title: Healthy young minds: the effects of a 1-hour classroom workshop on mental illness stigma in high school students.
abstract: This study aimed to test the effects of a 1-h classroom-based workshop, led by medical students, on mental illness stigma amongst secondary school students. Students (aged 14-17) from three public secondary schools in British Columbia participated in the workshop. A questionnaire measuring stigma (including stereotype endorsement and desire for social distance) was administered immediately before (T1), immediately after (T2), and 1-month after the workshop (T3). A total of 279 students met the study inclusion criteria. Total scores on the stigma scale decreased by 23 % between T1 and T2 (p < 0.01). This was sustained 1-month post-workshop with a 21 % stigma reduction compared to pre-intervention (p < 0.01). This effect was primarily due to improvements in scores that measured desire for social distance. There were no significant changes in scores that measured stereotype endorsement. Adolescents' stigmatizing attitudes can be effectively reduced through a 1-h easily implementable and cost-effective classroom-based workshop led by medical students.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry and Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Rm A3-112, CFRI Translational Lab Building, 938 W28th Ave, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4H4, Canada.
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ke
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Terri
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Michael M H
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jay Ching Chieh
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jehannine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Austin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003376:Counseling; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008603:Mental Health; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012929:Psychological Distance; D012574:Schools; D057545:Social Stigma; D013240:Stereotyping; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires