Kenneth Po-Lun Fung1, Jenny J W Liu2, Rick Sin3, Amy Bender4, Yogendra Shakya5, Naila Butt6, Josephine Pui-Hing Wong3. 1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. 2. Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada. 3. Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada. 4. Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto ON, Canada. 5. Access Alliance Multicultural Health, Toronto, ON, Canada. 6. Bilal Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Stigma of mental illness contributes to silence, denial and delayed help seeking. Existing stigma reduction strategies seldom consider gender and cultural contexts. PURPOSE: The Strengths in Unity study was a multi-site Canadian study that engaged Asian men in three stigma reduction interventions (ACT, CEE, psychoeducation) and mobilized them as Community Mental Health Ambassadors. Our participants included both men living with or affected by mental illness (LWA) as well as community leaders (CL). This paper will: (1) describe the baseline characteristics of the Toronto participants including their sociodemographic information, mental illness stigma (CAMI and ISMI), attitudes towards social change (SJS), and intervention-related process variables (AAQ-II, VLQ, FMI, Empowerment); (2) compare the differences among these variables between LWA and CL; and (3) explore factors that may correlate with socio-economic status and mental health stigma. RESULTS: A total of 609 Asian men were recruited in Toronto, Canada. Both CL and LWA had similar scores on measures of external and internalized stigma and social change attitudes, except that LWA had more positive views about the acceptance and integration of those with mental illness into the community on the CAMI, while CL had a higher level of perceived behavioral control on the SJS. Group differences were also observed between LWA and CL in some process-related variables. Exploratory analysis suggests that younger and more educated participants had lower stigma. CONCLUSION: Our findings underscore the importance of engaging both community leaders and people with lived experience as mental health advocates to address stigma.
BACKGROUND: Stigma of mental illness contributes to silence, denial and delayed help seeking. Existing stigma reduction strategies seldom consider gender and cultural contexts. PURPOSE: The Strengths in Unity study was a multi-site Canadian study that engaged Asian men in three stigma reduction interventions (ACT, CEE, psychoeducation) and mobilized them as Community Mental Health Ambassadors. Our participants included both men living with or affected by mental illness (LWA) as well as community leaders (CL). This paper will: (1) describe the baseline characteristics of the Toronto participants including their sociodemographic information, mental illness stigma (CAMI and ISMI), attitudes towards social change (SJS), and intervention-related process variables (AAQ-II, VLQ, FMI, Empowerment); (2) compare the differences among these variables between LWA and CL; and (3) explore factors that may correlate with socio-economic status and mental health stigma. RESULTS: A total of 609 Asian men were recruited in Toronto, Canada. Both CL and LWA had similar scores on measures of external and internalized stigma and social change attitudes, except that LWA had more positive views about the acceptance and integration of those with mental illness into the community on the CAMI, while CL had a higher level of perceived behavioral control on the SJS. Group differences were also observed between LWA and CL in some process-related variables. Exploratory analysis suggests that younger and more educated participants had lower stigma. CONCLUSION: Our findings underscore the importance of engaging both community leaders and people with lived experience as mental health advocates to address stigma.
Entities:
Keywords:
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT); Asian men; contact-based empowerment education (CEE); mental health; mental illness; stigma
Authors: Kenneth Fung; Jenny J W Liu; Rick Sin; Yogendra Shakya; Sepali Guruge; Amy Bender; Josephine P Wong Journal: Community Ment Health J Date: 2020-10-19
Authors: Scott D Emerson; Monique Gagné Petteni; Joseph H Puyat; Martin Guhn; Katholiki Georgiades; Constance Milbrath; Magdalena Janus; Anne M Gadermann Journal: Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol Date: 2022-06-13 Impact factor: 4.328