303536
Implications of School Context in an Intervention Designed to Reduce Mental Illness Stigma and Improve Helpseeking
We will present results from a four-year stigma study designed to evaluate the short and long term effectiveness of 1) and anti-stigma curriculum we developed, 2) contact with a person who has a mental illness, and 3) use of supplemental materials with anti-stigma messages. We implemented a 2 x 2 x 2 (curriculum, contact, materials) factorial group, randomized controlled study with follow-up of 400 children over a two-year period. Data for 6, 12, and 18 month follow ups will be used to examine the effect of school context on attitudes, beliefs and behaviors and/or the response to our intervention over time. This is, to our knowledge, the first study to examine the long term effects of an anti-stigma intervention and to situate that evidence within context of the schools in which children learn.
This study of public mental health strategies to reduce stigma and improve the lives of young people with mental health problems offers critical evidence that will help us understand how school context shapes attitudes and behaviors.
Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and preventionDiversity and culture
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Describe the effects of school context on attitudes, beliefs and behaviors toward mental illnesses in 6th grade children.
Identify the role of school context in modifying the effect of an anti-stigma intervention consistent with three fully-crossed treatments, 1)curriculum, 2)contact with a person who has a mental illness, and 3) use of supplemental materials on attitudes, beliefs and behaviors about mental illnesses.
Evaluate the role of school context in modifying the effect of a stigma intervention on help seeking in the 18 month period following the intervention.
Keyword(s): Mental Health, Evaluation
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Dr. Link has been principal investigator of multiple federally funded grants focusing on the nature and consequences of stigma for people with mental illnesses (PWMI). His empirical work has traced the ways in which stigma affects the social functioning of PWMI in terms of work, social networks and feelings of social worth and public views about mental illness. Dr. Link has expertise in research on stigma and experience conducting large field-based evaluations.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.