Attitudes Toward Mental Health Services and Illness Perceptions Among Adolescents with Mood Disorders

Validation of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire of Obstructive Sleep Apnea among Elderly Chinese in the General Population

PURPOSE

The prevalence of under-diagnosis among individuals with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is alarming, and may be associated with perceptions regarding OSA. To facilitate future studies on OSA, this study validated the revised version of the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) for OSA in a general population.

METHODS

A random anonymous population-based telephone survey interviewed 580 adults aged ≥ 50 years in Hong Kong, who self-reported not having been told by doctors as having OSA, from February 5 to March 19, 2021.

RESULTS

The confirmatory factor analysis identified a modified 7-factor model (i.e., timeline chronic, consequence, personal control, treatment control, illness coherence, timeline cyclical, and emotional representation) that showed satisfactory model fit index and internal consistency. Nine items were removed from the original version because of low factor loadings. No floor and ceiling effects were observed. Convergent validity was supported by the positive associations between the consequence subscale with perceived negative outcomes of OSA and between the illness coherence subscale and perceived understanding of OSA symptoms. The participants tended to endorse the items of timeline chronic, treatment control, and illness coherence but not with those of emotional representations. The mean scores of the IPQ-R subscales differed by age and education level.

CONCLUSION

The modified IPQ-R of OSA showed acceptable psychometric properties. It is applicable to assessing illness perceptions of OSA in the Chinese general population aged ≥ 50 years not having received OSA diagnosis. The validated tool would support future studies and health practices related to OSA.

Knowledge, attitudes, and uptake of mental health services by secondary school students in Gweru, Zimbabwe

Introduction

The study sought to investigate and examine knowledge, attitudes, and uptake of mental health services by secondary school students in the Gweru district.

Methods

Using a qualitative approach, 15 students from three secondary schools in Gweru were purposively sampled for inclusion in this study. Data collection was through semi-structured interviews. The study utilized thematic data analysis and the following themes emerged from the study; ignorance, misinformation, indifference, lack of trust, gender differences, and alternative support.

Results

Generally, the research findings revealed that most secondary school students were aware of the existence of mental health services although they had distorted information on the same. Poor utilization of services was largely attributed to the consideration of "formal" mental health services as the last resort for remedy after the failure of "informal" services to yield positive results. Thus, mental health services were not on the priority list of intervention measures used by secondary students in light of mental health issues. The study recommends psycho-education sessions to promote the utilization of mental health services by secondary school students.

Discussion

Notably, the current study revealed that participants lacked correct information about MHS and its related utility. Munson et al. (2009) concur by stating that some adolescents believed that their mental health challenges such as mood disorders were chronic, and as such, they thought that any form of intervention could not control or remedy their illness.

Employees' support strategies for mental wellbeing during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: Recommendations for employers in the UK workforce

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and beyond for many businesses, employees have had to adapt to new ways of working due to disruptions in traditional practices. It is therefore crucial to understand the new challenges that employees are facing when it comes to taking care of their mental wellbeing at work. To that end, we distributed a survey to full-time UK employees (N = 451) to explore how supported they felt throughout the pandemic, and to identify whether there are any additional types of support they would like to receive. We also compared employees' intentions to seek help before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic, and assessed their current attitudes toward mental health. Based on direct employee feedback, our results show remote workers felt more supported throughout the pandemic compared to hybrid workers. We also found that employees who had previously experienced an episode of anxiety or depression were significantly more likely to want extra support at work compared to those who had not. Furthermore, employees were significantly more likely to seek help for their mental health during the pandemic compared to before. Interestingly, the largest increase in intentions to seek help during the pandemic compared to before was with digital health solutions. Finally, we found that the strategies managers have adopted to better support their employees, an employee's mental health history, and their attitude to mental health all contributed to significantly increasing the likelihood that an employee would disclose a mental health concern to their line manager. We provide recommendations that encourage organisations to make changes to better support their employees, and we highlight the importance of mental health awareness training for both managers and employees. This work is of particular interest to organisations who are looking to tailor their current employee wellbeing offer to a post-pandemic world.

