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Positive youth development (PYD) has served as a framework for youth programs in high-income countries since the 1990s and has demonstrated broad behavioral health and developmental benefits. PYD programs build skills, assets, and competencies; foster youth agency; build healthy relationships; strengthen the environment; and transform systems to prepare youth for successful adulthood. The goal of this article was to systematically review the impact of PYD programs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Targeted searches of knowledge repository Web sites and keyword searches of Scopus and PubMed identified over 21,500 articles and over 3,700 evaluation reports published between 1990 and mid-2016. Ninety-four PYD programs with evaluations in LMICs were identified, of which 35 had at least one experimental or rigorous quasi-experimental evaluation. Sixty percent of the 35 programs with rigorous evaluations demonstrated positive effects on behaviors, including substance use and risky sexual activity, and/or more distal developmental outcomes, such as employment and health indicators. There is promising evidence that PYD programs can be effective in LMICs; however, more rigorous examination with long-term follow-up is required to establish if these programs offer benefits similar to those seen in higher income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review evaluates the evidence on what interventions are effective in reducing public stigma towards people with severe mental illness, defined as schizophrenia, psychosis or bipolar disorder. We included 62 randomised controlled trials of contact interventions, educational interventions, mixed contact and education, family psychoeducation programs, and hallucination simulations. Contact interventions led to small-to-medium reductions in stigmatising attitudes (d = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.22 to 0.55) and desire for social distance (d = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.80) post-intervention, but these were reduced after adjusting for publication bias (d = 0.24 and d = 0.40, respectively). Effects did not vary by type or length of contact. Effects at follow-up were smaller and not significant. Education interventions led to small-to-medium reductions in stigmatising attitudes (d = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.14 to 0.47) and desire for social distance (d = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.46) post-intervention. Small improvements in social distance persisted up to 6 months later (d = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.05 to 0.49), but not attitudes (d = 0.03, 95% CI: −0.12 to 0.18). The combination of contact and education showed similar effects to those that presented either intervention alone, and head-to-head comparisons did not show a clear advantage for either kind of intervention. Family psychoeducation programs showed reductions in stigma post-intervention (d = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.11 to 0.70). The effectiveness of hallucination simulations was mixed. In conclusion, contact interventions and educational interventions have small-to-medium immediate effects upon stigma, but further research is required to investigate how to sustain benefits in the longer-term, and to understand the active ingredients of interventions to maximise their effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article aimed to analyse time trends regarding young people's willingness to talk about mental health problems. Data on 16,774 participants (16–20-year olds) of the ‘ Swiss Multicentre Adolescent Survey on Health ’ (SMASH) were analysed. The survey was conducted in 1992/93 and in 2002. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify predictors associated with the self-reported willingness of youth to talk about mental health problems with adults (other than parents), friends or no one. Socio-demographic characteristics were used as covariates. These analyses were first carried out for the total sample and, in a second step, stratified by suicidality of the participants. The percentage of participants who would talk about mental health problems with adults or friends increased between 1992/93 and 2002, while the percentage of those who would not talk about such problems decreased. This pattern was confirmed in the stratified analyses (i.e., for suicidal and non-suicidal individuals). Hence, Swiss youth seem to have less difficulty in talking with others about mental health problems than previous cohorts. This trend towards increased disclosure may have implications for claims that the prevalence of mental health problems has increased in recent decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the Australian public׳s beliefs about the causes of schizophrenia and whether these beliefs have changed over a 16-year period. Data came from the 2011 Australian National Survey of Mental Health Literacy and Stigma which involved telephone interviews with 1995 Australians aged 15 or over. The survey interview used the same questions as those of the 2003/4 and 1995 national mental health literacy surveys, in which participants were presented with a case vignette describing either early or chronic schizophrenia. Questions were asked about recognition of, exposure to and causal beliefs about these disorders, including those relating to psychosocial, biogenetic and personality factors. Results showed that most Australians believe in multifactorial causes of schizophrenia and that, between 1995 and 2011, belief in problems from childhood and inherited or genetic causes of early schizophrenia increased while belief in weakness of character decreased. Overall, the findings are consistent with evidence that mental health literacy in Australia has improved over a 16-year period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of the current study was to assess the stigmatising attitudes of Japanese high school students towards people with depression, social phobia and psychosis/schizophrenia. In 2011, 311 students aged 15–18 years filled out an anonymous self-report questionnaire, which included a case vignette describing either depression, schizophrenia or social phobia and two questionnaires to assess stigmatising attitudes towards people with these disorders. Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling (ESEM) was used to determine the dimensionality and loading pattern of the stigma items in the two scales, to establish dimensions of stigma and to compare levels on these dimensions between genders. Stigmatising attitudes towards people with mental disorders in young Japanese people are substantial. ESEM revealed that the structure of stigmatising attitudes in young Japanese people is comparable in personal and perceived attitude stigma, with each forming distinct dimensions and each comprising ‘weak not sick’ and ‘dangerous/unpredictable’ components. The social distance dimension of stigma was separate from other components. Stigmatising attitudes relating to dangerousness/unpredictability were the lowest for social phobia and highest for schizophrenia. Females had lower stigmatising attitudes than males. These findings echo those of Australian studies and extend them by demonstrating a similar structure of stigma in another cultural group, namely young Japanese people. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To reduce stigma and improve help seeking by young people for mental illness, we need a better understanding of the associations between various dimensions of stigma and young people's help-seeking intentions and helpfulness beliefs for various sources of help and for different disorders. This study assessed stigmatizing attitudes and help-seeking intentions and helpfulness beliefs via a national telephone survey of 3021 youths aged 15–25. Five stigma scales were used: social distance, personally held weak-not-sick and dangerousness beliefs, and weak-not-sick and dangerousness beliefs perceived in others. Respondents were presented with a vignette of a young person portraying depression, depression with suicidal thoughts, depression with alcohol abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, social phobia, or psychosis. Beliefs that mental illness is a sign of personal weakness and preference for social distance were associated with less intention to seek professional help and less endorsement of their helpfulness. In contrast, dangerousness/unpredictability beliefs were associated with more intention to seek professional help and more endorsement of their helpfulness. Findings highlight the importance of examining the associations between different dimensions of stigma with different sources of help, specifically for various mental disorders, to better inform future efforts to reduce stigma and increase help seeking in young people. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Negative views of psychiatric medications are common in many countries. Relatively little is known about beliefs about antipsychotic medications. A 2011 national survey of 2024 Australian adults assessed beliefs about their helpfulness or harmfulness for a person with either early or chronic schizophrenia and the associations with sociodemographic characteristics, exposure to schizophrenia, recognition of schizophrenia, and beliefs about other interventions, long-term outcomes, causes, and stigmatising attitudes. Changes since previous surveys (conducted in 1995 and 2003/4) were also assessed. Results showed that 19% of Australian adults believe that antipsychotics would be harmful for a person with early schizophrenia and 14% for chronic schizophrenia. This group was more likely to be male, born overseas, have less exposure to schizophrenia, show poorer schizophrenia recognition, have less positive views about other standard interventions, be less pessimistic about long-term outcomes and have greater stigmatising attitudes. Comparison with previous surveys showed that overall belief in the harmfulness of antipsychotics for schizophrenia decreased between 1995 and 2003/4 and between 1995 and 2011. The higher proportions of males and those from non-English speaking backgrounds believing in harmfulness suggest that education about the role of antipsychotics in the treatment of schizophrenia should focus on these groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of the study was to investigate whether Australians'' stigmatising attitudes towards people with mental disorders have changed over an 8-year period. In 2011, telephone interviews were carried out with 6019 Australians aged 15 or over. The survey interview used the same questions as those of the 2003/4 national mental health literacy survey, in which participants were presented with a case vignette describing either depression, depression with suicidal thoughts, early schizophrenia or chronic schizophrenia. Questions were asked about stigmatising attitudes, including personal and perceived stigma and social distance. Results showed decreases in social distance scores for all vignettes other than chronic schizophrenia and increases in beliefs about dangerousness and unpredictability. Campaigns to improve mental health literacy and reduce stigmatising attitudes may have had beneficial effects in reducing the desire for social distance from those with mental disorders. However, increase in beliefs about the dangerousness and unpredictability of those with these disorders is of concern and points to the need for public education to address these aspects of stigma. