Mental Health & Wellbeing | Making Waves 2021

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Abstracts & Posters

The Relationship Between Social Networking and Relationship Satisfaction

Chelsea Reid & Melanie O'Niell

There is a lack of literature on the impact of social networking sites (SNSs) and cell phone use on romantic relationships. One study found that the majority of female participants felt that cell phones inhibited their relationship, resulting in a feeling of detachment from their romantic partner (Roberts & David, 2016). Thus, relationship satisfaction is diminished as meaningful interactions are displaced (Valkenburg & Peter, 2007). The purpose of the current study (data collection is ongoing) is to uncover the degree to which SNSs and cell phone use impacts relationship satisfaction. It was hypothesized that greater SNS use would be associated with reduced relationship satisfaction. Participants (N = 100) completed several self-report measures used to assess SNS use (SONTUS; Olufadi, 2016) and relationship satisfaction (RSS; Burns, 1993). Bivariate correlation analysis revealed a negative relationship between social networking use and relationship satisfaction (r = -.25) which was nearly significant (p = .059). These results suggest that spending more time on SNSs is associated with lower satisfaction in one's intimate partner relationship. Exploring this relationship further will assist in providing evidence of how SNSs and cell phone use impacts romantic relationships, and stipulate outcomes that motivate the exploration of future literature.

Bidirectional Associations Between Parent, Peer, and Romantic Relationship Quality and Criminal Offending Among Justice-Involved Youth

Chitra Balakrishnan, BA, Christina Robillard, MSc, & Brianna Turner, PhD

On a typical day, 48,000 adolescents are detained due to criminal justice involvement in the US (Sawyer, 2019). According to social control theory, adolescents who develop strong and positive attachments with close others refrain from criminal offending to avoid jeopardizing these relationships, while adolescents with weak and negative attachments to close others may engage in criminal behaviour since they believe there is nothing to lose. Coercive family theory builds upon social control theory by positing a bidirectional association between relationship quality and offending. According to this theory, a vicious cycle may be initiated when a young child’s misbehaviour is paired with ineffective parenting strategies. Over time, negative parent-child interactions lower the quality of their relationship and intensify the child’s misbehaviour, which may eventually escalate to criminal offending. To date, few studies have comprehensively tested the propositions of these theories. To address this knowledge gap, this study investigated the longitudinal, bidirectional relationships between parent, peer, and romantic relationship quality and criminal offending in justice-involved youth. The study used archival data from the Pathways to Desistance study, which comprehensively interviewed 1354 (86% male, Mage = 16, 20% White) justice-involved youth in the United States across seven years. Analyses for this study were limited to the first three years. Consistent with social control theory, the present study affirms that having high quality relationships with parents is a protective factor against youth criminal offending. Social control theory and coercive family theory were not supported with respect to peer and romantic relationships. Justice-involved youth could benefit from family-based therapy that focuses on recognizing and repairing poor quality familial relationships. Future research should account for parents’, peers; and romantic partners’ deviancy, as it could interact with and confound their quality of relationship and address concerns of disproportionately higher arrest rates of people of colour; be conservative in generalizing findings and prevent developing prejudiced narratives against certain racial/ethnic groups in society.

Alcohol Consumption in Canada during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Changes in Drinking

Lindsey McCullough, Tim Stockwell, & Jinhui Zhao

The novel coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives of people worldwide, leading researchers to examine the association between COVID-19 and mental health/ substance use. The present study examines data collected for the Canadian arm of the International Alcohol Collaboration – COVID-19 Alcohol Control study led by Casswell et al at Massey University, New Zealand. We investigated the difference between pre and post COVID alcohol consumptions, the relationship between COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and alcohol consumption in Canadian adults, and any personal characteristics that may be predictive of changes in alcohol use. The possible motives behind changes in drinking patterns were also examined. It was hypothesized that weekly alcohol consumption would differ between 2019 and 2020, and that drinking behaviours would fluctuate in accordance with changes in government mandated COVID-19 social distancing restrictions. Data from 1384 Canadian adults were collected via an online survey platform which was analyzed using a t-test and chi-square test. It was found that significantly more alcoholic drinks were consumed in 2020 compared to 2019, and as COVID-19 restrictions increased, so did self- reported alcohol consumption. It was also found that females, and individuals who lost income during the pandemic drank significantly more in 2020, and the most common self-reported reason for drinking more was feelings of stress and anxiety. These findings may offer insight into the populations at risk for increases in alcohol use during the pandemic, and the supports needed to mediate these effects.