Children and young people's beliefs about mental health and illness in Indonesia: A qualitative study informed by the Common Sense Model of Self-Regulation

BACKGROUND

Mental illness is a leading cause of disease burden amongst children and young people (CYP). This is exacerbated in low- and middle-income (LMIC) countries which often have embryonic care structures. Understanding and targeting illness beliefs is a potentially efficacious way of optimising the development of health prevention interventions. These beliefs remain relatively underexplored in CYP in LMIC contexts. Aim: To develop an in-depth understanding of CYPs beliefs about mental health and illness in Indonesia.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

Semi-structured interviews (n = 43) combined with photo elicitation methodology were undertaken with CYP aged 11-15 from Java, Indonesia. Our sample comprised those living with (n = 19) and without (n = 24) high prevalence mental health conditions, specifically anxiety or depression. Data were analysed using framework analysis, informed by the Common Sense Model of Self-Regulation of Health and Illness. Positive mental health and illness were dichotomised in accounts with mental health typically characterised as an absence of mental disturbance. This contributed to attributions of abnormality and the marginalisation of those with mental illness. Mental illness was conceptualised as a single entity, commonly arising from individual failings. This prompted feelings of self-stigma in those with lived experience of mental illness. Analysis identified marked differences in the perceived time dimensions of positive mental health and illness with mental illness conceived as less transient than episodes of positive mental health. Illness beliefs appeared relatively consistent across the two groups of CYP although some nuanced differences were identified. CYP with anxiety and depression were less likely to believe that mental illness could be diagnosed visually, more likely to uphold multiple causal factors and endorse the potential efficacy of professional input.

CONCLUSIONS

Public health interventions to increase understanding may be necessary to develop healthcare systems to reduce treatment barriers, optimise return on investment and enhance population health effect.

Understanding the illness representations of young people with anxiety and depression: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Many young people with anxiety or depression drop out of treatment early, and/or leave treatment without showing measurably improved symptom levels. To enhance treatment engagement and effectiveness, it is critical to better understand how young people's perceptions of the symptoms, causes, consequences, treatability, and course of their anxiety and depression influence engagement.

AIM

This study aimed to provide a qualitative account of illness perceptions among youth with anxiety and depression by applying the Common Sense Model of Self-Regulation (CSM), which was developed in physical health contexts.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 young people (aged 16-24, 73% female) with a history of anxiety and/or depression. Interviews were analysed using a combination of theory- and data-driven analysis techniques, consisting primarily of deductive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

The five themes broadly mapped onto the dimensions of the CSM, suggesting parallels in how mental and physical health problems are perceived. Anxiety and depression were viewed as non-linear, relapsing and remitting, but lifelong conditions, with a fluctuating and complex path to recovery and coping. Youth described pervasive negative impacts on their lives, but also described some positive aspects.

IMPLICATIONS

Better understanding of young people's illness beliefs has the potential to open a range of intervention possibilities by prioritizing young people's illness perceptions over the clinician's understanding and the supposed objective condition severity and trajectory. Although this study supported a common structure of illness beliefs, the content of these beliefs was idiosyncratic and specific to anxiety and depression, suggesting the need to develop a valid tool to measure illness perceptions in this group.

PRACTITIONER POINTS

Our findings suggest that illness perceptions are complex, highly idiosyncratic, and specific to youth anxiety and depression. Given the complexity of these beliefs and the known association with important treatment- and health-related outcomes, it is important that clinical formulation incorporates young people's illness belief models, including their perceptions of symptoms, cause, timeline to recovery, consequences, and personal and treatment control. To increase help-seeking, treatment engagement and adaptive coping strategies, therapy should work to a shared understanding of illness beliefs. Increasing congruence between the belief models of young people, families, and clinicians may serve to improve treatment benefits and address the unmet mental health needs of young people.

Illness perception in patients with eating disorders: clinical, personality, and food addiction correlates

PURPOSE

Although the role of illness perception in the clinical course of many physical diseases and certain mental disorders has been well described, little is known about illness perception in eating disorders (ED) so far. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to extend our understanding of illness perception in different ED diagnostic types and to explore its association between clinical, psychopathological, motivational, personality, and food addiction (FA) features.