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite demands for evidence-based research and practice, little attention has been given to systematic approaches to the development of complex interventions to tackle workplace health problems. This paper outlines an approach to the initial stages of a workplace program development which integrates health promotion and disease management. The approach commences with systematic and genuine processes of obtaining information from key stakeholders with broad experience of these interventions. This information is constructed into a program framework in which practice-based and research-informed elements are both valued. We used this approach to develop a workplace education program to reduce the onset and impact of a common chronic disease – osteoarthritis. To gain information systematically at a national level, a structured concept mapping workshop with 47 participants from across Australia was undertaken. Participants were selected to maximise the whole-of-workplace perspective and included health education providers, academics, clinicians and policymakers. Participants generated statements in response to a seeding statement: Thinking as broadly as possible, what changes in education and support should occur in the workplace to help in the prevention and management of arthritis? Participants grouped the resulting statements into conceptually coherent groups and a computer program was used to generate a ‘cluster map’ along with a list of statements sorted according to cluster membership. In combination with research-based evidence, the concept map informed the development of a program logic model incorporating the program''s guiding principles, possible service providers, services, training modes, program elements and the causal processes by which participants might benefit. The program logic model components were further validated through research findings from diverse fields, including health education, coaching, organisational learning, workplace interventions, workforce development and osteoarthritis disability prevention. In summary, wide and genuine consultation, concept mapping, and evidence-based program logic development were integrated to develop a whole-of-system complex intervention in which potential effectiveness and assimilation into the workplace for which optimised. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper describes the initial development of a scale to assess the effects of meditation. The scale consists of two sections: Experiences During Meditation (EOM-DM) and Effects of Meditation in Everyday Life (EOM-EL). Scale evaluation on 236 participants involved factor analysis, reliability and validity analysis. The EOM-DM scale had five subscales: Cognitive effects, Emotional effects, Mystical experiences, Relaxation and Physical discomfort. The physical, emotional, expanded consciousness and cognitive item groups of the EOM-EL were analysed separately. Each scale had a single factor structure whereas analysis of the EOM-EL-cognitive scale identified four factors: Social relations, Cognitive ability, Non-judgemental acceptance and Behaviours and habits. Construct validity was explored by assessing correlations with existing measures: Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, FACIT Spiritual wellbeing subscale and POMS-Short Form. Although further development is required, the scale showed adequate psychometric properties and may be useful for clinicians and researchers to improve understanding of the effects of meditation practices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: This paper reviews studies assessing the quality of websites providing information about mental disorders. Methods: The review included 31 articles identified by searching research databases in March 2010. Topics covered included affective disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders and schizophrenia/psychosis. Results: The largest number of articles (13) reported studies assessing affective disorder information quality. Methodologies varied in site selection and rating methods, with some of limited validity. Most concluded that quality was poor, although quality of affective disorder sites may be improving. Conclusion: There is currently very little understanding of the influence of website quality on user behaviour. Future quality assessments might use the criteria informed by key behaviour change theories. Practice implications: A possible approach to research on websites and user behaviour might be to develop an evaluation framework incorporating strategies from behaviour change models, key mental health literacy elements and health outcomes relevant to mental health promotion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Depression is a disabling, highly prevalent, frequently chronic, and difficult-to-treat disorder with an immense cognitive, social, and economic burden. Given that many of the advances in other non-communicable disorders like cancer have been in prevention rather than treatment, the prevention of depression is currently an unmet public health priority. We sought to provide an overview of the meta-analytic literature through conducting a systematic umbrella review of universally delivered preventive interventions for depression. The search was conducted on March 18, 2021 utilising the following databases (all accessed through EBSCOHost); Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, CINAHL Complete, Global Health, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, MEDLINE Complete and APA PsychArticles. The following search terms related to depression, prevention, and trial study design. Two authors independently screened articles and a third resolved discrepancies. Eligibility criteria sought to identify meta-analyses that investigated the prevention of depression (i.e., reduced incidence) through intervention studies that were universal, in that they were designed to be delivered to entire populations Six meta-analyses on psychological interventions, two school-based meta-analyses, and one eHealth meta-analysis were included in this umbrella review. Findings indicated that all identified studies were of good quality and one was of fair quality. One previous meta-review that examined physical activity to prevent depression was included in results, comprising eight meta-analyses. Preventive interventions have primarily and successfully utilized psychological therapeutic components, delivered at the school, community, and workplace settings. Both school- and eHealth-based interventions hold some utility for depression prevention. There is meta-analytic evidence that physical activity is efficacious for depression prevention. However, universal prevention is inconsistently defined. There is a pressing need for well-designed randomized controlled preventative interventions for depression before recommendations can be universally accepted with convincing level of evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]