Background A large corpus of research indicates that the media plays a key role in shaping public beliefs, opinions and attitudes towards social groups. Some research from the United States indicates that military Veterans are sometimes framed in a stereotypical and stigmatizing manner, however there is a lack of research on Canadian media coverage of Veterans. As such, the overarching aim of this study is to assess the tone and content of Canadian media coverage of military Veterans, with a focus on PTSD and suicide. The first objective is to document and analyze common themes, content and temporal patterns in Canadian media coverage of Veterans per se. The second objective is to examine common themes and content in the sub-set of articles having PTSD as a theme. The third objective is to assess adherence to responsible reporting of suicide guidelines in the sub-set of articles having suicide as a theme. Methods We used validated and systematic methods including use of key words, retrieval software and inter-rater reliability tests to collect and code news articles (N = 915) about Veterans from over 50 media sources during a 12-month period, with specific coding of articles about PTSD (N = 93) and suicide (N = 61). Results Analysis revealed that the most common theme is ‘honour or commemoration of Veterans’ which occurred in over half of the articles. In contrast 14% of articles focused on danger, violence or criminality. In the sub-set of articles with PTSD as a theme, over 60% focused on danger, violence or criminality, while only around 1 in 3 focused on recovery, rehabilitation, or health/social service intervention. In the sub-set of articles about suicide, there was generally strong adherence to responsible reporting guidelines, though less than 5% gave help-seeking information. Moreover, most reporting on PTSD and suicide focused on a single anomalous murder-suicide incident, with few articles about suicide prevention, helpful resources and modifiable risk factors. Conclusions The results reveal some encouraging findings as well as a need to diversify media coverage of Canadian Veterans. This could be achieved through targeted educational outreach to help Canadian journalists responsibly report on Veterans and their mental health issues.

LAY SUMMARY The media can shape the opinions, beliefs, and attitudes of the public toward Veterans and Veteran issues and can also be a vital source of information for Veterans and their families. As such, the authors used social science methods to collect, read, and analyze the tone and content of Canadian media coverage of Veteran transition from military to civilian life. The most common themes included posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicide, and issues with employment, housing, and social integration. Less common themes included financial issues, depression, and substance use. Comparing coverage between mainstream and specialist media emanating from the Canadian Armed Forces found patterns of reporting differ between military and mainstream media. Mainstream media often focus on PTSD and suicide, especially in the context of extremely rare, one-off events (e.g., the Lionel Desmond incident). In contrast, military media focus on practical aspects of transition, such as employment issues and support programs. Results of this study indicate a need for more educational resources and better outreach to help Canadian journalists report military-to-civilian transition in a comprehensive and balanced manner.

This study of 176 university students tested a single-session explanatory feedback intervention (EFI), derived from the perfectionism coping processes model. Participants with higher self-critical perfectionism completed daily measures of stress appraisals, coping, and affect for 7 days. A randomized control design was used to compare an EFI condition with a waitlist control condition over 4 weeks with individualized feedback delivered one-on-one by student trainees in-person or remotely through videoconferencing. The feasibility of the individualized analyses of each participant’s daily data was supported by identifying daily trigger patterns, maintenance tendencies, strengths, common triggers, and best targets for reducing negative mood and increasing positive mood across several stressors for each participant. Participant ratings indicated that the comprehensive feedback was coherent and functional. Participants in the EFI condition, compared to those in the control condition, reported increases in empowerment, coping self-efficacy, and problem-focused coping, as well as decreases in depressive and anxious symptoms. Between-group effect sizes were moderate-to-large. There were reliable improvements in empowerment and depressive symptoms for 56% and 36%, respectively, of participants in the EFI condition. These findings demonstrate the broad applicability, conceptual utility, and effectiveness of the EFI for self-critical perfectionistic individuals.