A smart-phone intervention to address mental health stigma in the construction industry: A two-arm randomised controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundHigh levels of self-stigma are associated with a range of adverse mental health, treatment, and functional outcomes. This prospective study examined the effects of an electronic mental health stigma reduction intervention on self-stigma (self-blame, shame, and help-seeking inhibition) among male construction workers in Australia.MethodMale construction workers (N = 682) were randomly assigned to receive either the intervention condition or the wait list control over a six-week period. Self-stigma was assessed using the Self-Stigma of Depression Scale at post-intervention. We conducted linear regression to assess the effectiveness of the intervention on self-stigma, adjusting for relevant covariates.ResultsSelf-stigma was relatively low in the sample. The intervention had no significant effect on self-stigma, after adjusting for confounders. There were reductions in stigma in both the intervention and control groups at 6-week follow-up. Process evaluation indicated that participants generally enjoyed the program and felt that it was beneficial to their mental health.ConclusionsThese observations underscore the need for further research to elucidate understanding of the experience of self-stigma among employed males.

Mental Health Shame of UK Construction Workers: Relationship with Masculinity, Work Motivation, and Self-Compassion

“…Contrary to our hypothesis and previous findings (Alderson, 2017), construction workers in this study did not report high shame about mental health problems. This may imply that because mental health shame has been highlighted in the UK construction industry, some groups of construction workers already have good awareness of mental health problems: a recent study reported a low level of self-stigma in male Australian construction workers (Milner et al, 2017). Though not substantial, as many as 15% of participants in this study had mental health training, and 14% received mental health support.…”

“…Additionally, as many construction workers work at diverse sites, the accessible nature of online training may be suited to this group of workers. Research into this type of intervention would need to be careful of information sharing between the intervention and passive control groups, as that could reduce mental health shame in the control group (Milner et al, 2017). There were some limitations to this study.…”

“…Indeed, mental health shame has been reported as a barrier for help-seeking in various populations including university students (Gilbert et al, 2007;Kotera, Green, & Sheffield, 2019) and adult workers (Kotera, Adhikari, & Van Gordon, 2018), and it has been positively associated with mental health problems (Gilbert et al, 2007;Kotera, Adhicari et al, 2018;Kotera et al, 2019). Though low self-stigma about mental health was found in male Australian construction workers (Milner et al, 2017), no study to date has explored the relationships between mental health problems and mental health shame in UK construction workers. Accordingly, the present study aimed to explore these relationships.…”

Shifting Beliefs about Suicide: Pre-Post Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Program for Workers in the Construction Industry

“…Perceptions and beliefs about suicide are known to inhibit help-seeking [ 10 ]. Self-stigma (self-blame, shame) is known to reduce help-seeking among those with mental illness [ 11 , 12 ]. While not immutable, it is known that self-stigma is difficult to shift [ 12 , 13 ].…”

“…Self-stigma (self-blame, shame) is known to reduce help-seeking among those with mental illness [ 11 , 12 ]. While not immutable, it is known that self-stigma is difficult to shift [ 12 , 13 ]. There is also evidence that beliefs about treatment effectiveness or non-effectiveness serves to stymie help-seeking, as does a lack of perceived need [ 14 ].…”