W&M'S ACTIVE MINDS CHAPTER
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| rand_active_minds_study.pdf |
This file is the RAND study of Active Minds, published in July 2018.
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Strengthening College Students’ Mental Health Knowledge, Awareness, and Helping Behaviors:
The Impact of Active Minds, a Peer Mental Health Organization
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Lisa Sontag-Padilla, PhD, Michael S. Dunbar, PhD, Feifei Ye, PhD, Courtney Kase, MPH,
Rebecca Fein, MPH, Sara Abelson, MPH, Rachana Seelam, MPH, Bradley D. Stein, MD, PhD
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2018;57(7): 500–507
Objective:
To examine the relationship between college students’ familiarity with and involvement in Active Minds, a student peer organization focused on increasing mental health awareness, decreasing stigma, and affecting mental health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.
Conclusion:
Student peer organizations’ activities can improve college student mental health attitudes and perceived knowledge and significantly increase helping behaviors. Such organizations can complement more traditional programs and play an important role in improving the campus climate with respect to mental health.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Strengthening College Students’ Mental Health Knowledge, Awareness, and Helping Behaviors:
The Impact of Active Minds, a Peer Mental Health Organization
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lisa Sontag-Padilla, PhD, Michael S. Dunbar, PhD, Feifei Ye, PhD, Courtney Kase, MPH,
Rebecca Fein, MPH, Sara Abelson, MPH, Rachana Seelam, MPH, Bradley D. Stein, MD, PhD
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2018;57(7): 500–507
Objective:
To examine the relationship between college students’ familiarity with and involvement in Active Minds, a student peer organization focused on increasing mental health awareness, decreasing stigma, and affecting mental health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.
Conclusion:
Student peer organizations’ activities can improve college student mental health attitudes and perceived knowledge and significantly increase helping behaviors. Such organizations can complement more traditional programs and play an important role in improving the campus climate with respect to mental health.
| public_stigma_and_anti-stigma_us_literature_review.pdf |
This file is an article reviewing the literature on the stigmatization of mental illness in the United States. Like all similar studies, it found that public stigma of mental illness in the U.S. was widespread. The study also considers possible anti-stigma interventions.
The authors write:
"Our literature review was conducted to summarize findings from population-based studies in the U.S. in order to inform future research and interventions to reduce public stigma of individuals with mental illness. Children and adults endorsed stigmatizing beliefs of people with mental illness, especially the belief that such individuals are prone to violent behaviors, and stigmatizing actions, in the form of social distance. Stigmatizing beliefs about the dangerousness of people with mental illness have increased over time. Beliefs of shame, blame, incompetency, punishment, and criminality of people with mental illness are common.
Anti-stigma interventions should normalize the experience of mental illness and target perceptions that people with mental illness are dangerous. The media should resist portraying individuals with mental illness as violent and should promote a more balanced portrayal of mental illness. Media can also serve as a powerful tool to deliver anti-stigma messages and promote helpseeking behaviors (internet-based interventions to increase mental health literacy have shown some impact).
In addition, anti-stigma messages need to be congruent with the public’s perceptions of the causes of mental illness by focusing on specific disorders instead of a catch all category like ‘mental illness.’"
The authors write:
"Our literature review was conducted to summarize findings from population-based studies in the U.S. in order to inform future research and interventions to reduce public stigma of individuals with mental illness. Children and adults endorsed stigmatizing beliefs of people with mental illness, especially the belief that such individuals are prone to violent behaviors, and stigmatizing actions, in the form of social distance. Stigmatizing beliefs about the dangerousness of people with mental illness have increased over time. Beliefs of shame, blame, incompetency, punishment, and criminality of people with mental illness are common.
Anti-stigma interventions should normalize the experience of mental illness and target perceptions that people with mental illness are dangerous. The media should resist portraying individuals with mental illness as violent and should promote a more balanced portrayal of mental illness. Media can also serve as a powerful tool to deliver anti-stigma messages and promote helpseeking behaviors (internet-based interventions to increase mental health literacy have shown some impact).
In addition, anti-stigma messages need to be congruent with the public’s perceptions of the causes of mental illness by focusing on specific disorders instead of a catch all category like ‘mental illness.’"