METHODS

The sample consisted of 104 patients with ED [(23 anorexia nervosa (AN), 39 bulimia nervosa (BN), 19 binge eating disorder (BED), and 23 other specified feeding and eating disorders (OSFED)]. Illness perception was assessed by means of the revised version of the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R).

RESULTS

The results supported the association between illness perception and clinical, psychopathological, and personality factors. Patients with BN and BED showed greater illness perception than the other types. Improved illness perception was positively associated with a longer duration of the disorder and FA. Furthermore, a relevant finding suggests that at least half of the patients with ED did not achieve a good level of illness perception until after having the disorder for 20 years on average.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that higher levels of FA and longer duration of the ED are positively and directly associated with increased illness perception. This may explain the low levels of initial motivation in these patients and their high dropout rates in the early stages of treatment.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III

Case-control analytic study.

Assessment of illness representations in mental disorders: A mini review

Health beliefs, and especially illness representations, have been widely used to understand clinical outcomes and psychosocial adjustment in people with physical diseases. However, this area of research has been under-explored in the field of mental health, and the few studies that have been conducted have used very different methods. Therefore, the aim of our study was to identify the tools and methods that have been used to evaluate illness representations in psychiatry. To this end, a mini review has been conducted and 58 articles were retained. This mini review highlights that the quantitative method is the most used, and that the scales mobilised are often adapted for the study, but not validated. Indeed, multiple modifications and adaptations have been made by the authors (e.g. deletion of subscales, addition of items), which lead to questions about the reliability of what is measured. In the future, it is essential to have a validated generic tool for mental disorders, which could be based on the Illness perceptions questionnaire for schizophrenia.

The psychometric properties of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) regarding Internet gaming disorder in a general population of Chinese adults

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been recognized as a mental illness. Cognitive and emotional illness representations affect coping and health outcomes. Very little is known about such perceptions related to IGD, in both general and diseased populations. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) for IGD in a general population that included mostly non-cases while a small proportion of the sample was IGD cases.

METHODS

An anonymous cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted in a random sample of 1,501 Chinese community-dwelling adults (41.3% male; mean age = 40.42, SD = 16.85) in Macao, China.

RESULTS

The confirmatory factor analysis identified a modified 6-factor model (i.e., timeline cyclical, consequences, personal control, treatment control, illness coherence, and emotional representations) of 26 items that showed satisfactory model fit and internal consistency. Criterion-related validity was supported by the constructs' significant correlations with stigma (positive correlations: timeline cyclical, consequence, emotional representations; negative correlations: illness coherence). Ever-gamers, compared to never-gamers, reported higher mean scores in the subscales of personal control and illness coherence, and lower mean scores in time cyclical, consequence, and emotional representations. Among the sampled gamers, probable IGD cases were more likely than non-IGD cases to perceive IGD as cyclical and involved more negative emotions.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that the revised 26-item version of IPQ-R is a valid instrument for assessing illness representation regarding IGD in a general population of Chinese adults. It can be used in future research that examines factors of incidence and prevention related to IGD.

Relationship Between Illness Representations, Psychosocial Adjustment, and Treatment Outcomes in Mental Disorders: A Mini Review

Understanding and improving the psychosocial adjustments (e.g., quality of life, depression) and treatment outcomes (e.g., adherence, beliefs about treatments) of people with mental disorders are major health issues. The self-regulation model (SRM) postulates that illness representations play a central role on adjustment and treatment of people with physical illnesses. Recently, the SRM has been used with people with mental disorders. However, the manifestations of somatic and psychiatric disorders can be very different. Therefore, the use of SRM in the field of mental health is very complex. This difficulty, as well as the growing interest for illness representations in the field of mental health, justifies the utility to conduct a review on this topic. The current review shows that illness representations are related to psychosocial adjustment and/or treatment outcomes for people with various mental disorders [e.g., psychotic disorders, mood disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)]. However, some limitations to the applicability of SRM to mental disorders have been highlighted. These limitations should be considered in future studies.

