Teen voices. Meaningful questions. Continuous learning.
Every teen deserves to feel connected, supported, and comfortable asking for help. At Our Minds Matter, we listen to students and study their experiences to understand how our programs are working—and where we can do better.
Through annual evaluation and research partnerships, we explore how teen-led clubs can support mental well-being and more welcoming school communities. What we learn helps us strengthen our programs and contribute to the growing understanding of peer-led mental health support.
Strengthening our scientific foundation
Expert guidance: Our Inaugural Scientific Advisory Council
In 2026, OMM established a Scientific Advisory Council bringing together experts in youth mental health and suicide prevention. The council provides scientific and technical guidance to strengthen our programs, research, and evaluation.
Meet our Scientific Advisory Council >>
National recognition: SPRC Best Practices Registry
OMM is now listed in the Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s Best Practices Registry. This milestone follows a review of our program’s evidence, safety practices, and approach to suicide prevention—and reinforces our commitment to continued research and improvement.
“We have been able to reach out to a number people to form a close-knit community that supports positivity and friendship."
— OMM Club Member
“The campaigns have been very unifying and great ways to bring our various leadership groups/clubs together around a shared purpose.”
— OMM Club Member
"The OMM club has empowered students to look out for one another and advocate for a more compassionate and inclusive environment where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.”
— OMM Club Member
“It has helped me believe in ME.”
— OMM Club Member
“Being part of a community that encourages mindfulness, reflection, and open conversation has helped me feel more grounded during stressful times.”
— OMM Club Member
“This club inspired me to pursue a career in clinical psychology. It also inspired me to start therapy which led to significant growth.”
— OMM Club Member
“It has made me feel as though I have a place where I can share my thoughts openly and without judgment. It has also helped me develop positive coping methods to help with my mental health.”
— OMM Club Member
“The OMM club has significantly strengthened our school’s mental health culture by creating a safe, supportive space for open conversations about mental health."
— OMM Club Member
Our Theory of Change
Data is the heartbeat of our work
Reminding us that behind every number is a life we can help change
Annual Program Evaluation
What we measure
Protective Factors: We measure four areas central to our upstream prevention approach: social connectedness, positive coping and healthy habits, help-seeking, and prosocial skills such as helping and supporting others who are struggling.
Mental Well-Being: We assess how teens are feeling and listen to their perspectives on OMM’s impact on their mental health and well-being.
School-wide Impact: We explore students’ perceptions of school connectedness, wellness culture, mental health stigma, and OMM’s contributions to their school culture around mental health.Â
How we measure
Program Evaluation: We combine surveys with feedback from students and school staff to understand participant experiences and strengthen our programs. In 2025–26, we launched revised fall and spring outcome surveys incorporating validated scales with established reliability and validity to strengthen measurement quality and the credibility of our evidence base.
Innovative Research: We partner with external researchers to examine how OMM participation relates to student well-being and school culture. We are in our second year of data collection for an ongoing quasi-experimental study comparing students with different levels of OMM involvement. Focus groups and analyses of existing datasets deepen our understanding of student experiences, program implementation, and broader school outcomes. Together, these efforts guide program improvement and contribute to research on teen mental health and suicide prevention.
What We’re Learning: 2025–26
Our latest program evaluation draws on 401 student responses to our spring survey. Findings highlight connection, positive attitudes toward professional help, and confidence supporting peers among students who responded. It also identifies opportunities to strengthen help-seeking and everyday habits that support well-being.
Connection and peer support stand out
Among respondents to our spring outcome survey:
*Percentages are rounded and reflect respondents’ self-reported experiences, attitudes, and confidence.
—OMM club member, 2025–26“OMM actually made me feel that I’m not alone dealing with my mental health.”
Everyday habits remain an opportunity for growth
Healthy habits were less consistently reported: about half of respondents (53%) said they got at least seven hours of sleep most nights, and about one in four (26%) reported limiting daily screen time. These findings highlight opportunities to support teens in building routines that care for their mental health.
Understanding mental well-being and change over time
The average mental well-being score was 3.67 on a 5-point scale, with 75.5% of respondents scoring above the scale midpoint. Our findings also suggest that students who reported stronger protective factors and more positive perceptions of school mental health culture tended to report better mental well-being. These relationships are consistent with OMM’s theory of change, but do not establish cause and effect.
