Age-appropriate metaphors as scaffolds for emotional literacy in adolescent boys: a 3-month follow-up of a peer-led school intervention in Australia
1
Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
2
The Man Cave, Brunswick, Australia
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Australian adolescent boys’ and young men’s common reluctance to seek support for their mental wellbeing is frequently attributed to the influence of rigid masculine norms.1 Australian charity, The Man Cave, has worked with over 100,000 boys through peer-led, school-based interventions focused on promoting emotional literacy and healthy masculinities. In this work, facilitators have identified additional, coexisting barriers to boys’ help-seeking: boys do not feel safe expressing emotions, lack the language to articulate feelings, and rarely see older role models share authentically. This study examines the impact of implementing a structured, metaphor-informed framework to facilitate emotional expression among adolescent boys.
METHODS:
School participation in this study was authorised by the staff of participating schools. Students were only excluded if their guardian opted them out of the research. Students completed a 3-month follow-up survey using an age-appropriate, established Most Significant Change evaluation approach. Participants were asked, “Have you checked in with someone?” Those who responded “yes” were then asked, “What difference did it make?” A total of 968 valid responses were interrogated using thematic analysis. Code prevalence was investigated by calculating the percentage of responses in each code.
RESULTS:
Participants had a mean age of 14 years (range = 12-17). Qualitative responses were coded into five themes: Emotional Regulation and Wellbeing (38%), noticeable shifts in managing emotions; Communication and Relationships (25%), improved connection and openness with others; “Good” (20%), positive language with vague descriptors; Little Impact (12%), uncertainty or unchanged feelings; and Self-Concept and Motivation (5%), increased external confidence and motivation.
CONCLUSIONS:
Implementing age-appropriate wellbeing strategies may support improvements in boys’ emotional regulation and communication at a 3-month follow-up by providing accessible scaffolds for emotional literacy. The sizeable “Good” and “Little Impact” responses highlight the need for ongoing engagement to extend boys’ emotional language that supports sustainable habits.
Australian adolescent boys’ and young men’s common reluctance to seek support for their mental wellbeing is frequently attributed to the influence of rigid masculine norms.1 Australian charity, The Man Cave, has worked with over 100,000 boys through peer-led, school-based interventions focused on promoting emotional literacy and healthy masculinities. In this work, facilitators have identified additional, coexisting barriers to boys’ help-seeking: boys do not feel safe expressing emotions, lack the language to articulate feelings, and rarely see older role models share authentically. This study examines the impact of implementing a structured, metaphor-informed framework to facilitate emotional expression among adolescent boys.
METHODS:
School participation in this study was authorised by the staff of participating schools. Students were only excluded if their guardian opted them out of the research. Students completed a 3-month follow-up survey using an age-appropriate, established Most Significant Change evaluation approach. Participants were asked, “Have you checked in with someone?” Those who responded “yes” were then asked, “What difference did it make?” A total of 968 valid responses were interrogated using thematic analysis. Code prevalence was investigated by calculating the percentage of responses in each code.
RESULTS:
Participants had a mean age of 14 years (range = 12-17). Qualitative responses were coded into five themes: Emotional Regulation and Wellbeing (38%), noticeable shifts in managing emotions; Communication and Relationships (25%), improved connection and openness with others; “Good” (20%), positive language with vague descriptors; Little Impact (12%), uncertainty or unchanged feelings; and Self-Concept and Motivation (5%), increased external confidence and motivation.
CONCLUSIONS:
Implementing age-appropriate wellbeing strategies may support improvements in boys’ emotional regulation and communication at a 3-month follow-up by providing accessible scaffolds for emotional literacy. The sizeable “Good” and “Little Impact” responses highlight the need for ongoing engagement to extend boys’ emotional language that supports sustainable habits.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