Working Nursing Students Willing to Seek Psychological Services

Work-related psychological stress may result in reduced coping abilities. Working nursing students can develop work-related psychological stress. This study's purpose was to describe first-year working rural nursing students with work-related psychological stress and their perception of stigma to psychological services and perceived willingness and openness to seek such services. Results showed over 55% of students reported work-related stress and a willingness to seek psychological services. Students in a licensed practical nursing program showed less stigma to seeking psychological services (F (2, 23) = 10.09, p = 0.001) as compared to higher degree seeking students in associate and bachelor nursing programs. Stigma appeared not to be a factor in rural nursing students seeking psychological services. In conclusion, working nursing students are willing to seek psychological services regardless of stigma.

Promoting Help-seeking using E-technology for ADolescents with mental health problems: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial within the ProHEAD Consortium

BACKGROUND

The highest incidence and prevalence of mental health problems across the lifespan as well as the first onset of most long-term mental health conditions are reported for youths between 14 and 25 years of age. At the same time, only 25% of adolescents with mental health problems receive professional treatment. One explanation for poor treatment access in youths is their low help-seeking behavior. Barriers that can keep children and adolescents (C&A) from seeking professional help include a lack of perceived need, structural barriers, or stigma. Interventions based on e-technology might present an effective approach, overcoming these barriers by reducing stigma and providing low-threshold access with enhanced reach, ultimately facilitating help-seeking for mental health problems among youths.

METHODS

The study is designed as a multi-center, randomized controlled trial. In total, an estimated number of n = 1,500 C&A with mental health problems, drawn from a school-based sample of n = 15,000 pupils attending school grades 6 to 13 (≥ 12 years of age), recruited in five regions of Germany, will be randomized either to an intervention (ProHEAD online) or a control condition. C&A in the intervention group will receive online access to tailored information and individual advice on where to seek professional help for their specific needs close to their place of living, case reports of and interaction with peers, as well as the opportunity for online and telephone counseling. C&A in the control intervention will receive a recommendation to seek help and online information on where to find professional help. All participants will be asked to complete questionnaires concerning their help-seeking behavior at baseline, during the intervention (monitoring), and also at a 1 and 2 year follow-up. The primary endpoint is the number of C&A seeking conventional face-to-face professional help in the real-world setting within 1 year after their initial screening.

DISCUSSION

The trial will investigate if an Internet-based intervention can increase professional help-seeking in C&A with mental health problems. With its randomized controlled design and large-scale school-based sampling, the study aims to overcome the shortages of previous research. The intervention has the potential to narrow the treatment gap in C&A and to ultimately improve the mental health care system.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00014685 . Registered on 7 July, 2018.

School-based mental health promotion in children and adolescents with StresSOS using online or face-to-face interventions: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial within the ProHEAD Consortium

BACKGROUND

Schools are an ideal setting in which to promote health. However, empirical data on the effectiveness of school-based mental health promotion programs are rare, and research on universal Internet-based prevention in schools is almost non-existent. Following the life skills approach, stress management training is an important component of health promotion. Mental health literacy is also associated with mental health status, and it facilitates formal help-seeking by children and adolescents (C&A). The main objectives of this study are (1) the development and evaluation of an Internet-based version of a universal school-based health promotion program called StresSOS and (2) demonstrating non-inferiority of the online setting compared to the face-to-face setting. StresSOS aims to improve stress management and mental health literacy in C&A.

METHODS/DESIGN

A school-based sample of 15,000 C&A (grades 6-13 and older than 12 years) will be recruited in five regions of Germany within the ProHEAD Consortium. Those with a screening result at baseline indicating no mental health problems will be invited to participate in a randomized controlled trial comparing StresSOS online to an active online control condition (Study A). In addition, 420 adolescents recruited as a separate school-based sample will participate in the StresSOS face-to-face intervention. Participants in both intervention groups (online or face-to-face) will receive the same eight treatment modules to allow for the comparison of both methods of delivery (Study B). The primary outcome is the number of C&A with symptoms of mental health problems at a 12 months follow-up. Secondary outcomes are related to stress/coping (i.e., knowledge, symptoms of stress, coping resources), mental health literacy (knowledge and attitudes toward mental disorders and help-seeking), program usage patterns, cost-effectiveness, and acceptability of the intervention.