Among 85 students who completed both fall and spring surveys, we did not detect statistically significant changes in the outcomes measured. The small matched sample limits our ability to detect modest changes over time.Â
Students see contributions to school culture
Students’ comments described more open conversations about mental health and opportunities to feel supported. These perceptions are encouraging, while stigma remains a concern: nearly 1 out of 4 (23%) students broadly agreed that mental health stigma existed at their school.Â
Culture change takes time. Students’ feedback suggests that OMM is helping to move the needle on school culture change, making mental health the new normal by creating more spaces for dialogue and support around mental health. The three words students most frequently used to describe their school’s mental health culture offer a snapshot of their perceptions:
—OMM club member, 2025–26“OMM has spread the message that speaking about mental health is not something to be ashamed of and it is important to seek help from the proper people when necessary.”
Turning learning into action
We’re using these findings to strengthen pathways to trusted support, deepen belonging within clubs, and expand opportunities to practice coping skills and healthy habits.
We’re also shortening our surveys and improving follow-up so that future evaluations capture more students’ experiences over time.
Our commitment is to share what we’re learning openly—and use it to better support teens.
*These findings describe survey respondents and may not represent all OMM participants. This annual evaluation does not establish that OMM caused the reported outcomes.
Read the full 2025-26 Participant Outcomes Report>> for more findings, student perspectives, methods, and limitations.
Research Learnings
In this section, we share some of the most exciting findings from our research. Our research explores how teen-led mental health programming relates to student well-being, peer support, and school culture. From county survey data to alumni reflections, these findings help us understand promising patterns, identify unanswered questions, and strengthen our work.
Research Spotlights:
A secondary analysis of 2019-2024 survey data found that school pyramids with a sustained OMM club presence generally reported slightly lower rates of suicide attempts and healthier sleep and physical activity patterns. Broader mental health trends were largely similar across groups.
Students involved in OMM clubs reported stronger academic confidence, greater social connectedness with others, and more openness to seeking mental health support. We also found a “ripple effect” of the program, where broader school exposure to OMM programming may benefit the larger student body.
Alumni of Our Minds Matter clubs described involvement with OMM as a transformative experience, citing its role in fostering resilience, emotional intelligence, collaborative leadership, and a lifelong commitment to mental wellness.
More Research Findings:
—OMM club member“The OMM club has empowered students to look out for one another and advocate for a more compassionate and inclusive environment where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.”
Research Collaborations
Jordan A. Booker, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of the Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri
Current Research Partner
Since 2021, we have partnered with Dr. Jordan Booker from the University of Missouri to research peer-to-peer models in youth suicide prevention programming.
Dr. Booker received his Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at Virginia Tech and completed postdoctoral training at Emory University.
His research spans topics of emotion, personality, and identity development across adolescence and into early adulthood. He often incorporates autobiographical and family storytelling methodologies to address how people manage emotions, express personality, and build an integrated identity.
Interested in collaborating with Our Minds Matter on your research? We support research efforts that might contribute solutions to the field of youth mental health and suicide prevention.
to be a research partner, you must meet the following requirements:
- Be affiliated with an academic or research institution. This includes obtaining the approval of an Institutional Review Board (IRB) and having a Principal Investigator who is a full-time employee of the institution.
- Knowledgeable in youth development, mental health, and suicide prevention theories and literature.
- Have the technical expertise to work with qualitative and quantitative data.
- Must have a current and completed CITI human subjects research certification.
- Experience working with school districts is preferable but not required
Please reach out to our Director of Impact if you are interested in collaborating with us.
Previous Reports
2024-2025 End-of-Year Program Evaluation Results
G Wei Ng, Ph.D. & Dana McCalla, Ph.D.
2023-2024 End-of-Year Program Evaluation Results
Sativa Thompson, M.A.
2022-2023 end-of-year program evaluation results
G Wei Ng, Ph.D.
2022-2023 IRB Research Study
G Wei Ng, Ph.D.
2021-2022 IRB Research Study
Jordan A. Booker, Ph.D.
2020-2021 Outcome Evaluation Study
Zachary Mannes, Ph.D., MPH
2019-2020 Outcome Evaluation Study
Shane McCarty, Ph.D. & Samantha Burns
2019 Prosocial Behaviors Study
Shane McCarty, Ph.D. & Alyssa Gatto, ABD
Acknowledgements
Data and research support:
- DCPS Office of Data Systems & Strategy
- MCPS Office of Strategic Initiatives, Applied Research & Evaluation Unit
- FCPS Office of Research & Strategic Improvement
Technical support & contributor:
- Dana McCalla, Ph.D.
Contact Us
Please email our Director of Impact, G Wei Ng, Ph.D., with any questions regarding OMM program evaluation or research.
