Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Preventing Adolescent Dating Violence: An Outcomes Protocol For Evaluating A Gender-Transformative Healthy Relationships Promotion Program, Deinera Exner-Cortens, Alysia Wright, Debb Hurlock, Roseline Carter, Pam Krause, Claire Crooks

Journal Articles

Adolescent dating violence (ADV) is a pressing public health problem in North America. Strategies to prevent perpetration are needed, and a substantial body of research demonstrates the importance of applying a gender lens to target root causes of adolescent dating violence as part of effective prevention. To date, however, there has been limited research on how to specifically engage boys in adolescent dating violence prevention. In this short communication, we describe the protocol for a longitudinal, quasi-experimental outcome evaluation of a program called WiseGuyz. WiseGuyz is a community-facilitated, gender-transformative healthy relationships program for mid-adolescent male-identified youth that aims to reduce …

A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Evaluation Of A Universal Healthy Relationships Promotion Program For Youth, Deinera Exner-Cortens, David Wolfe, Claire Crooks, Debbie G. Chiodo Ms.

Journal Articles

Bullying and mental health problems are pressing concerns for adolescents. Given their burden, we need to find efficacious ways to prevent these experiences. However, existing prevention programs tend to be single-issue and may not focus on the universal capacities required to reduce these problems among youth. To this end, we evaluated the universal, small groups Healthy Relationships Plus (HRP) program, which focuses on the promotion of positive mental health and the reduction of bullying and substance misuse. A sample of 212 youth from Southwestern Ontario were randomly assigned to the HRP or an attention-control condition over an 8-day period during …

Gsa Members' Experiences With A Structured Program To Promote Well-Being, Alicia A. Lapointe, Claire Crooks

Journal Articles

LGBT2Q+ youth experience significant oppression in schools and there are few evidence-informed programs to promote well-being. This study describes the experiences of youth who participated in a 17-session structured mental health promotion program through their GSAs. Focus groups were conducted with 15 youth. Results indicated that the program helped youth validate and affirm their identities and expressions. The program also afforded youth structured opportunities to identify and process minority stressors, and develop essential coping strategies to bolster their well-being and manage their toxic relationships.

Changes In Depression And Positive Mental Health Among Youth In A Healthy Relationships Program, Natalia Lapshina, Claire Crooks, Amanda Kerry

Journal Articles

Mental health promotion programming in schools and community settings is an important part of a comprehensive mental health strategy. The goal of this study was to identify and explore meaningful classes of youth based on their pre- and post-intervention depression symptoms scores with 722 youth involved in a 15-week healthy relationships and mental health promotion program. We utilized latent class growth analysis to identify depression class trajectories, controlling for group clustering effects. A three-class solution identified high decreasing, moderate stable, and low stable trajectories. Gender, age, and reported experience of bullying victimization predicted trajectory class membership. The low stable class …

A Feasibility Trial Of Mental Health First Aid First Nations: Acceptability, Cultural Adaptation, And Preliminary Outcomes, Claire Crooks, Andrea Lapp, Monique Auger, Kim Van Der Woerd, Angela Snowshoe, Billie Jo Rogers, Samantha Tsuruda, Cassidy Caron

Journal Articles

The Mental Health First Aid First Nations course was adapted from Mental Health First Aid Basic to create a community‐based, culturally safe and relevant approach to promoting mental health literacy in First Nations contexts. Over 2.5 days, the course aims to build community capacity by teaching individuals to recognize and respond to mental health crises. This feasibility trial utilized mixed methods to evaluate the acceptability, cultural adaptation, and preliminary effectiveness of MHFAFN. Our approach was grounded in community‐based participatory research principles, emphasizing relationship‐driven procedures to collecting data and choice for how participants shared their voices. Data included participant interviews ( …

Feasibility And Fit Of A Mental Health Promotion Program For Lgbtq+ Youth, Alicia A. Lapointe, Caely I. Dunlop, Claire Crooks

Journal Articles

This study evaluated the feasibility and fit of a mental health promotion and violence prevention program adapted for LGBTQ+ youth (ages 14-18). The pilot program included 16 30-minute sessions and was implemented in 8 gender and sexuality alliances (GSAs) and one community youth group setting. Extensive feedback was collected from 11 facilitators via session tracking sheets, ongoing email communication, an implementation survey, and a focus group; and from 7 youth who participated in a variety of feedback activities during a 2-day post-program workshop. Results indicated a strong interest in formalized programming, challenges related to its delivery in GSAs, and significant …