DISCUSSION

This study represents the first adequately powered non-inferiority trial in the area of school-based mental health promotion. If online StresSOS proves efficacious and non-inferior to face-to-face delivery, this offers great potential for health promotion in youths, both in and outside the school environment.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00014693 . Registered on 14 May 2018.

"I Think He Will Have It Throughout His Whole Life": Parent and Youth Perspectives About Childhood Mental Health Problems

Children's mental health (CMH) problems can be long-lasting. Even among children and youth who receive specialized CMH treatment, recurrence of problems is common. It is unknown whether youth and their parents view the possibility of future mental health problems. This has important implications for how CMH services should be delivered. This grounded theory study gained perspectives from youth (aged 12-15 years) who received CMH treatment ( n = 10) and their parents ( n = 10) about the expected course of CMH problems. Three disorder trajectories emerged: (a) not chronic, (b) chronic and persistent, and (c) chronic and remitting, with the majority of youth falling in the third trajectory. A gap in available services between CMH and adult care was perceived by parents, leaving them either help hopeful or help hungry about their child's future care. Improving care for youth with ongoing mental health problems is needed to minimize costs to families and the system.

Maternal Impression Management in the Assessment of Childhood Depressive Symptomatology

BACKGROUND

Self-report instruments are commonly used to assess for childhood depressive symptoms. Historically, clinicians have relied heavily on parent-reports due to concerns about childrens' cognitive abilities to understand diagnostic questions. However, parents may also be unreliable reporters due to a lack of understanding of their child's symptomatology, overshadowing by their own problems, and tendencies to promote themselves more favourably in order to achieve desired assessment goals. One such variable that can lead to unreliable reporting is impression management, which is a goal-directed response in which an individual (e.g. mother or father) attempts to represent themselves, or their child, in a socially desirable way to the observer.

AIMS

This study examined the relationship between mothers who engage in impression management, as measured by the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form defensive responding subscale, and parent-/child-self-reports of depressive symptomatology in 106 mother-child dyads.

METHODS

106 clinic-referred children (mean child age = 10.06 years, range 7-16 years) were administered the Child Depression Inventory, and mothers (mean mother age = 40.80 years, range 27-57 years) were administered the Child-Behavior Checklist, Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised.

RESULTS

As predicted, mothers who engaged in impression management under-reported their child's symptomatology on the anxious/depressed and withdrawn subscales of the Child Behavior Checklist. Moreover, the relationship between maternal-reported child depressive symptoms and child-reported depressive symptoms was moderated by impression management.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that children may be more reliable reporters of their own depressive symptomatology when mothers are highly defensive or stressed.

Cornerstone program for transition-age youth with serious mental illness: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background

Transition-age youth have elevated rates of mental disorders, and they often do not receive services. This is a serious public health concern, as mental health conditions persist into adulthood. Continuing to engage this population has been a pervasive challenge for the mental health care system worldwide. Few mental health interventions have been developed for transition-age youth, and even fewer have been found to be effective over the transition to adulthood. Cornerstone, a theoretically guided intervention has shown promise for addressing the mental health and psychosocial needs of this population as they emerge into adulthood. Cornerstone provides case management, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, mentoring/peer support, community-based in vivo practice, and groups to address stigma, mistrust, and practical skill development to improve the transition to independence among transition-age youth with serious mental health conditions.

Methods/design

This study utilizes a hybrid research design and focuses on examining feasibility, acceptability and preliminary impact, along with factors that influence implementation, to maximize new knowledge. The study combines qualitative methods and a randomized controlled trial, using data to inform and refine protocols and manuals, while testing the preliminary impact of the intervention, compared to best available services (treatment as usual, TAU) at a partnering outpatient mental health clinic (n = 60). Contributors to the intervention development research (n = 20) are national experts on mental health services, clinic administrators and staff and young adults with direct experience. The intervention involves intensive staff training and 18 months of ongoing service provision, monitoring and supervision. Quantitative survey data will be collected at baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months measuring mental health and practical life outcomes via self-report measures. Medical records will be used to triangulate self-report data (i.e., primary diagnosis, treatment planning and attendance). Qualitative data focuses on the intervention development process and implementation research and will use constant comparison coding techniques. In this intention-to-treat analysis, we will conduct basic omnibus analyses to examine whether Cornerstone leads to improved outcomes relative to TAU utilizing t tests across treatment conditions for each outcome measure specified. We will likewise examine whether changes in the proposed mediating variables differ across groups.

