There are conflicting research results on whether first year undergraduate students or fourth year undergraduate students experience more perceived stress and there is a lack of literature on the difference of coping styles between these two groups. It is important to understand stress and coping in the first and fourth year undergraduate populations because emerging adulthood is a psychologically fragile developmental period (Schiller, Hammen, & Shahar, 2016), and starting and finishing university are two stressful transitions within that developmental period (Boke et al., 2019; Gall et al., 2000; Geng & Midford, 2015). The research questions of do first year or fourth year undergraduates experience more stress, and will there be a difference between coping styles used by first and fourth year students were examined. A sample of 197 first year undergraduate students and 93 fourth year undergraduate students from Lakehead University completed a survey containing the Perceived Stress Scale and the Brief COPE. Fifteen one-way ANOVAs were conducted. Results suggest that first year undergraduate students experience more perceived stress on average than fourth years. Results also suggest that aside from first year students using behavioural disengagement, self-blame, and humor more than fourth years, a statistically significant difference was not seen between first and fourth years on the other coping styles. Further research is needed to determine the factors contributing to these differences and if there is a correlation between coping style and perceived stress level.

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Mobile health (mHealth) apps are a promising adjunct to regular treatment services that can reduce barriers (e.g., longer wait-times, less access) to treatment services that affect youth in Northwestern (NW) Ontario. JoyPop is an app developed to support resilience and emotion regulation in youth and is being evaluated using a multimethod approach. The aims of this study were to 1) evaluate youth acceptance of the JoyPop app; 2) evaluate service providers acceptance of the JoyPop app in a mental health care setting. A qualitative descriptive approach involving one-on-one semi-structured interviews with a subset of youth receiving services from Dilico Anishinabek Family Care (Dilico) and Children’s Centre Thunder Bay (CCTB) who used the app for 4-weeks in a larger evaluation of the JoyPop app and service providers employed at Dilico and CCTB. Youth and provider interviews were guided by the Technology Acceptance Model; with additional elements from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model added for providers. Data was coded and categorized using a deductive-inductive content analysis approach. Five youth (100% female; Mage = 14.60; SD = 1.63) completed the interview. Findings revealed several general categories and subcategories that emerged under each main category. Perceived Usefulness: 1) Facilitators of Usefulness (routine, accessibility, safe space); 2) Outcomes of Usefulness (relaxation and reduced anxiety and stress, self-expression, self-awareness, sleep, helpful distraction); and 3) Barriers (additions and enhancements, relevance to current needs). Perceived Ease of Use: 1) Facilitators (design layout and simplicity, learning skills and features); and 2) Barriers (difficulties with function, personal challenges). Attitudes Towards Use: 1) Positive Feelings (overall experience, future and ongoing use, feature usefulness, design and ease); and 2) Negative Feelings (no sub-categories emerged). Four service providers (100% female, Mage = 43.75; SD = 8.93) completed interviews; several general categories and subcategories emerged under each main category: Perceived Usefulness: 1) Benefits to Clients (general benefits, specific benefits); 2) Benefits to Services (pre-treatment, active treatment, post-treatment); and 3) Barriers (additions, youth engagement, risks). Perceived Ease of Use: 1) Facilitators (ease for clients, ease for providers and integration); and 2) Barriers (barriers for clients, barriers to integration). Attitudes Towards Use: 1) Positive Feelings (client benefits, integration into services); and 2) Apprehensive Feeling (concerns for youth, concerns with Integration). Facilitating Conditions: 1) Accountability (equitable access, evidence and safety); 2) Compatibility (alignment with values and needs, barriers to compatibility); and Engaging Service Providers (reminders, training and technical support, value and rationale). The results of this study provide important insight into the factors influencing the acceptance of the JoyPop app among clinical samples of youth and mental health service providers. Participants’ overall positive feedback adds to the JoyPop app’s growing multimethod evidence base as an accessible, helpful, and timely intervention to support youth in Canada, especially in underserved areas like NW Ontario.