Estimating Costs And Benefits Associated With Evidence-Based Prevention: Four Case Studies Based On The Fourth R Program, Claire Crooks, Jennifer Zwicker, Lana Wells, Ray Hughes, Amanda Langlois, J.C. Herb Emery

Journal Articles

Teen violence in dating and peer relationships has huge costs to society in numerous areas including health care, social services, the workforce and the justice system. Physical, psychological, and sexual abuse have long-lasting ramifications for the perpetrators as well as the victims, and for the families involved on both sides of that equation. An effective violence prevention program that is part of a school’s curriculum is beneficial not only for teaching teenagers what is appropriate behaviour in a relationship, but also for helping them break the cycle of violence which may have begun at home with their own maltreatment as …

Two Years Of Relationship-Focused Mentoring For First Nations, Metis, And Inuit Adolescents: Promoting Positive Mental Health, Claire Crooks, Deinera Exner-Cortens, Sarah B. Burm, Alicia Lapointe, Debbie G. Chiodo Ms.

Journal Articles

First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) youth are disproportionately affected by a range of negative health outcomes including poor emotional and psychosocial well-being. At the same time, there is increasing awareness of culturally-specific protective factors for these youth, such as cultural connectedness and identity. This article reports the findings of a mixed-methods, exploratory longitudinal study on the effects of a culturally-relevant school-based mentoring program for FNMI youth that focuses on promoting mental well-being and the development of cultural identity. Participants included a cohort of FNMI adolescents whom we tracked across the transition from elementary to secondary school. We utilized data …

Comparing The Experiences And Withdrawal Considerations Of Treatment And Regular Foster Care Parents: The Canadian Perspective, Jessica Smith, Susan Rodger, Jason Brown, Laurel E. Pickel, Wendy Den Dunnen, Alan W. Leschied Dr.

Journal Articles

This study investigated differences in the experiences of Canadian foster parents providing regular and treatment foster care and their consideration to withdraw from their position. Survey responses from 852 foster parents were analyzed subsequent to separating the participants into two groups based on the primary type of care they provided (regular N = 454; treatment N = 398). Results revealed that treatment foster care parents considered withdrawing at a higher rate compared to regular foster care parents. Subsequent analysis revealed numerous differences between the two groups regarding foster parents’ experiences in fostering and reasons to withdraw. The results are discussed …

Promoting First Nations, Metis, And Inuit Youth Wellbeing Through Culturally-Relevant Programming: The Role Of Cultural Connectedness And Identity, Claire Crooks, Dawn V. Burleigh, Ashley Sisco

Journal Articles

Objectives: Although culturally relevant programming has been identified as a promising practice for promoting resiliency among First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) youth, the specific ways in which these programs contribute to wellbeing are unclear. The Fourth R: Uniting Our Nations programs include an array of strengths-based culturally relevant programs for FNMI youth that have been found to increase wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to explore how culturally relevant programming provides a forum for intrapersonal and interpersonal growth.

Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 adult FNMI community and education stakeholders who have had extensive involvement with the …

Laboring To Mother In The Context Of Past Trauma: The Transition To Motherhood, Berman Helene, Robin Mason, Jodi Hall, Susan Rodger, Catherine C. Classen, Marilyn K. Evans, Lori E. Ross, Gloria Alvernaz Mulcahy, Leonarda Carranza, Fatmeh Al-Zoubi

Journal Articles

The occurrence of interpersonal trauma is a reality for many women, with effects that often persist long after the traumatic events end. The purpose of this feminist grounded theory study was to examine how past trauma shaped the lives of women as they became new mothers. We recruited a purposive sample of 32 women from two Canadian communities and conducted semistructured, dialogic interviews during the second trimester of pregnancy. We analyzed data using thematic content analytic methods, including open coding whereby we read transcripts line by line and applied codes to portions of text that illustrated concepts or themes. The …

Shaping A Mental Health Curriculum For Canada's Teacher Education Programs: Rationale And Brief Overview, Susan Rodger, Kathryn Hibbert, Alan W. Leschied Dr., Laurel E. Pickel, Magdelena Stepien, Melanie-Anne Atkins, Adam Koenig, Jessica A. Woods, Matthew R. J. Vandermeer

Journal Articles

It is a well-known and accepted statistic that one in five Canadian children will experience a significant mental health challenge prior to their 18th birthday; this is a conservative estimate given the many who suffer ‘under the radar’ with transient sadness, depression, and anxiety (Flett & Hewitt, 2013). And if we have yet to be sensitized to this critical period of childhood and adolescence, longitudinal studies indicate that 70% of adults who experience an emotional disorder report having their first onset episode prior to the age of 18 (Kessler et al., 2009).

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.