Associations between Gender Expression, Protective Coping Strategies, Alcohol Saliency, and High-Risk Alcohol Use in Post-Secondary Students at Two Canadian Universities.

BACKGROUND: This study, conducted in October 2017 at two Canadian universities, aimed to explore the relationships between gender expression, protective coping strategies, alcohol saliency, and high-risk alcohol use. METHODS: Validated scales were employed to assess these variables using survey data. Multivariate analyses were conducted to investigate the associations between these factors and high-risk drinking. RESULTS: This study revealed significant associations between high-risk drinking and androgynous gender roles (OR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.19-2.10) as well as among self-reported males (OR = 2.21; 95% CI: 1.77-2.75). Additionally, protective behavioural strategies were inversely related to high-risk drinking (OR = 0.95; 95% CI: 0.94-0.96), while higher alcohol saliency exhibited a positive correlation with high-risk drinking (OR = 1.12; 95% CI: 1.11-1.14). CONCLUSIONS: These findings underscore the importance of considering gender, alcohol saliency beliefs, and protective behavioural strategies in the development and refinement of interventions aimed at reducing high-risk alcohol use on Canadian campuses.

Contact in the Classroom: Developing a Program Model for Youth Mental Health Contact-Based Anti-stigma Education.

This study evaluated eighteen Canadian anti-stigma programs targeting high-school students. The purpose was to identify critical domains and develop a program model of contact-based interventions. Three steps were implemented. The first step involved collecting program information through twenty in-depth interviews with stakeholders and field observations of seven programs. The second step involved constructing critical ingredients into domains for conceptual clarity and component modeling. The third step involved validating the program model by stakeholders review and initial fidelity testing with program outcomes. A program model with an overarching theme "engaging contact reduces stigma" and three underlying constructs (speakers, message, and interaction) were developed. Within each construct three specific domains were identified to explain the concepts. Connection, engagement, and empowerment are critical domains of anti-stigma programs for the youth population. Findings from this study have built on the scientific knowledge about the change theory underpinning youth contact-based intervention.

Opening minds in Canada: targeting change.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the ongoing activities of the Opening Minds (OM) Anti-Stigma Initiative of the Mental Health Commission of Canada regarding the 4 groups targeted (youth, health care providers, media, and workplaces), highlight some of the key methodological challenges, and review lessons learned. METHOD: The approach used by OM is rooted in community development philosophy, with clearly defined target groups, contact-based education as the central organizing element across interventions, and a strong evaluative component so that best practices can be identified, replicated, and disseminated. Contact-based education occurs when people who have experienced a mental illness share their personal story of recovery and hope. RESULTS: Results have been generally positive. Contact-based education has the capacity to reduce prejudicial attitudes and improve social acceptance of people with a mental illness across various target groups and sectors. Variations in program outcomes have contributed to our understanding of active ingredients. CONCLUSIONS: Contact-based education has become a cornerstone of the OM approach to stigma reduction. A story of hope and recovery told by someone who has experienced a mental illness is powerful and engaging, and a critical ingredient in the fight against stigma. Building partnerships with existing community programs and promoting systematic evaluation using standardized approaches and instruments have contributed to our understanding of best practices in the field of anti-stigma programming. The next challenge will be to scale these up so that they may have a national impact.

Stigma in Canada: results from a rapid response survey.

OBJECTIVE: Our paper presents findings from the first population survey of stigma in Canada using a new measure of stigma. Empirical objectives are to provide a descriptive profile of Canadian's expectations that people will devalue and discriminate against someone with depression, and to explore the relation between experiences of being stigmatized in the year prior to the survey among people having been treated for a mental illness with a selected number of sociodemographic and mental health-related variables. METHOD: Data were collected by Statistics Canada using a rapid response format on a representative sample of Canadians (n = 10 389) during May and June of 2010. Public expectations of stigma and personal experiences of stigma in the subgroup receiving treatment for a mental illness were measured. RESULTS: Over one-half of the sample endorsed 1 or more of the devaluation discrimination items, indicating that they believed Canadians would stigmatize someone with depression. The item most frequently endorsed concerned employers not considering an application from someone who has had depression. Over one-third of people who had received treatment in the year prior to the survey reported discrimination in 1 or more life domains. Experiences of discrimination were strongly associated with perceptions that Canadians would devalue someone with depression, younger age (12 to 15 years), and self-reported poor general mental health. CONCLUSIONS: The Mental Health Experiences Module reflects an important partnership between 2 national organizations that will help Canada fulfill its monitoring obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and provide a legacy to researchers and policy-makers who are interested in monitoring changes in stigma over time.

Opening minds in Canada: background and rationale.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the background and rationale of the approach taken by the Mental Health Commission of Canada's Opening Minds (OM) Anti-Stigma Initiative. METHOD: The approach taken by OM incorporates a grassroots, community development philosophy, has clearly defined target groups, uses contact-based education as the central organizing element across interventions, and has a strong evaluative component, so that best practices can be identified, replicated, and disseminated. Contact-based education occurs when people who have experienced a mental illness share their personal story of recovery and hope. RESULTS: OM has acted as a catalyst to develop partnerships between community groups who are undertaking anti-stigma work and an interdisciplinary team of academic researchers in 5 universities who are evaluating the results of these programs. CONCLUSIONS: Building partnerships with existing community programs and promoting systematic evaluation using standardized approaches and instruments have contributed to our understanding of best practices in the field of anti-stigma programming.

Reducing mental health stigma: a case study.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a contact-based educational symposium designed to reduce mental health-related stigma in journalism students. Repeated surveys conducted before (n = 89) and again after the intervention (n = 53) were used to assess change. The estimated average response rate for each survey was 90%. The instrument, adapted from prior research, contained items pertaining to stereotypical content, attitudes toward social distance and feelings of social responsibility (Cronbach's alpha =.74). There was a statistically significant reduction in stigma (reflecting a 5% reduction in the aggregated scale score). A large, item-specific change was noted pertaining to attributions of dangerousness and unpredictability (reflecting a 26% improvement). The majority of students reported that the symposium had changed their views of people with a mental illness. Half of these students considered that they would change the way they would report stories involving someone with a mental illness. A potential unexpected negative side effect was that 14% fewer students reported post-test a willingness to go to a doctor if they experienced a mental illness. Though it is difficult to draw firm conclusions from an uncontrolled study, it would appear that this relatively brief, contact-based intervention changed journalism students' views of people with a mental illness. More controlled investigation is needed to rule out alternative explanations that could account for this change.

Financial and work satisfaction: impacts of participation in primary care reform on physicians in ontario.

Governments in Ontario have promised family physicians (FPs) that participation in primary care reform would be financially as well as professionally rewarding. We compared work satisfaction, incomes and work patterns of FPs practising in different models to determine whether the predicted benefits to physicians really materialized. Study participants included 332 FPs in Ontario practising in five models of care. The study combined self-reported survey data with administrative data from ICES and income data from the Canada Revenue Agency. FPs working in non-fee-for-service (FFS) models had higher levels of work satisfaction than those in FFS models. Incomes were similar across groups prior to the advent of primary care reform. Incomes of family health network FPs rose by about 30%, while family health group FPs saw increases of about 10% and those in FFS experienced minimal changes or decreases. Self-reported change in income was not reliable, with only 47% of physicians correctly identifying whether their income remained stable, increased or decreased. The availability of a variety of FFS- and non-FFS-based payment options, each designed to accommodate physicians with different types or styles of practice, may be a useful tool for governments as they grapple with issues of physician recruitment and retention.