Discussion

The aim of this study is to refine Cornerstone through an intensive preliminary trial, learning through collaboration with clinic staff, project team members, and leaders in New York State and nationwide on how to best serve transition-age youth with serious mental health conditions. Cornerstone has the potential to fill a large gap in the service system for transition-age youth with serious mental health conditions, and may enhance the menu of care options for those who have been recently diagnosed with a serious mental health condition, and yet, have a long life to live. The program is recovery-oriented, builds on the best evidence to date, and is in line with both local and national health care reform efforts.

Trial registration

This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT02696109) on 22 April 16 as Protocol Record R34-MH102525-01A1MRM, as New York University, Cornerstone program for transition-age youth with serious mental illness: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

How personality, coping styles, and perceived closeness influence help-seeking attitudes in suicide-bereaved adults

This study examined the impact of personality, coping, and perceived closeness on help-seeking attitudes in suicide bereaved adults. Participants (n = 418; mean age = 49.50; 90% women, 89.7% Caucasian) completed measures of personality (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness), coping, and attitudes toward seeking mental health services. Regression analyses revealed neuroticism as the strongest predictor of help-seeking attitudes. Relatively neurotic adult women bereaved by suicide may be at-risk for developing unhealthy coping styles, low stigma indifference, and more negative help-seeking attitudes.

Illness perceptions in adolescents with a psychiatric diagnosis in Pakistan

Aims and method To assess adolescents' perceptions of their psychiatric illness and the role of various demographic factors in a Pakistani setting. Adolescents with various psychiatric diagnoses were interviewed using a structured questionnaire including the Illness Perceptions Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R). Results Fifty-two adolescents with various psychiatric illnesses were interviewed; their mean age was 12.7 years and the majority (67%) were female. Males had significantly higher scores on timeline and emotional representation (P<0.05), suggesting strongly held beliefs about chronicity of their illness and anger and worry about their condition. Adolescents' own emotional state, stress, family problems and bad luck were endorsed by participants as some of the causal factors in their mental illness. Clinical implications Despite the importance of early intervention in psychiatric problems, engaging youth in the treatment process in Pakistan remains difficult. Better understanding of how adolescents perceive their psychiatric difficulties may play a significant role in developing culturally sensitive interventions and better utilisation of services.

Illness perception among hypertensive patients in primary care centre UKMMC

INTRODUCTION

Hypertension is one of the chronic diseases with a rising trend globally, including Malaysia. Patients' own perception of their illness is a strong factor that determines their health-seeking behaviour. The objective of this study was to evaluate the illness perception of hypertensive patients and the associated factors.

METHOD

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 250 hypertensive patients who were randomly sampled at the Primary Care Centre of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (PCC UKMMC) from October 2011 to January 2012. All respondents completed a self-administered questionnaire comprising three sections: (1) Socio-demographic data, (2) Illness perception score, measured using the Malay version of Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ) and (3) Malay version of depression and anxiety, assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Data entry and analysis were done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19.0.

RESULTS

The total illness perception score was significantly higher among Malay 5.13 (95% CI: 2.21, 8.05), those with positive family history 5.43 (95% CI: 2.14, 8.72) and respondents who have anxiety 8.56 (95% CI: 4.39, 12.73).

CONCLUSION

Primary care providers need to identify these three significant factors that are associated with patients' illness perception when managing hypertensive patients. Steps need to be taken to screen and treat anxiety among this group of patients.

Evaluation of a campaign to improve awareness and attitudes of young people towards mental health issues

PURPOSE

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the In One Voice campaign for raising mental health awareness and improving attitudes of youth and young adults towards mental health issues. The campaign featured a prominent male sports figure talking about mental health issues and used online social media.

