| Summary: | One of the most common death causes in the world is suicide. Iceland has one of the highest suicide rates among OECD countries and approximately one-third of all deaths in children under 16 years of age is due to suicide. This study examined the efficiency of a school-based prevention program intended to reduce suicide rates by increasing resilience in youth. A sample of 332 students attending eighth grade in eight Icelandic schools participated in the Building resilience and a brighter future (BUILD) program and were assessed preintervention and post intervention with the Resilience Questionnaire (RQ). The participants were divided into two groups, one of which was taught the program late 2021 in pilot one, and the other half early 2022 in pilot two. Rates of resilience increased in the first pilot but not the second, and when analyzed together results showed an increase in resilience in the total sample. Factors like Connection, Confidence and Coping increased among girls in pilot one and the factor Confidence increased among boys in pilot two as well as in the total sample. The study gives an initial understanding of how BUILD works in Iceland but further study is needed to confirm these findings, as well as longitudinal studies to assess if the effect of the program decline with time.
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