey, 2.
Third, guided peer discussions and skill-building activities provided opportunities for social modeling and vicarious learning, wherein participants observed their peers engaging in adaptive coping behaviors and were thereby encouraged to adopt similar strategies.
The finding that the intervention effects were largely sustained at the eight-week follow-up, despite a small but statistically significant rebound in symptoms .
ean differences ranging from 0.
58 to 0.
69 points on the DASS-21 subscale.
, is encouraging and suggests that the benefits of peer support extend beyond the immediate intervention period.
The slight erosion of treatment gains over time is a common phenomenon in mental health intervention research and underscores the potential value of booster sessions or ongoing peer support mechanisms for maintaining improvements.
Future iterations of the program might incorporate monthly "maintenance" sessions or establish peer support networks that continue to meet informally following the conclusion of the structured program.
Nevertheless, the fact that follow-up scores remained significantly lower than baseline scores and significantly lower than control group scores indicates that the intervention conferred durable benefits (Cavanah et al.
Interpretation of Intervention Effects on Resilience The intervention group's significant increase in resilienceAiwith an effect size .
= .
that qualifies as large by conventional standardsAirepresents a particularly noteworthy finding.
Prior research with Indonesian adolescents has documented that resilience levels during the pandemic were predominantly moderate, with only a small minority exhibiting high resilience, and that emotion regulationAia core component of resilienceAiwas identified as an area in need of improvement.
The present study demonstrates that a relatively brief, peer-delivered intervention can produce substantial gains in resilience, moving participants from a baseline mean score of 54.
Moh Solehuddin.
Nur Faliza.
Jenuri.
Mustangin.
Yasriuddin .
orresponding to approximately the 35th percentile based on Indonesian adolescent norm.
to a post-test mean score of 68.
pproximately the 75th percentil.
This shift is clinically meaningful, as higher resilience is consistently associated with alower risk of mental health difficulties and better academic and social outcomes.
The mechanisms through which peer group support enhances resilience are likely to be multifaceted.
Consistent with the integrated theoretical framework guiding this study, the intervention may have strengthened resilience by: .
fostering secure peer attachments that serve as a protective buffer against stress and a foundation for emotional regulation.
providing opportunities for social modeling and vicarious learning that enhanced participants' self-efficacy and adaptive coping repertoires.
increasing perceived social support, which in turn altered cognitive appraisals of stress and reduced the perceived threat associated with academic and social challenges.
The psychoeducational content related to growth mindset and resilience-building (Session .
likely contributed directly to participants' understanding of resilience as a malleable capacity that can be cultivated through effort and social support, rather than a fixed trait.
This reframing may have empowered the participants to approach challenges with greater optimism and persistence.
The significant negative correlations observed between changes in resilience and changes in mental health symptoms .
= -.
45 to -.
provide empirical support for the hypothesized synergistic relationship between peer support processes and resilience Participants who experienced the greatest gains in resilience also exhibited the greatest reductions in depression, anxiety, and stress levels.
This pattern of findings is consistent with a transactional model in which peer support enhances resilience, which in turn buffers against the pathogenic effects of stress, leading to improved mental health outcomes.
Alternatively, it is plausible that improvements in mental health freed up cognitive and emotional resources that allowed participants to more fully engage in resilience-building activities, or that the relationship is bidirectional and mutually reinforcing.
Longitudinal research with more frequent measurement intervals is required to disentangle the temporal dynamics of these relationships.
Comparison with Prior Research The findings of the present study align with and extend a growing body of international research on the efficacy of peer support interventions for adolescents mental health.
A scoping review of peer-led interventions in LMICs identified 19 studies, all of which reported improved mental health outcomes, and concluded that peer-led models represent a valuable strategy for addressing youth mental health in resource-constrained settings.
The present study adds to this evidence base by providing rigorous quasi-experimental data from the Indonesian context, which has been underrepresented in peer support intervention literature.
The effect sizes observed in the present study .
A = .
14 to .
are comparable to or larger than those reported in a systematic review of school-based peer support interventions for adolescent mental health, which found pooled effect sizes of g = 0.
