Uncovering Hidden Trauma: School-Based Mental Health Screening Among Adolescents in Post-Disaster North Lombok

Mental health among adolescents in North Lombok, Indonesia, has become an urgent concern due to the high prevalence of psychological disorders following the 2018 earthquake. This community service program aimed to improve mental health literacy and screen psychological conditions among senior high school students through a structured educational seminar and training session. Forty students participated in the intervention, which included pre- and post-tests to evaluate knowledge gains, as well as completion of the Self-Reporting Questionnaire-29 (SRQ-29) to assess psychological conditions. The findings showed a significant increase in knowledge post-intervention (mean increase = 13.87 points, p < 0.05). SRQ-29 results revealed that 80.49% of respondents experienced depression/anxiety/stress, 70.73% showed psychotic symptoms, and 92.68% met the criteria for PTSD. Co-occurrence of multiple disorders was common, with 45% of students experiencing all three simultaneously. These figures significantly exceed national and international post-disaster mental health data. The program highlights the importance of school-based mental health initiatives, particularly in disaster-prone regions, and supports the use of early screening combined with psychoeducational efforts to mitigate long-term psychological effects in vulnerable youth populations.