Promoting mental health and wellbeing among post-secondary students with the JoyPop™ app: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Technology use may be one strategy to promote mental health and wellbeing among young adults in post-secondary education settings experiencing increasing distress and mental health difficulties. The JoyPop™ app is mobile mental health tool with a growing evidence base. The objectives of this research are to (1) evaluate the effectiveness of the JoyPop™ app in improving emotion regulation skills (primary outcome), as well as mental health, wellbeing, and resilience (secondary outcomes); (2) evaluate sustained app use once users are no longer reminded and determine whether sustained use is associated with maintained improvements in primary and secondary outcomes; (3) determine whether those in the intervention condition have lower mental health service usage and associated costs compared to those in the control condition; and (4) assess users' perspectives on the quality of the JoyPop™ app.

Assessing the implementation of evidence-based alcohol policies on Atlantic Canadian post-secondary campuses: A comparative analysis.

Objective: This study assessed the quality of campus alcohol policies against best practice to assist campus decision-makers in strengthening their campus alcohol policies and reducing student alcohol use and harm.

Methods: Drawing on empirical literature and expert opinion, we developed an evidence-based scoring rubric to assess the quality of campus alcohol policies across 10 alcohol policy domains. Campus alcohol policy data were collected from 12 Atlantic Canadian universities.

A confirmatory factor analysis of a revised motives for playing drinking games (MPDG-33) scale among university students in the United States.

Aim: Participating in a drinking game (DG) is common practice among university students and can increase students' risk for heavy drinking. Given the theoretical link between motivations to drink and alcohol use, careful consideration should be given to students' motivations to play DGs. In this study, we examined the factor structure, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of a revised version of the motives for playing drinking games (MPDG) scale, the MPDG-33.

Increasing access to mental health supports for 12-17-year-old Indigenous youth with the JoyPop mobile mental health app: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Indigenous youth in Northwestern Ontario who need mental health supports experience longer waits than non-Indigenous youth within the region and when compared to youth in urban areas. Limited access and extended waits can exacerbate symptoms, prolong distress, and increase risk for adverse outcomes. Innovative approaches are urgently needed to provide support for Indigenous youth in Northwestern Ontario.

Clarifying the pathway from anxiety sensitivity to binge eating: The mediating role of depressive symptoms in a 3-week, 3-wave longitudinal study of undergraduates.

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) - characterized by a persistent fear that arousal-related bodily sensations will lead to serious cognitive, physical, and/or social consequences - is associated with various psychopathologies, including depressive symptoms and binge eating. This 3-week, 3-wave longitudinal study examined the relation between AS (including its global AS factor and lower-order AS cognitive, physical, and social concern dimensions), depressive symptoms, and binge eating among 410 undergraduates from two universities. Using generalized estimating equation models, we found that global AS, AS social concerns, and depressive symptoms predicted binge eating during any given week.

Comparing Drinking Game Motives, Behaviors, and Consequences Among Varsity Athletes, Recreational Athletes, and Non-Student-Athletes: A Multisite University Study.

Objective: Among college students, student-athletes are at increased risk for heavy alcohol consumption, participation in risky drinking practices (e.g., playing drinking games [DG]), and adverse alcohol-related consequences relative to non-student-athletes.

Engaging care partners of persons living with dementia in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) programs: a scoping review.

Objectives: Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a relatively new type of psychotherapy effective for treating depression and anxiety amongst family care partners of persons living with dementia [PLWD]. However, care partner engagement in mental health services is low and specific guidelines for designing ACT programs for care partners of PLWD do not exist. The purpose of this scoping review was to examine patterns in care partner engagement in ACT programs to identify program factors potentially influencing engagement.

Female youth and mental health service providers' perspectives on the JoyPop™ app: a qualitative study.

Introduction: Mobile health (mHealth) apps are a promising adjunct to traditional mental health services, especially in underserviced areas. Developed to foster resilience in youth, the JoyPop™ app has a growing evidence base showing improvement in emotion regulation and mental health symptoms among youth. However, whether this novel technology will be accepted among those using or providing mental health services remains unknown.

Investigating the Relation between Anxiety Sensitivity and Substance Use: What Are the Roles of Social Anxiety and Outcome Expectancies?

Research on the association between anxiety sensitivity (AS) and substance use is mixed, with some studies showing a positive association and others showing no association. Other relevant variables, such as social anxiety and outcome expectancies, may help us understand how and for whom AS is linked to substance use. This study tested (a) the associations between AS and alcohol use, cannabis use, and drinking games and pregaming behaviors among young adults, and (b) the mediating role of social anxiety and moderating role of outcome expectancies in these associations.

A national study on pregaming motives, frequency, consumption, and negative alcohol consequences among university students in the United States.

Background: Pregaming, or drinking before going out, is a commonly practiced risky behavior. Drinking motives are well-established predictors of alcohol use and negative alcohol consequences. Given the influence of context on drinking practices, motives specific to pregaming may affect pregaming behaviors and outcomes above and beyond general drinking motives.

Exercise and Health Anxiety in Older Women: Exploring the Mediating Role of Anxiety Sensitivity.

Research shows that health anxiety significantly affects older adults' health and quality of life. Although exercise may be associated with lower health anxiety, research on older adults is limited, and the mechanism remains unknown. This study examined the association between exercise and health anxiety in older women and the mediating role of anxiety sensitivity in this association.

