CHATogether : a novel digital program to promote Asian American Pacific Islander mental health in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, we developed the Compassionate Home, Action Together program, (CHATogether) to support the mental health of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. CHATogether is a culturally informed and virtually delivered support program that harnesses the talents of AAPI teens, young adults, parents, and mental health professionals who share a commitment to serve their local communities. Methods: Our objective was to identify the active components, optimal utilization, potential benefits, and pertinent limitations of the CHATogether program during the 3 years since its inception in 2019. By that time, the program had developed six distinct component arms: interactive theater, mental health education, research, peer support and community outreach, collaboration, and AAPI mentorship. To work towards this objective, we conducted a qualitative study using thematic analysis and an inductive approach based on grounded theory (GT), in which we analyzed anonymized transcripts of four focus groups, comprised of 20 program participants (11 females; 9 males). Results: We developed a model of two overarching domains, each with three underlying themes: I. Individual stressors: (1) Family conflict; (2) Cultural identity; and (3) Pandemic impact; and II. Collective stressors: (1) Stigma related to mental health and illness; (2) Pandemic uncertainty; and (3) Xenophobia and societal polarization. Strengths of the CHATogether program include its role as a conduit toward AAPI connectedness and pride as well as purpose in building community. Through support and mentorship, the program cultivates a unique platform that promotes healing and resiliency in response to pandemic stressors and beyond. Conclusions: CHATogether creates a safe space for the AAPI community. Through its methods of storytelling and encouraging creativity, CHATogether facilitates the discussion of challenging topics specific to the AAPI community. Given the national mental health crisis that is further being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, a digital prevention program such as CHATogether holds promise towards providing access to mental health resources and supporting early help-seeking behaviors for individuals in the AAPI community.Forestry, Faculty ofNon UBCReviewedFacultyGraduat

Measuring Implicit Motives with the Picture Story Exercise (PSE): Databases of Expert-Coded German Stories, Pictures, and Updated Picture Norms

We present two openly accessible databases related to the assessment of implicit motives using Picture Story Exercises (PSEs): (a) A database of 183,415 German sentences, nested in 26,389 stories provided by 4,570 participants, which have been coded by experts using Winter's coding system for the implicit affiliation/intimacy, achievement, and power motives, and (b) a database of 54 classic and new pictures which have been used as PSE stimuli. Updated picture norms are provided which can be used to select appropriate pictures for PSE applications. Based on an analysis of the relations between raw motive scores, word count, and sentence count, we give recommendations on how to control motive scores for story length, and validate the recommendation with a meta-analysis on gender differences in the implicit affiliation motive that replicates existing findings. We discuss to what extent the guiding principles of the story length correction can be generalized to other content coding systems for narrative material. Several potential applications of the databases are discussed, including (un)supervised machine learning of text content, psychometrics, and better reproducibility of PSE research