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Technoference (i.e., interference in face-to-face interactions or time spent together caused by the use of technological devices) is commonly associated with numerous relationship difficulties; including couple conflict, jealousy, relationship dissatisfaction, and decreased relational wellbeing. However, less is known about the impact of technoference on intimacy among couples. To understand the influence of technoference on intimacy in more detail, three serial mediation models were proposed hypothesizing that negative perceptions of partner’s technology use and communication satisfaction help explain the relationship between technoference and intimacy in romantic relationships. Three different measures of technoference were included in the present study as independent variables, and a separate serial mediation model was tested for each independent variable. A sample of 141 students at Lakehead University was recruited to complete online questionnaires assessing technoference, communication satisfaction, and intimacy experienced in their romantic relationships. Hayes’ (2017) PROCESS macro model 6 (for serial mediation) was used to test the hypothesized models. Hypotheses were supported such that the predictive relationships between overall technoference, self-reported technoference, and partner’s technoference with intimacy were serially mediated by negative perceptions of partner’s technology use and communication satisfaction. Specifically, greater technoference was associated with more negative perceptions of partner’s technology use, which was then associated with poorer communication satisfaction, which in turn, was associated with poorer intimacy among couples in all three serial mediation models. Understanding the factors that influence intimacy becomes increasingly important for identifying strategies that can be utilized to maximize intimacy levels between couples.

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Research has demonstrated that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and optimistic and pessimistic mindsets influence the likelihood of seeking help for various problems, particularly mental health problems. However, little is understood about the degrees to which ACEs and mindset impact future help seeking intentions and attitudes. To better understand these associations, mindset was proposed to moderate the relationship between ACEs and help seeking intentions, such that greater pessimism would strengthen the relationship whereas greater optimism would diminish the relationship. Secondly, it was hypothesized that mindset would moderate the relationship between ACEs and help seeking attitudes, such that greater pessimism would strengthen the relationship whereas greater optimism would diminish it. A sample of 160 undergraduates from Lakehead University was recruited to complete a self-report questionnaire of study constructs. Bivariate correlations were conducted to examine the associations between the variables. Ordinary least squares regression analyses with bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals were used to test mindset as a moderator in the relationships between ACEs and help seeking intentions and help seeking attitudes. Contrary to hypotheses, mindset did not moderate the relationships between ACEs and help seeking intentions and attitudes. Further, regression and bivariate analyses indicated that mindset was a predictor of help seeking intentions, but not help seeking attitudes, whereas ACEs did not predict help seeking intentions or attitudes. Further research is needed to evaluate other explanatory models with regards to factors that influence help seeking.

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Those living in Northwestern Ontario are at a heightened risk for mental health disorders. Mental health symptoms can be exacerbated when an individual is suffering with co-morbid substance use difficulties. Treating co-morbid mental health and substance use difficulties is often a challenge in a clinical setting. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is empirically validated as a treatment for both mental health and substance use difficulties. This study provides an evaluation of the St. Joseph’s Care Group (SJCG) Mental Health and Addictions DBT program. Specially, examining how effective it is at treating people with co-morbid mental health and substance use difficulties. The sample included 44 outpatient clients who were referred to the DBT program from one of the affiliated SJCG programs. The program is intended for adult outpatients only. Each participant was given a questionnaire aimed at measuring mental health symptoms, quality of life, as well as adaptive and maladaptive coping behaviours. Participants completed the same questionnaire at intake, as well as 6 and 12 months into treatment. Change in symptoms, quality of life, and coping behaviours was analyzed using the SPSS-25 software.  The DBT program resulted in: Improved quality of life, reduced mental health symptomology, as well as reduced dysfunctional coping strategies. Clients also experienced a reduction in problematic behaviours (i.e., drug use, self-harm, alcohol abuse). Further, clients who continued treatment for 12 months experienced a continual improvement in most areas and demonstrated better end-of-treatment scores than those who completed treatment at 6 months. Results from this evaluation suggest that DBT contributes to improvements in multiple aspects of functioning for the clients receiving this service.

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