Experiences, beliefs and attitudes affecting mental health service access amongst suicidal university students

Introduction: In recent years, there have been sustained concerns about suicide amongst UK university students. Despite increasing demand for services for students in severe emotional distress, students may not be accessing support services. This study aimed to identify barriers to, and predictors of, mental health service access for suicidal university students in the UK. Finally, this study also explored ways in which support for suicidal students could be improved. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was employed in this two-phase study. Content and thematic analyses of interview transcripts were considered alongside current literature in order to develop (in collaboration with students) an online survey asking UK university students about their life experiences, attitudes about mental health stigma and help-seeking, and utilisation of support services. Students also gave suggested improvements for services supporting suicidal students. Results: Commonly reported barriers to help-seeking amongst students were uncertainty around the seriousness of one’s needs and long waiting times. Personal contact with service users, perceived need for help, help-seeking intention and stigma were all found to be associated with suicidal students accessing support. Students commonly suggested services should ensure accessible, safe and varied provision to support students with suicidal ideation. Conclusions: This study has highlighted personal experiences and attitudes which predict service use, including previous social contact with service users, perceived stigma, and self-stigma. A number of frequently endorsed personal and institutional barriers preventing suicidal students accessing services were identified. These findings were discussed in the context of students’ suggestions for improved service provision

Development and Validation of the Bisexual Microaggressions Scale

Sexual minorities face stigmatizing experiences which can lead to disparities in physical and mental health, as well as social and economic resources. Additionally, research suggests that microaggressions, or small actions and comments that speak to a person’s prejudices, act as stigmatizing experiences and contribute to negative outcomes for the stigmatized. However, most studies of sexual minority health do not explore bisexual experiences uniquely, despite evidence that bisexuals have unique experiences of stigma and microaggressions. Those studies that do explore bisexual experiences find worse outcomes for bisexuals than their lesbian or gay counterparts. Thus, the current study developed a quantitative scale for assessing experiences of microaggressions specific to bisexuals. A 35-item scale formulated around previously identified microaggression types was validated using data from a sample of 232 bisexuals. Results indicated that bisexual microaggressions were distinct from homonegative microaggressions and that bisexual microaggressions were related to worse physical, psychological, and environmental quality of life. This scale is an additional tool that researchers may use in understanding how stigma experiences lead to negative outcomes, as well as to identify opportunities for alleviating disparities

How Creative Arts Journaling Offers a Holistic and Humanizing Container for Chronic Pain Experiences: A Literature Review and Autoethnography

This expressive arts therapy capstone thesis explores the efficacy of using a creative arts journal in the exploration and management of chronic pain, as well as the correlative mental health issues that arise from chronic pain experiences. Using a biopsychosocial perspective with an awareness of racial health disparities related to chronic pain, I have provided information about chronic pain from medical and humanistic perspectives with a critical review of the literature that showcases the usefulness of the arts for reducing pain, hopelessness, and depression, and increasing mood, self–understanding, and hope. While research on visual journaling for chronic pain is in a nascent stage, much can be drawn from art journaling research with a variety of populations. In addition, an examination of both the efficacy and drawbacks of pain diaries offers some greater insight into the usefulness of chronicling pain experiences. While there is little discussion in the literature related to the specific utility of the art journal format, an examination of a journal’s purpose as a “container” offers some useful insights. Using an autoethnographic approach, I participated in a six–month visual journaling process to explore my own chronic pain experiences. The results of this self–study included a release of physical and emotional tension due to the externalization of pain, an awareness of coping strategies, and a greater sense of personal validity and visibility, among others

Wangkiny Yirra “Speaking Up” project: First Nations women and children with disability and their experiences of family and domestic violence

First Nations women and children with disability are at greater risk of family and domestic violence (FDV) and its consequences than their non-Indigenous peers. A recent report (Ringland et al., 2022) found that First Nations women with disability had the highest rates of victimisation of any group, with 34.4% recorded as being victims of crime. Despite this, the voices of First Nations people are largely missing from disability research in Australia (Dew et al., 2019). The purpose of this research was to engage with First Nations women and children and key stakeholders in Western Australia to: gain an understanding of their experiences of FDV, identify factors they believe open them up to the risk of harm, document their observations and experiences of barriers and/or enablers to seeking assistance and support, obtain their views on what works in currently available programs, and make recommendations for future culturally safe prevention and protection programs. Key findings: Research focus on experiences of FDV of First Nations women and children with disability appears to be growing, but is still limited within the broader body of research focused on First Nations women and children and FDV. First Nations people, wherever located, are significantly more likely than non-Indigenous people to be confronted with a range of barriers to service access, diagnosis and service delivery. Current strategies for prevention and support for First Nations women and children involved with the justice and child protection systems are demonstrably inadequate and harmful and must be reformed