15 to 0.
30 across various mental health outcomes (Kamalah et al.
, 2.
The relatively large effects observed in the present study may reflect the cultural congruence of the peer support approach in the collectivist Indonesian context, where group-based, relationshipa-oriented interventions may be particularly resonant and impactful (Hofstede, 2.
International Journal of Community Service, 5 .
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The present findings also resonate with prior correlational research conducted in Indonesia which has documented associations between peer support and positive psychological outcomes.
Peer social support accounted for 20% of the variance in academic resilience among Indonesian high school students engaged in online learning, a finding that is conceptually consistent with the present study's demonstration that a structured peer support intervention can produce significant gains in resilience.
Similarly, social support from friends and family was strongly associated with schoolrelated subjective well-being among Indonesian students during home-based learning, and this relationship was mediated by the satisfaction of basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
The present study extends these correlational findings by providing experimental evidence that intentional, structured peer support can produce meaningful improvements in mental health and resilience.
Implications for Theory.
Practice, and Policy The findings of this study have several important implications.
Theoretically, the results provide empirical support for an integrated framework that synthesizes attachment theory, social cognitive theory, and the stress-buffering hypothesis.
The observed improvements in mental health and resilience are consistent with the proposition that peer support operates through multiple mutually reinforcing pathways, including the provision of secure relational bonds, facilitation of social learning and self-efficacy enhancement, and attenuation of stress appraisals.
Future theoretical work might further elaborate on the specific mechanisms that are most operative in the Indonesian cultural context and explore how individual differences .
, attachment style, baseline resilienc.
moderate the effects of peer support Practically, the findings provide a compelling rationale for integrating structured peer group support programs into the Indonesian school curriculum and guidance counseling framework.
The peer support intervention evaluated in this study is scalable, cost-effective, and culturally appropriate, making it a promising strategy for expanding the reach of mental health promotion efforts in a country where mental health resources in schools are severely limited.
The intervention can be implemented with relatively minimal training for peer facilitators and does not require the involvement of expensive mental health professionals, making it feasible for adoption in public schools across Indonesia's diverse geographic and socioeconomic landscape.
The fact that the intervention was equally effective across gender, grade level, parental education, and household income subgroups suggests that it may be broadly applicable to the general adolescent population rather than being beneficial only for a specific subset of students.
This universality enhances the potential public health impact of widespread implementation (Datu & Fung, 2.
From a policy perspective, the findings support the inclusion of peer support programs as a core component of the Indonesian government's national mental health strategy for schools.
The Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbu.
and the Ministry of Health (Kementerian Kesehata.
have both acknowledged the importance of addressing adolescent mental health in the post-pandemic period however, concrete, evidence-based interventions have been lacking.
This study provides an empirical foundation for develoving national guidelines for school-based peer support programs.
Moh Solehuddin.
Nur Faliza.
Jenuri.
Mustangin.
Yasriuddin Such guidelines may include recommendations for facilitator selection and training, session content and structure, supervision and support for peer facilitators, and strategies for program evaluation and continuous quality improvement.
Additionally, the findings underscore the importance of investing in teacher and counselor training to support the implementation and sustainability of peer support initiatives.
Teachers and counselors are well-positioned to identify students who may benefit from peer support, provide ongoing supervision and support to peer facilitators, and ensure appropriate referrals for students who require more intensive mental health services.
Limitations and Directions for Future Research Despite the strengths of the present study, several limitations warrant acknowledgment and provide directions for future studies.
First, the quasi-experimental design, while robust, does not permit definitive causal inferences because of the lack of random assignment to conditions.
Although the intervention and control groups were comparable in terms of demographic characteristics and baseline outcome measures, it is possible that unmeasured confounding variables .
, pre-existing differences in social skills, family support, or prior mental health histor.
influenced the observed Future research employing cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) designs, with schools randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions, would provide stronger evidence of causality and would enhance the internal validity of the findings.
Second, the study was conducted in a single public senior high school in Surabaya, a major urban center in East Java.
