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“Trapped In Their Shame”: A Qualitative Investigation Of Moral Injury In Forensic Psychiatry Patients, Sophia L. Roth, Aamna Qureshi, Heather M. Moulden, Gary A. Chaimowitz, Ruth A. Lanius, Bruno J. Losier, Margaret C. Mckinnon

Neuroscience Institute Publications

Individuals who engage in criminal behavior for which they are found not criminally responsible (NCR) may be at increased vulnerability to experience moral pain and, in extreme circumstances, moral injury after regaining insight into the consequences of their behavior. Yet, almost no research exists characterizing the nature, severity, or impact of moral pain in this population. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine forensic psychiatric patients and 21 of their care providers. Narratives were explored using thematic analysis. Findings demonstrate that NCR patients endorse symptoms consistent with moral injury, including feelings of guilt toward victims, shame for one’s behavior, and a …

Abuse, Mental State, And Health Factors Pre And During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Comparison Among Clinically Referred Adolescents In Ontario, Canada, Shannon L. Stewart, Ashley Toohey, Angela Celebre, Jeff W. Poss

Paediatrics Publications

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, population surveys revealed increased levels of anxiety and depression, while findings from large-scale population data analyses have revealed mixed findings with respect to the mental health consequences for children and youth. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being and health-compromising behaviors of adolescents (12–18 years) previously referred for mental health services. Data were collected (pre-pandemic n = 3712; pandemic n = 3197) from mental health agencies across Ontario, Canada using the interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health assessment. Our findings revealed no increased incidence of witnessing …

The Mental Health Culture In Hockey: A Scoping Review, Lauren Dormer

MA Research Paper

In any major Canadian city, one can find hockey arenas, outdoor rinks, or a Tim Horton coffee shop on every corner. Between September and April, many Canadians will adorn their favourite players jersey or their favourite teams toque, exuding team pride, further strengthening the idea that Canadian culture is entangled within the world of hockey.

Due to hockey’s role within Canadian identity, this study conducted a scoping literature review in order to conceptualize what we know of mental health within hockey literature. There were three overarching research questions that guided this study: 1) How is mental health defined, measured, or …

An Examination Of Child And Youth Mental Health Service Urgency In Ontario, Valbona Semovski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Ontario’s capacity to treat children and adolescents in mental health crisis is outweighed by the number and needs of individuals requiring treatment. A lack of standardized assessments for prioritizing individuals has contributed to long wait times for treatment and a paucity of information to help prioritize those requiring urgent services. This study examined whether sector (e.g., school, hospital), sex, age, legal guardianship, interpersonal and school conflict, intellectual disability and comorbid health conditions predicted greater mental health service urgency in 61,448 children (ages 4 to 18 years) assessed using the interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health Screener. Additionally, differences in mental …

Essays On Criminal Behaviour, Human Capital Formation, And Mental Health, Diego F. Salazar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

My thesis consists of three chapters that contribute to the study of some of the negative consequences of incarceration and their relation with the life-cycle choices of juvenile offenders.

Chapter 2 studies the causal relationship between incarceration and mental health problems. In this chapter, I use different matching estimators to identify the causal effects of incarceration over several dimensions of mental health using data from a survey of juvenile offenders, the Pathways to Desistance (PTD) survey. My findings show that being incarcerated for the first time, between 17 and 18 years old, increases depression by at least 0.18 standard deviations …

Sex Differences In Youth With Mental Health Problems In Inpatient, Outpatient And Youth Justice Settings, Shannon L. Stewart, Elizabeth Thornley, Natalia Lapshina, Patricia Erickson, Evelyn Vingilis, Hayley Hamilton, Nathan Kolla

Paediatrics Publications

Background: Approximately 40-70% of justice-involved youth have untreated mental health problems. There is no current research that directly compares the mental health profiles of youth involved in the justice system to that of inpatients and outpatients. The research reported is significant because it directly compares the needs of these population by use of the same suite of standardized assessment tools. Methods: The sample consisted of 755 youth aged 16-19 years recruited from youth justice and mental health facilities in Ontario, Canada. Participants completed semi-structured assessment interviews using the interRAI child and youth suite of instruments to assess for internalizing and …

Exploring The Mental Health Care Experiences Of Youth Transitioning From Paediatric To Adult Psychiatric Services Using The Photovoice Method: A Participatory Analysis Of The Photostream Project, Brianna Jackson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The transition from adolescence to adulthood brings with it many new challenges and stressors that may negatively impact psychosocial wellbeing. Unfortunately, the disjointed progression from paediatric to adult psychiatric services leaves transitional-aged youth (TAY) vulnerable to its deleterious sequelae, including social isolation, self-harm, substance use, and suicidal ideation. As devised, the Canadian mental health sector is ill-equipped to meet the care demands of emerging adults, resulting in undue suffering. Current evidence validates the need for clinical practice reform and policy revision to address this issue, yet the perspectives of young people are consistently underrepresented in conversations regarding youth-oriented psychiatric program …

Extending Our Promise: Providing Help To Mentally Ill Accused As Soon As Practicable, Cassandra Demelo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examines the current state of the criminal law’s interaction with mentally ill persons, with a specific interest in this interaction during pre-trial phases such as arrest and bail. It argues that the current provisions in the Criminal Code of Canada that allow for limited instances of pre-trial mental health assessments for adults are insufficient. The current options, including assessments to determine “not criminally responsible for reasons of mental disorder” or “fitness”, are not applicable in many situations. Other options available to accused outside of the Criminal Code are also lacking, as they are limited to the Mental Health …