Examination of Shyness and Victimization to Understand Substance Use Patterns in the National Comorbidity Survey - Baseline (1990-1992)

Saki C. Nakai, Kalina M. Lamb, MA, & Sarah S. Dermody, PhD

There is a lack of consensus among researchers on the association between shyness and substance use, which may be due to individual variation in coping strategies in social situations and other stressful events (Carducci, 2009; Lemyre et al., 2019). Coping strategies may differ between those with and without a history of childhood victimization, which is positively related to substance use (Kilpatrick et al., 2000; Swadi, 1999). Data was analyzed from the National Comorbidity Survey Baseline, a nationwide household survey (N = 8,098) that was administered within the United States from 1990-1992. Substance use outcomes were binge drinking, tobacco use, illicit drug use, and DSM-III-R alcohol and drug abuse (with or without dependence). A logistic regression was run to examine the moderating effect of victimization type (emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and poly-victimization) on the association between shyness and each dichotomous substance outcome (binge drinking, tobacco use, illicit drug use, DSM- III-R alcohol abuse, DSM-III-R drug abuse). Results supported a moderating role of victimization for tobacco use only, specifically for emotional (OR = 1.19, p = .05), physical (OR = 1.59, p < .001), and poly-victimization (OR = 1.31, p < .001). Specifically, higher levels of shyness were associated with a reduced odds of tobacco use when participants did not report victimization. However, when participants did report victimization, there was no significant relationship between shyness and tobacco use (ps > .05). Victimization did not moderate additional relations between shyness and drug use; however, shyness was significantly associated with reduced binge drinking but increased illicit drug use. No associations were found between shyness and DSM-III-R alcohol or drug abuse. These findings suggest that when there is no victimization history, shy individuals may have less fear, higher confidence, and higher self-esteem to approach people or engage in social situations without hesitation (Rutter, 1981), and such confidence may be further supported by decreased tobacco use in order to avoid making a bad impression in front of others. More research may be needed in order to understand how the inclusion of victimization histories, which are often accompanied by various psychological symptoms, among shy individuals affect other substance use outcomes.

Early Caregiver Autonomy Support and Type 1 Diabetes Distress in Emerging Adults

Taylor McEachnie & Dr. Theone Paterson

Purpose: For those diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in childhood or adolescence, becoming more independent in diabetes management in preparation for emerging adulthood may be challenging and distressing. This project seeks to determine if autonomy supportive T1D caregiving during childhood and adolescence is related to subsequent diabetes distress levels in emerging adults. In addition, we examine how COVID-19 has impacted the emerging adult T1D population.
Method: Young adult (age 19-30) Canadians with T1D (N = 56) completed measures of diabetes distress, autonomy support, and mental health status. Hierarchical linear regression was used to assess the predictive power of early caregiver autonomy support on diabetes distress in emerging adulthood, while controlling for age, sex, education, co-residence with a guardian, current mental health, and changes in mental health since the beginning of the pandemic.
Results: Of the hypothesized control variables, sex and current mental health status were significantly predictive of diabetes distress. Autonomy support, the tested predictor, was not significantly predictive of diabetes distress, contrary to what was hypothesized.
Conclusion: These findings aim to inform the prevention and intervention of diabetes distress, suggesting that healthcare workers consider sex and mental health when working with patients with T1D. Autonomy support in adolescence, however, may not have lasting effects on diabetes distress into emerging adulthood.

The Mental Health of University Students and the Impact of Year of Study, Self-Care Habits, Hobbies, and COVID-19

Jennifer Reeves & Dr. Theone Paterson

Background: Mental health concerns are common among university students, and may be impacted by the self-care habits and the hobbies of students, as well as their year of study. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly worsened the mental health of Canadians (Dozois, 2020), which is likely to be seen in students as well. This study aims to examine the impact self-care habits, hobbies, COVID-19, and year of study on the mental health of university students in Canada.
Methods: Over a two month period, university students across Canada (n=1192) took part in an online survey. This survey included measures of five self-care habits, including sleep, exercise, emotion regulation strategies (ERS), mindfulness, and social support, questions regarding their habits, scales to assess the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health, and measures for their current states of anxiety, depression, and stress. This study will utilize structural equation modeling, and will compare four models, one for each respective year of study.
Anticipated results: I hypothesize that self-care habits and hobbies will have a direct impact on mental health, in which individuals who engage in more self-care habits and recreation hobbies will have better mental health. I also hypothesize individuals who report their mental health being greatly impacted by COVID-19 will report overall worse ratings of mental health. Findings from this study will contribute to our understanding of the mental health of university students, and may indicate potential areas which can be targeted with interventions and supports.

