An evaluation of educators in Canada's acceptance of digital mental health tools

Abstract

Children and youth in Canada are experiencing rising mental health concerns, which increases their risk for further mental and physical health problems throughout their life (Beauchaine & Cicchetti, 2019). Given the varying severity of mental health difficulties in children and youth, it is imperative that mental health promotion and prevention efforts address these mental health difficulties before they progress or worsen. Mental health promotion and prevention interventions can strengthen one’s ability to regulate emotions, build resiliency, and promote positive social environments and networks (World Health Organization, 2024). Schools provide a community that can act as a venue for mental health promotion and delivery of care (Hoover & Bostic, 2021; Short et al., 2022; Vaillancourt, 2021). A possible cost-effective and innovative solution for mental health services in schools are digital mental health technologies (DMHTs). DMHTs can offer an easily accessible tool to increase mental health literacy and education to complement the mental health efforts already in place in schools (Wiguna et al., 2025). Currently, there is a lack of research examining educators' perspectives on these DMHTs and their acceptance of using these tools to promote student well-being (Sakellari et al., 2021). The current study recruited 141 educators throughout Canada and evaluated their acceptance of DMHTs in their (a) professional work and (b) personal lives using the Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) framework (Venkatesh et al., 2012); and examined relationships between educators’ individual differences variables (e.g., demographics, attitudes towards technology, personality, well-being, and digital self-efficacy) and their acceptance of DMHTs. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation modeling analyses were conducted to test the hypothesized relationship between the UTAUT2 constructs and acceptance of DMHTs in educators’ professional work and personal lives. We found that the constructs of Habit and Hedonic Motivation significantly predicted acceptance in their professional work, with age having a moderating effect with Habit on acceptance. Performance Expectancy was a significant and positive predictor of intent to use DMHTs in their personal lives. Regression analyses revealed that digital self-efficacy was a significant predictor of acceptance in both educators’ professional work and personal lives. General attitudes towards technology also predicted Behavioural Intention to use DMHTs in educators’ professional work. This study has the potential to inform future development and integration of DMHTs to promote well-being and emotion regulation within schools.