The potential impact of an anti-stigma intervention on mental health help-seeking attitudes among university students

Shahwan, Shazana; Lau, Jue Hua; Goh, Chong Min Janrius; Ong, Wei Jie; Tan, Gregory Tee Hng; Kwok, Kian Woon; Samari, Ellaisha; Lee, Ying Ying; Teh, Wen Lin; Seet, Vanessa; Chang, Sherilyn; Chong, Siow Ann; Subramaniam, Mythily

doi:10.1186/s12888-020-02960-y

Cited by 38 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Participants of this study had to complete 3 sets of identical questionnaires; prior to commencement of the intervention (baseline), immediately after the intervention (time-point 2), and 3-months from date of intervention (time-point 3). More details of the ARTEMIS study design can be found in previously published articles ( 18 , 20 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recognition of Depression and Help-Seeking Preference Among University Students in Singapore: An Evaluation of the Impact of Advancing Research to Eliminate Mental Illness Stigma an Education and Contact Intervention

et al. 2021

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Background: The SMHS 2016 revealed that young adults in Singapore had the highest 12-month prevalence of mental disorders, with depression being the most prevalent condition. Additionally, the study found that those with higher education were less likely to seek treatment. The recognition of mental illness and knowledge of where to seek help has been found to influence one's ability to seek timely psychological help. This study thus aims to evaluate the effects of ARTEMIS, an education and contact intervention on university students' recognition of depression and help-seeking preference.Methods: A total of 390 university students were recruited over a period of 6-months (October 2018 to April 2019). Students had to attend a one-off intervention which comprised a lecture on depression and personal contact with a person with lived experience of mental illness. Recognition of depression and help-seeking preference were assessed using a vignette approach, at pre- and post-intervention as well as at 3-month follow-up.Results: The intervention was effective at improving student's recognition of depression and this effect was sustained at 3-months follow-up. The intervention was also effective in shifting student's help-seeking preference, although the effects were not sustained at 3-month follow-up. Having a close friend or family with mental illness was associated with better recognition, and being able to correctly recognize depression was linked to a preference to seek psychiatric over non-psychiatric help.Conclusion: This study elucidated the efficacy of a knowledge-contact-based intervention in improving university students' recognition of depression and help-seeking preference. However, while the benefits on recognition of depression is more enduring, it is more transient for help-seeking beliefs, and booster sessions may be needed to improve the long-term effectiveness of the intervention on help-seeking preference. Lastly, to investigate the generalizability of this study's findings, future studies could replicate the current one across other non-self-selected samples, such as by integrating the intervention as part of student's orientation.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recognition of Depression and Help-Seeking Preference Among University Students in Singapore: An Evaluation of the Impact of Advancing Research to Eliminate Mental Illness Stigma an Education and Contact Intervention

et al. 2021

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“…Potential strategies addressing stigma-related barriers include facilitating population based-literacy programs to transit positive mental health messaging to the wider university cohort and incorporating social content into mental health awareness training to improve mental health knowledge and decrease stigmatising attitudes (Stuart, 2016). By incorporating reducing stigma strategies, both antistigma and help-seeking behaviours have been shown to increase (Shahwan et al, 2020). Strategies that include promoting services using student testimonials and terminology, and providing information aimed at dispelling negative perceptions and re-framing services in terms less associated with mental illness, such as consultations, coaching or seminars, may also be helpful in reducing the perceived stigma associated with accessing support services (Sanagavarapu & Abraham, 2020).…”

Section: Top 3 Strategies To Relieve/reduce Stress Recommended Tomentioning

confidence: 99%

How I cope at university: Self‐directed stress management strategies of Australian students

et al. 2021

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Universities across the world remain under-resourced and frequently unequipped to provide the required support to the increasing demand of students experiencing mental health problems. While there is a considerable amount of research focusing on university student stress levels, interventions to address them, and coping strategies adopted by students, little research has reported on the strategies students choose to manage their stress and how that relates to their self-identified sources of stress as well as to what universities are offering to support their mental health and wellbeing. The present study provides a contribution in this direction, reporting on a study that surveyed over 3200 students from three large Australian metropolitan universities and interviewed three groups of university staff who provide student wellbeing services. Results highlight differences between what students and staff perceive as main sources of stress and best strategies to address them. In addition, students recommend task-oriented, pro-active coping strategies more often to their peers than engage in them themselves. The findings of the study further reinforce the need to develop an understanding of student coping strategies with a lens considerate of students' perspectives and preferences to authentically support their wellbeing, better informing planning and service delivery.

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“…A pilot study on an anti-stigma course toward mental disorders, which consisted of three components, namely, social contact, role-playing, and critical reflection strategies, showed that participants' stigma attitudes were significantly reduced after the 18-week anti-stigma course ( 39 ). Another study examining the potential impact of an anti-stigma intervention on help-seeking attitudes, which included education about depression, information about help-seeking, and contact with a person with lived experience, showed improvements in help-seeking attitudes ( 40 ). Our data indicate that providing accurate COVID-19-related information through social media and newspapers/TV may be effective as these are the main sources they used to get COVID-19-related information.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of COVID-19 Stigma and AIDS Stigma During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in China

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Wang

et al. 2021

Front. Psychiatry

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Objective: To understand the current situation of stigmatizing attitudes toward Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China and compare it with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).Methods: Convenient sampling and vignette-based methods were used to recruit participants on WeChat. A demographic form and adopted stigma scale were used to collect participants' demographic information and stigmatizing attitudes toward COVID-19 and AIDS.Results: A total of 13,994 questionnaires were included in this study. A high portion of participants tend to avoid contact with individuals affected with COVID-19 (74.3%) or AIDS (59.0%), as well as their family members (70.4% for COVID-19 and 47.9% for AIDS). About half of the participants agreed that affected persons could not only cause problems to their own family but also have adverse effects on others (59.6% and 55.6% for COVID-19, 56.9 and 47.0% for AIDS). The agreements with statements about perceived stigma were similar but slightly higher than those about personal stigma in both COVID-19 and AIDS. Participants' agreements with all statements regarding personal and perceived stigma attitudes between COVID-19 and AIDS were all statistically significant (p < 0.001). Participants obtained COVID-19-related information mainly from social media (91.3%) and newspaper or television (77.1%) during the epidemic, and 61.0% of them thought information from newspapers or television was the most reliable.Conclusion: Several similarities and differences of people's attitude toward COVID-19 and AIDS were found. Avoidance, blame, and secondary discrimination to diagnosed persons and their surrounding persons were the main representations of COVID-19-related stigma. Stigma of COVID-19 had less moral link but more public panic. Experience from HIV-related stigma reduction and prevention can be applied to reduce COVID-19-related stigma.

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The potential impact of an anti-stigma intervention on mental health help-seeking attitudes among university students

Cited by 38 publications

References 54 publications

Recognition of Depression and Help-Seeking Preference Among University Students in Singapore: An Evaluation of the Impact of Advancing Research to Eliminate Mental Illness Stigma an Education and Contact Intervention

Recognition of Depression and Help-Seeking Preference Among University Students in Singapore: An Evaluation of the Impact of Advancing Research to Eliminate Mental Illness Stigma an Education and Contact Intervention

How I cope at university: Self‐directed stress management strategies of Australian students

A Comparison of COVID-19 Stigma and AIDS Stigma During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in China

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