METHODS

A successive independent samples design assessed market penetration and attitudinal changes among the young people. Two samples completed an online questionnaire either immediately before (T1: n = 403) or 2 months after (T2: n = 403) the campaign launch. Website analytics determined changes in activity levels of a youth-focused mental health website (mindcheck.ca).

RESULTS

One-quarter (24.8 %, n = 100) of the respondents remembered the campaign. The proportion of respondents who were aware of the website increased significantly from 6.0 % at T1 to 15.6 % at T2. Average overall scores on standardized measures of personal stigma and social distance were not significantly different between T1 and T2 respondents. Attitudes towards mental health issues were statistically similar between respondents who were or were not exposed to the campaign. Those who were exposed to the campaign were significantly more likely to talk about and seek information relating to mental health issues.

CONCLUSIONS

The proximal outcomes of the campaign to increase awareness and use of the website were achieved. The distal outcome of the campaign to improve attitudes towards mental health issues was not successfully achieved. The brief social media campaign improved mental health literacy outcomes, but had limited effect on personal stigma and social distance.

Improving community-based mental health care for children: translating knowledge into action

There is urgent need for improvement in community-based mental health care for children and families. Multiple studies have documented serious limitations in the effectiveness of "usual care." Fortunately, many empirically-supported strategies to improve care have been developed, and thus there is now a great deal of knowledge available to address this significant public health problem. The goal of this selective review is to highlight and synthesize that empirically-supported knowledge to stimulate and facilitate the needed translation of knowledge into action. The review provides a sound foundation for constructing improved services by consolidating descriptive data on the status quo in children's mental health care, as well as evidence for an array of promising strategies to improve (a) Service access and engagement; (b) Delivery of evidence-based practices; and (c) Outcome accountability. A multi-level framework is used to highlight recommended care improvement targets.

Validation of the Illness Perception Questionnaire for Schizophrenia in a German-speaking sample of outpatients with chronic schizophrenia

BACKGROUND

Because the mere definition of insight from the therapist's viewpoint may not be sufficient to identify treatment targets for adherence enhancement, we need assessment strategies which are more sensitive to the patient's perspective. Illness perception (IP), defined as the beliefs a patient holds about his/her health problems, has been shown to affect coping in the context of a physical or mental illness, e.g. compliance behaviour. To assess IP in people diagnosed with schizophrenia, the Illness Perception Questionnaire for Schizophrenia (IPQS) was developed. The aim of the present study was to analyse the psychometric properties of the German version of the IPQS.

SAMPLING AND METHODS

The study sample consisted of 128 German-speaking outpatients suffering from chronic schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. To achieve comparability with the validation of the English scale version, the same constructs were assessed: psychopathology, depression, and beliefs about medication. Furthermore, insight into one's illness was assessed. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability and construct validity including convergent and discriminant validity were analysed.

RESULTS

Five of eight IPQS subscales were found to be internally reliable and all subscales demonstrated high stability over time. Correlations with validity measures indicated that the subscales assess dimensions of a construct, which is distinct from psychopathology, depression, beliefs about medication and insight, except for the Identity subscale which substantially overlapped with measures of insight.

CONCLUSIONS

The German version of the IPQS is an essentially reliable and valid measure of IP for German-speaking people with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. This may encourage its usage in further studies investigating the impact of subjective beliefs about mental health problems on outcome and recovery in schizophrenia.

Knowledge of and Attitudes Towards Behavioral Health Services Among Older Youth in the Foster Care System

This study examined knowledge of and attitudes toward services among 268 17-year olds with psychiatric diagnoses preparing to exit foster care. A structured interview assessed knowledge of services with vignette scenarios and attitudes with a standardized scale. Descriptive statistics described the extent of knowledge and attitudes among this population and regression analyses examined predictors of these dimensions of literacy. Most youth suggested a help source, but responses often lacked specificity. Gender and depression were the strongest predictors of knowledge and attitudes, respectively. Knowing which aspects of literacy are low, and for whom, can inform education efforts to improve access to care in adulthood.