While the school served a socioeconomically diverse student body, the findings may not be generalizable to other contexts, such as rural schools, private schools, or schools in other regions of Indonesia with different cultural and linguistic characteristics.
For example, the collectivist orientation of Javanese culture may have amplified the benefits of a group-based peer support intervention in ways that my not be replicated in more individualistic cultural contexts within Indonesia .
, among certain ethnic groups in Sumatra or Sulawes.
Future multisite studies involving schools from diverse geographic regions and school types would be valuable for assessing the generalizability of the findings and identifying contextual factors that moderate intervention effectiveness.
Third, the outcome measures relied exclusively on self-report questionnaires, which are subject to biases such as social desirability, recall bias and shared method While the DASS-21 and CD-RISC are well-validated instruments with established psychometric properties, future research could strengthen the evidence base by incorporating multi-method, multi-informant assessments, including teacher and parent ratings of adolescent mental health and behavioral observations of peer Additionally, the inclusion of objective indicators, such as school attendance records, academic performance data, and disciplinary referrals, would provide a more comprehensive picture of the intervention's real-world impact.
Fourth, the follow-up period of eight weeks, while longer than That of many studies in this literature, is still relatively brief and does not permit conclusions regarding the long-term durability of intervention effects.
It is unknown whether the improvements observed at follow-up would be sustained over six months, one year, or Longitudinal studies with extended follow-up periods .
, 6, 12, and 24 month.
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the longer term and whether booster sessions or ongoing peer support mechanisms are necessary to maintain these gains.
Fifth, thise study did not include a formal assessment of intervention fidelity beyond session observations and did not evaluate the specific mechanisms through which the intervention produced its effects.
Although the theoretical framework posits that secure peer attachments, social modeling, and stress buffering are operative mechanisms, these were not directly measured in the present study.
Future research could incorporate measures of proposed mediators .
, perceived peer support, selfefficacy, emotion regulation, and stress appraisal.
to formally test the hypothesized pathways of change.
Additionally, qualitative research, including interviews and focus groups with participants and facilitators, would provide rich, nuanced insights into the lived experiences of adolescents in peer support groups and help illuminate the active ingredients of the intervention.
Sixth, thise study did not assess the potential iatrogenic effects of peer support While the overall pattern of findings was positive, it is possible that for some participants, the group context may have exacerbated their distress or facilitated negative social comparisons or "co-rumination.
" Future research should monitor potential adverse effects and explore individual difference variables that may predict differential responsiveness to peer support interventions.
Finally, thise study did not include an active comparison condition, such as an attention control group or an alternative intervention .
, teacher-led The control group received standard school guidance services, which were minimal and non-systematic.
Future research could compare peer support interventions with other evidence-based approaches .
, cognitive-behavioral skills groups, mindfulness-based intervention.
to determine their relative efficacy and costeffectiveness CONCLUSION The present study provides compelling evidence that a structured peer group support intervention can yield significant and clinically meaningful improvements in mental health and resilience among Indonesian high school students in the postpandemic period in Indonesia.
Participants in the eight-week intervention exhibited substantial reductions in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, and significant gains in resilience relative to a control group receiving standard school guidance These improvements were largely sustained at the eight-week follow-up, and effect sizes ranged from medium to large.
The findings underscore the critical role of peer relationships in adolescent psychological well-being and demonstrate that intentional, school-based peer support programs represent a promising, scalable, and culturally congruent strategy for addressing the mental health challenges faced bay Indonesian youth.
As Indonesia continues to navigate the long-term psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated educational disruptions, the integration of evidence-based peer support interventions into the fabric of Indonesian secondary education holds considerable promise for fostering a generation of resilient, mentally healthy young people.
Future research should prioritize rigorous .
Moh Solehuddin.
Nur Faliza.
Jenuri.
Mustangin.
Yasriuddin experimental designs, multisite evaluations, extended follow-up assessments, and mechanistic investigations to further refine and optimize peer support interventions for the Indonesian context and beyond.
Funding Statement "No external funding was received for this study.
Ethical Compliance All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical REFERENCES