Institution-Sponsored Acculturative Support of East Asian Students at an American Univerisity

Acme University’s (AU) Strategic Plan values international student wellbeing and campus globalization; however, East Asian students (EASs) who enroll at this American university face significant linguistic and cultural barrier during their time on campus. International students typically experience acculturation-induced stress when they enter a new educational system and social environment. AU acknowledged the absence of university-sponsored programs that foster communication/acculturation between EASs and their American peers. The purpose of this study was to explore how EASs perceived interactions with their American peers (AP) on campus as the EASs attempted to acculturate. The conceptual framework used to inform the qualitative bounded case study stems from Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs, specifically the need to belong. Structured interviews were conducted with 8 EAS undergraduates and 3 AU administrators to answer research questions regarding (1) EAS acculturation with regard to interactions with APs and (2) obstacles to EAS acculturation stemming from campus life. To identify emerging patterns and themes, reiterative coding and analysis were done both manually and with NVivo, which resulted in data-supported answers to the research questions. Findings from the study suggested that interactions between EASs and APs are necessary for EASs’ successful acculturation and that EASs who do not achieve a sense of belonging on campus rarely acculturate. The data which emerged from the interview analysis resulted in a policy paper containing recommendations for engendering improved campus-wide interactions between EASs, the university administration, and APs. Such interactions will support social change as the university works to systematically encourage EAS acculturation and globalization on campus

Investing in The Health and Well-Being of Young Adults

This report was prepared to assist federal, state, and local policy makers and program leaders, as well as employers, nonprofit organizations, and other community partners, in developing and enhancing policies and programs to improve young adults' health, safety, and well-being. The report also suggests priorities for research to inform policy and programs for young adults.Young adulthood - ages approximately 18 to 26 - is a critical period of development with long-lasting implications for a person's economic security, health and well-being. Young adults are key contributors to the nation's workforce and military services and, since many are parents, to the healthy development of the next generation. Although 'millennials' have received attention in the popular media in recent years, young adults are too rarely treated as a distinct population in policy, programs, and research. Instead, they are often grouped with adolescents or, more often, with all adults. Currently, the nation is experiencing economic restructuring, widening inequality, a rapidly rising ratio of older adults, and an increasingly diverse population. The possible transformative effects of these features make focus on young adults especially important. A systematic approach to understanding and responding to the unique circumstances and needs of today's young adults can help to pave the way to a more productive and equitable tomorrow for young adults in particular and our society at large

Fascist ‘Snakeoils:’ A Burkean Rhetorical Criticism of Contemporary Ecofascist Manifestos

Ecofascism of the 21st century is a revival of centuries-old white nationalist fascism integrated with a concern for environmental issues from the last few decades. Designated by their writers as “manifestos,” three ecofascists have widely disseminated their documents online just before committing acts of racially motivated terrorism in three different countries. Furthermore, these manifestos provide a lens into contemporary ecofascist conspiracies as well as their own concocted “snakeoils” that present their ecofascist agendas in the form of rhetorical “curatives” to environmental issues of pollution. These “cures” are grounded in a new “green nationalism” that attempts to disguise the white supremacist foundations of their conspiracies. Kenneth Burke’s (1939) “Rhetoric of Hitler’s ‘Battle,’” compels rhetorical critics to participate in an anti-fascist “battle” against the distortions of religion and other Nazi-appropriated symbols, forms of commercialization, and Aryan white nationalism. Following suit, this thesis attempts to expose the ecofascist distortions from these three ecofascist manifestos: the Christchurch shooter in 2019, the El Paso, Texas shooter in 201,9 and the Oslo bombing and Utøya shooter of 2011. My project includes a focus on revealing these shooters’ “green” tactics and methods of appealing to wider audiences beyond their white nationalist core of followers. Exposing ecofascist rhetorical tactics also presents new challenges to environmental advocacy, and as Yamamoto and Lyman’s (2001) “Racializing Environmental Justice” argues, pushes environmental justice proponents to “examine white racism” in law, policy, and practice