Cumulative Childhood Adversity And Disparities In Adult Psychological Distress And Educational Attainment, Loanna Heidinger

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Exposure to childhood adversity often does not occur as an isolated experience; rather, adverse childhood circumstances tend to co-occur, resulting in a climate of disadvantage that has detrimental consequences, and contributes to disparities in adult outcomes. Although the enduring impacts of cumulative childhood adversity on adult mental health and attainment outcomes are well documented in the literature, studies have not accounted for the long-term impact of cumulative childhood adversity on trajectories of adult psychological distress. Furthermore, measures of adversity used to predict selection into higher education consistently focus on childhood economic hardship as the sole indicator of adversity and overlook …

Comorbid Depression And Substance Abuse In Perpetrators Of Domestic Homicide, Casey Oliver

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Globally up to 38% of murdered women are victims of domestic homicide. However, research has yet to examine comorbid depression and substance abuse in domestic homicide, despite comorbid mental health conditions being associated with homicide in the general population. A retrospective case analysis approach was performed using domestic homicide cases that had been reviewed by the Domestic Violence Death Review Committee of Ontario. Group comparisons were made by compiling cases into groups based on perpetrator mental health status: a no mental illness group, depression only group, substance abuse only group, and comorbid depression and substance abuse group. Statistical analyses compared …

Social Relationships In Young Offenders: Relevance To Peers, Poverty, And Psychological Adjustment, Victoria Sabo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The increasing influence of peers in adolescence is related to a developing array of skills, aspirations, attitudes, and behaviours. The nature and magnitude of this influence and the potential association of certain youth with deviant peers is among the most prominent risk factors in predicting youth crime. This becomes of greater concern for economically disadvantaged youth, whose neighbourhoods harbour greater susceptibility to negative peer influence. With social affiliations at the forefront of youth development and criminality, research efforts need to further characterize the nature, constitution, and influence of peers on adolescent offending. Two hundred and eighty-one Canadian youth were sampled …

Exploring Mental Health In Justice Involved Youth: Relevance For Policy And Practice, Angelina Sarah Maclellan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Over the past two decades, awareness of the prevalence of mental health problems in young offenders (ages 12 to 17 years) has grown, with estimates suggesting significantly higher rates compared to the general population. While experiencing poverty does not cause crime, recent research drawing from the Social Psychology of Crime suggests that individuals who experience poverty tend to live in adverse social environments, which can facilitate exposure to modeling and/or reinforcement that is related to antisocial behaviour. In the present study, archival data were drawn from 281 young offenders’ files from an urban-based court clinic to examine how the youth’s …

Self-Disclosure Among Male Survivors Of Child Sexual Abuse: Service Providers’ Perspective, Marudan Sivagurunathan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Previous research regarding child sexual abuse (CSA) indicates significant gender differences in disclosure rates: specifically, males are less likely to disclose their child sexual abuse in comparison to females. CSA can have lasting impact on a child’s emotional, physical, and psychological wellbeing. Trauma studies show support and early intervention is necessary for CSA survivors to re-establish a sense of safety and to experience better quality of life. Service providers play a key role in providing care and support for male CSA survivors. However, little is known about service providers, who work with male CSA survivors, and their perceptions and attitudes …

Access To Care And The Impact Of Inequality Among Individuals With A History Of Mental Illness, Heather Atyeo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Using an Intersectionality framework, a secondary analysis of pre-existing data from the CURA2 Poverty and Social Inclusion study (Forchuk et al., 2010-2015) was used to explore the relationship between experiences of oppression and self-rated health among a cross-section of 293 community dwelling participants with a mental illness. Binary logistic regression was used to estimate the association between self-rated health and social identity (gender, ethnicity, education, homelessness, employment, disability); health care access was tested for both mediating and moderating effects. The final model explained between 18.9-25.2% of the variance in self-rated health; four independent variables made unique statistically significant contributions to …

Understanding Gendered Criminal Involvement With A Community-Based Criminal Sample: Assessing Substance Abuse And Mental Health Needs, Stacy Taylor

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study explored the gendered effect of substance abuse and mental health issues on the pathways to criminal convictions with a criminal population in the community setting. The data was retrieved through a file review of a sample of 48 female and 42 male offenders who received crisis care during a one-year period, at a community corrections agency in a medium-sized urban community in Ontario. The data collected was based upon factors derived from the LSI-R (Andrews & Bonta, 1995) and the Women’s Supplemental Risk/Needs Assessment (Van Voorhis, Wright, Salisbury & Bauman, 2010). Results of the present study revealed gender …

Children First: It’S Time To Change! Mental Health Promotion, Prevention, And Treatment Informed By Public Health, And Resiliency Approaches, Vicki Schwean, Susan Rodger

Journal Articles

Although the importance of healthy mental development in children and youth is not disputed, the mental health needs of far too many Canadian children are being ignored. Within the context of recent federal and provincial calls for systemic reform of the mental health care systems for children and youth, we underscore the necessity for ongoing innovation, development, education, and evaluation. This article describes our aims to establish demonstration and research sites focused on promising frameworks that draw from systems of care, public health, and resiliency approaches.

Prevalence Of Mental Illness Among Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander People In Queensland Prisons, Edward B. Hefferman

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of mental disorder in a representative sample of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland prisons.

Design, setting and participants: Cross-sectional assessment of mental health using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and clinical interviews, conducted by Indigenous mental health clinicians who undertook specific training for this purpose, with support from forensic psychiatrists when indicated. We assessed adults who self-identified as Indigenous and were incarcerated in six of the nine major correctional centres across Queensland (housing 75% of all Indigenous men and 90% of all Indigenous women in Queensland prisons) between May and June …