10:30-11:45 | Room 705 Sunday Onsite Presentation Session 1

Mental Health

Session Chair: Soyeon Kim

10:30-10:55

67699 | Reaching Out and Opening Up: A Sequential Explanatory Investigation on Expressive Inhibition Among Selected Filipino University Students With MH Concerns

Bonn

Justin

Esguerra Jr., University of Santo Tomas, Philippines

Clarissa Delariarte, University of Santo Tomas, Philippines

Mental health (MH) issues have been rising – both internationally and locally. Depression (DEP), anxiety (ANX), and suicidality (SCD) have been highlighted as most prevalent – especially amongst the youth. Despite disconcerting figures, young individuals do not always seek for help. Barriers to help-seeking (HS) outweigh perceived benefits of accessing psychological care. This Sequential Explanatory research sought to explore deeper into Expressive Inhibition (EI) – by first (1) establishing its prevalence, through correlational examinations of MH concerns and HS intentions; and then (2) unraveling its essence, through interpretative phenomenological investigations upon the nature and meanings of EI. Preliminary findings revealed that EI exists – as substantiated by the presence of MH concerns (i.e., moderate to severe prevalence of DEP-ANX-SCD symptoms), but relative absence of HS behaviors (i.e., low general HS intentions, and actual HS behaviors typically among informal avenues alone). Significant correlations (p<0.01) demonstrated that higher intensities of MH concerns were associated with lower HS intentions (HSI). This was consistent across Informal (DEPxIHSI: rs=-0.34; ANXxIHSI: rs=-0.29; SCDxIHSI: rs=-0.45) and Formal (DEPxFHSI: rs=0.28; ANXxFHSI: rs=-0.27; SCDxFHSI: rs=-0.26) help-seeking alike. It is this phenomenon of EI that complicated the youth’s rapidly deteriorating MH state even further – as MH concerns were not only unaddressed (i.e., due to lack of awareness, affirmation, access, etc.); but deliberately unexpressed (i.e., due to fears of invalidation, vulnerability, hurting others, etc.). These findings suggest that more work is needed – not only to help students reach out; but also to open up, and express themselves without inhibition.

10:55-11:20

68604 | Effect of Life Purpose Program on Juvenile Delinquents with a History of Alcohol Use Detained at the Juvenile Detention Centre

Karnsunaphat Balthip, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand

Chutarat Sathrapanya, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand

Napakkawat Buathong, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand

Sirimas Phoomchaiya, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand

Sarana Suwanruangsri, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand

Palida Nudla, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand

This quasi-experimental research aimed to examine the effect of the life purpose (PIL) program on Juvenile Delinquents with a history of alcohol use detained at the Juvenile Detention Centre. Two Juvenile Detention Centers, located in southern Thailand, were selected by simple random sampling. The activities were conducted from June to August 2022. The follow-up process was conducted twice in October and December 2022.

The experimental group received the PIL program for 8 weeks. The control group received the routine care program. Participants’ wellness was measured using the Wellness Scale (WS). The WS was tested for reliability with 30 juvenile delinquents, using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, which yielded a value of 0.92. The demographic data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. A comparison of differences in demographic data of the two groups was analyzed using inferential statistics. A comparison of differences in WS scores of the two groups was analyzed using an independent sample t-test. The longitudinal data of WS were analyzed using a multilevel mixed effects model.

The findings revealed that the mean scores of wellness of the experimental group were higher statistically significant than the control group at Follow up 1 and Follow up 2, t = -6.101 (p<0.001) and t = -2.856 (p<0.008) respectively. When analyzing longitudinal data to study the change in the mean score on WS by controlling the influence of variables found that the experimental group had a change in the WS score statistically significant (β =3.746, p=0.037).

11:20-11:45

68658 | Screen Time and Social-Emotional Competencies Among Youth: Can Mindfulness Play a Role?

Soyeon Kim, McMaster University, Canada

Stephanie Munten, Waypoint Centre for Mental Healthcare, Canada

Shavon Stafford, Waypoint Centre fore Mental Healthcare, Canada

Nathan Kolla, University of Toronto, Canada

Background: Excessive screen time poses a serious concern regarding inadequate social-emotional development. Social-emotional competence (resilience, self-esteem, and self-compassion) are essential to buffer adverse screen time impact on youth mental health in the prolonged pandemic timeline. The current study investigated the efficacy of a mindfulness-based intervention on social-emotional competence in youth exposed to screen time during the pandemic.

Methods:. A total of 117 community youth participated in a 12-week, online mindfulness-based program and completed pre-, post- and follow-up surveys across five cohorts during the COVID-19 pandemic (Spring 2021 to Spring 2022). Using linear regression analyses, we examined differences between youths’ social-emotional competence on three-time points (baseline, post-, and follow-up survey). Results: In an unadjusted regression model, resilience [β= 3.68, 95%CI=1.78-5.50, p<.001], self-compassion [β= 0.50, 95%CI=0.34-0.66, p<.001], and self-esteem [β= 2.16, 95%CI=0.98-3.34, p<.001] significantly increased after the mindfulness program, and the effects were maintained in the follow-up. The efficacy of the mindfulness program persisted after controlling for screen time [RS: β=2.73, 95%CI=0.89-4.57, p<.01; SC: β= 0.50, 95%CI=0.32-0.67, p<.001; SE: β=1.46, 95%CI=0.34-2.59, p<.01] and in a fully adjusted model which accounted for the baseline mental health status and demographic factors [RS: β=3.01, 95%CI=1.20, p<.01; SC: β= 0.51, 95%CI=0.33-0.68, p<.001; SE: β=1.64, 95%CI=0.51-2.77, p<.01].

Conclusion: Evidence-based produced from this study supports the use of online mindfulness programs in enhancing social-emotional competence among youth exposed to increased screen time. Lessons learned can also guide wellness programming through physical distancing and beyond as we slowly transition to a "new normal".

13:10-14:25 | Room 705