Paraprofessional delivery of online narrative exposure therapy for firefighters.

Firefighters are at increased risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and face numerous barriers to accessing mental health care. Innovative ways to increase access to evidence-based interventions are needed. This study was a case series testing the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary effectiveness of a paraprofessional-delivered, virtual narrative exposure therapy (eNET) intervention for PTSD.

Do anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns and/or depression symptoms independently explain sleep disturbances in a high anxiety sensitive treatment-seeking sample?

Cognitive models of insomnia posit a role for anxiety sensitivity (AS) in sleep difficulties. While sleep disturbances have been linked to AS, particularly AS cognitive concerns, prior studies have rarely accounted for the correlated construct of depression. We used pre-treatment intervention trial data from 128 high AS, treatment-seeking adults with a DSM-5 diagnosis of an anxiety, depressive, or posttraumatic stress disorder to determine whether AS cognitive concerns and/or depression are independently associated with sleep impairment domains (e.

Mental health and physical activity in SCI: Is anxiety sensitivity important?

Unlabelled: Compared to research conducted with nondisabled samples, little is known about the relation between mental health and physical activity (PA) in individuals with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Despite this population being more at risk of experiencing anxiety and depression and less likely to engage in PA, few studies have investigated other factors that may impact this association in this population such as anxiety sensitivity (AS). AS is a fear of physiological arousal sensations, and importantly has been shown to be negatively associated with PA in people without disabilities.

Investigating pathways from anxiety sensitivity to impairment in a treatment-seeking sample.

Background: Previous research suggests that high anxiety sensitivity (AS) - a fear of arousal-related body sensations - may have implications not only for mental health symptoms but also for functional impairment. The aim of the present study was to examine whether elevated AS is associated with functional impairment by way of heightened anxiety symptoms and resultant depressive symptoms or unhealthy coping behaviours (i.e.

Anxiety Sensitivity in the Sexual Context: Links between Sexual Anxiety Sensitivity and Sexual Well-Being.

Anxiety sensitivity, the fear of physiological arousal sensations, has been linked to lower sexual frequency, poorer sexual function, and greater sexual anxiety. The current study assessed whether anxiety sensitivity specific to the sexual context, termed sexual anxiety sensitivity, was linked to a wide range of indicators of sexual well-being over and above associations accounted for by general anxiety sensitivity. As a first step, we developed the Sexual Anxiety Sensitivity Inventory (SASI).

Do anxiety sensitivity and impulsivity interact in predicting exercise involvement in emerging adult drinkers and cannabis users?

Anxiety sensitivity (AS; i.e. fear of arousal-related sensations) and impulsivity (i.

A National Study on Drinking Game Behaviors and Related Consequences Among NCAA Student-Athletes: Racial/Ethnic and Sex Differences.

Objective: Research indicates that college student-athletes report more alcohol use and negative drinking consequences than non-student-athletes. One drinking practice that has been linked to heavy alcohol use and related consequences is playing drinking games. In the present study, we investigated which segment of the student-athlete population is most at risk for frequent drinking game participation, elevated alcohol consumption while playing drinking games, and negative drinking game consequences.

Dimensions of Athletic Identity and their Associations with Drinking Behaviors among a National Sample of University Athletes in the United States.

Although prior studies have indicated athletic identity plays a role in alcohol use among college athletes, this research has largely drawn on a unidimensional conceptualization. Addressing this gap, the current study utilized a sample of 8,550 university athletes (M = 19.70 years, SD = 1.

The Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire: A cross-country examination among university students in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Argentina, and the United States.

Background: The Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (B-YAACQ) was designed to measure alcohol consequences and identify at-risk students. It was developed and originally validated among university students in the United States (U.S.

Racial, ethnic, and sex differences in heavy drinking and negative alcohol-related consequences in a national sample of NCAA student-athlete drinkers.

Athletic involvement is linked to increased risk for heavy alcohol use among college students. We examined whether student-athletes from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds differ with respect to heavy drinking and related consequences. Participants were 15,135 student-athlete drinkers (50.

Participation in Drinking Games and Predrinking Among University Students in Argentina, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Aims: The limited existing research on drinking games and predrinking among university students in Argentina, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand suggests that participation in these risky drinking practices is relatively widespread among this population. Drinking norms and alcohol use can vary across countries and in different regions of the globe. The measurement of drinking games and predrinking participation between studies also differs, making cross-country comparisons difficult.

Relevance of Athlete-Specific Psychosocial Factors in High School Student-Athlete Alcohol Consumption.

Research suggests that adolescent student-athletes are at heightened risk for alcohol consumption. The identification of unique, modifiable risk factors for alcohol use in this population is needed. Building on previous work highlighting the importance of each of athlete-specific drinking motives and alcohol expectancies, this study investigated whether athlete-specific psychosocial predictors optimize our ability to predict adolescent athlete alcohol consumption after accounting for general psychosocial predictors.

Examining drinking game harms as a function of gender and college student status.

Drinking game (DG) participation among young adults is widespread. Because heavy alcohol consumption is commonly associated with playing DGs, this activity presents a health risk for those who play. In the present study, we explored the most common negative DG consequences experienced by young adults and how DG consequences differed by gender and college status.