Is Extraversion Associated with Well-Being? It Depends on How Often You Ask

Tristen Lozinski, Tomiko Yoneda, MSc, Scott Hofer, PhD, & Jonathan Rush, PhD

Background. Studies assessing well-being and extraversion focus on hedonic well-being, missing important components of eudaimonic well-being. Such research is predominantly cross-sectional, obtaining global measures of well-being subdimensions operationalized as trait-like constructs. This between-person literature shows consistent associations between extraversion and hedonic well-being. Little is known about the relationships between extraversion and eudaimonic well-being or daily fluctuations in hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. To better understand these dynamic associations, we implemented a daily diary design assessing extraversion and hedonic and eudaimonic well-being.
Methods. University of Victoria undergraduate students were recruited via the research participation pool. Participants’ (N = 147, 87.1% female, Mage=19.9 years) extraversion and well-being were measured at baseline, followed by fourteen daily well-being assessments. Multilevel modeling examined the within- and between-person associations between extraversion and both global and daily measures of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being subdimensions.
Results. Multilevel modeling indicated that well-being varied more within individuals than between individuals. Extraversion was associated with hedonic and eudaimonic well-being subdimensions assessed at baseline; these associations were attenuated when well-being was measured daily.
Discussion. The associations demonstrated between extraversion and well-being subdimensions measured at baseline diminished when well-being was assessed daily, indicating that global and daily well-being measures may capture different constructs. Moreover, the density distribution model purports that experienced extraversion varies greatly throughout the day. Perhaps, lower experienced extraversion during completion of daily well-being measures resulted in lower reported daily well-being. Our unexpected results emphasize the importance of further research utilizing daily assessments to examine extraversion and hedonic and eudaimonic well-being subdimensions.
Keywords: personality, extraversion, well-being, hedonic, eudaimonic, daily diary

Emotional Distress and Healthcare-Seeking Patterns Among Undergraduate Students With Borderline Personality Disorder

Alayna Gretton, Carolyn Helps, & Brianna Turner

Background: Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are frequent users of healthcare services. Although published clinical observation suggests that intense emotional distress precedes treatment-seeking (e.g., following suicide attempts or episodes of non-suicidal self-injury), the role of emotional distress in healthcare-seeking is yet to be investigated empirically. This study aims to identify patterns and predictors of treatment-seeking over a 7-month longitudinal design in undergraduate students with and without BPD.
Methods: Participants were first-year undergraduate students drawn from an 8-month longitudinal investigation of social and emotional functioning during the transition to university (N = 609, 74.70% female, Mage = 17.83, SD = 0.74 ). A clinical subset of N=65 individuals was identified as meeting criteria for probable BPD based on diagnostic cut-off scores on the McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD; Zanarini et al., 2003). Emotional distress was indexed by a modified version of the College Chronic Life Stress Survey (CCLSS; Towbes & Cohen, 1996). Treatment-seeking was measured by two binary survey items assessing campus healthcare services utilization (0=healthcare services were not sought; 1=healthcare services were sought). Data were collected monthly across the academic year, yielding a total of 7 assessment time points.
Analysis: Binary multilevel modeling tested 3 hypotheses. Hypothesis one predicted that students would have an increased probability of seeking treatment when experiencing elevated emotional distress, regardless of BPD status. Hypothesis two predicted that students with BPD would have an increased probability of seeking treatment overall, compared to those without BPD. Hypothesis three predicted that students with BPD would have an increased probability of seeking treatment when experiencing elevated emotional distress, compared to students without BPD.
Results: Hypotheses two was supported; students with BPD sought more healthcare services overall. However, hypothesis one and three were unsupported: Within-person effects of emotional distress on healthcare seeking were insignificant in both BPD and non-BPD groups; student’s probability of healthcare seeking did not increase under elevated emotional distress. Exploratory analyses found a between-person effect for emotional distress and treatment-seeking; probability of seeking treatment was greater for students with higher emotional distress baseline scores, irrespective of BPD status.

Exploring the Barriers to Receiving Equitable Mental Health Support Amongst Post-Secondary Students

Hannah Steed & Dr. Chris Lalonde

Background: There appears to be an extensive understanding of the potential challenges in delivering mental health support to the general population, however little research pertains to post-secondary institutions which are often responsible for the dissemination of mental health services to large populations. Furthermore, there was a critical lack of research pertaining to the Indigenous student mental health. To the researcher’s knowledge there exist no studies which assess whether the reviewed barriers (structural, attitudinal, cultural) are prevalent within university health services and if these barriers impact Indigenous post-secondary students differently than their non-Indigenous counterparts. As such, this study aims to add to existing research by investigating the perceived barriers to receiving mental health support amongst post-secondary students, specifically investigating if there are differences between non-Indigenous and Indigenous post-secondary students in terms of desired mental health support from the university mental health services.
Method: The survey (24 items) was distributed to participants through the online survey platform SurveyMonkey. Ordinal survey items (Likert-type responses) pertained to students' perceptions of possible structural and attitudinal barriers that prevent individuals from seeking help. Additional items (written responses) assessed student’s perceptions of the cultural appropriateness of services offered on campus and their experiences of alienation while attending university. No formal hypotheses have been made due to the exploratory nature of the study and the lack of previous research to base predictions on.
Results: With the findings, the researcher intends to make practical and meaningful recommendations for future mental health practice at the University of Victoria.