Suicidal risk during adolescence: Could covitality be part of the solution?

Objective The covitality model suggests that the co-disposition and synergy of core psychosocial assets (i.e., covitality) buffer the negative impact of stressful events and prevent the emergence of mental health problems during adolescence. At this stage of development, suicide already constitutes the leading cause of unnatural death in Europe. The present study aimed to examine […]

Unveiling adolescent suicidality: Holistic analysis of protective and risk factors using multiple machine learning algorithms

Adolescent suicide attempts are on the rise, presenting a significant public health concern. Recent research aimed at improving risk assessment for adolescent suicide attempts has turned to machine learning. But no studies to date have examined the performance of stacked ensemble algorithms, which are more suitable for low-prevalence conditions. The existing machine learning-based research also […]

Centering Indigenous knowledges and worldviews: Applying the Indigenist ecological systems model to youth mental health and wellness research and programs

Globally, Indigenous communities, leaders, mental health providers, and scholars have called for strengths-based approaches to mental health that align with Indigenous and holistic concepts of health and wellness. We applied the Indigenist Ecological Systems Model to strengths-based case examples of Indigenous youth mental health and wellness work occurring in CANZUS (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and […]

Young adults’ views on the mechanisms underpinning the impact of pets on symptoms of anxiety and depression

Introduction: Emerging adulthood is considered a peak age for the onset of mental health difficulties with approximately 75% of mental health disorders being diagnosed during this developmental period. Companion animals confer both risk and benefits to mental health yet the potential underpinning mechanisms which explain such impacts are not fully understood. This study aimed to gather […]

Mental wellbeing and resilience in suicide prevention crisis line volunteers

Crisis line volunteers are critical to nationwide suicide prevention efforts as they provide free support services to those experiencing emotional distress or suicidality. Most crisis lines rely on volunteers for call-taking, however, the experiences of these volunteers and the impact of call-taking on their mental wellbeing remains understudied. The current study aimed to explore mental […]

Pedianomics: The social return on investment in improving the health and wellbeing of children and adolescents

The report is a comprehensive assessment of the past 5 years of investments in the lives of 8 million young Canadians, making the case to put children first during budget planning. It presents new data on the multi-billion dollar impact of the recent tripledemic pediatric crisis and lack of progress in improving children’s health, with […]

Toward an Alberta model of wellness: Recommendations from the Alberta Mental Health and Addictions Advisory Council

Outlines the recommendations of the Alberta Mental Health and Addictions Advisory Council, which was appointed in November 2019 to provide recommendations to improve access to recovery-oriented care and better support Albertans who need help to get on their path to recovery.

Functional impairment, internalized stigma, and well-being: Considerations for recovery-oriented suicide prevention for U.S. Veterans with serious mental illness

Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Centers (PRRCs) provide recovery-oriented care to veterans with serious mental illness (SMI). As part of program evaluation, PRRC providers regularly assess recovery-oriented outcomes. Given the high rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among veterans with SMI, understanding such outcomes in relation to suicide risk is crucial. Among […]

Interventions targeting the mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced children and young people in higher-income countries: Evidence map and systematic review

Background: The mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced children and young people (i.e. foster care, kinship care, residential care) is poorer than non-care-experienced populations. The Care-experienced children and young people’s Interventions to improve Mental health and well-being outcomes Systematic review (CHIMES) aimed to synthesise the international evidence base for interventions targeting subjective wellbeing, mental health […]

Interventions targeting the mental health and wellbeing of care‑experienced children and young people in higher‑income countries: Evidence map and systematic review

Background The mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced children and young people (i.e. foster care, kinship care, residential care) is poorer than non-care-experienced populations. The Care-experienced cHildren and young people’s Interventions to improve Mental health and wEll-being outcomes Systematic review (CHIMES) aimed to synthesise the international evidence base for interventions targeting subjective wellbeing, mental health […]

Genetic predisposition to subjective well-being, depression, and suicide in relation to COVID-19 susceptibility and severity

Background Epidemiological studies have reported associations between subjective well-being (SWB), depression, and suicide with COVID-19 illness, but the causality has not been established. We performed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to investigate the causal link between SWB, depression, suicide and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity. Methods Summary statistics for SWB (298,420 cases), depression (113,769 cases) […]

Contribution of veterans’ initial post-separation vocational, financial, and social experiences to their suicidal ideation trajectories following military service

Background Veterans’ success with navigating the challenges of transition from military service may contribute to their risk for suicidal outcomes. The concept of well-being can help to conceptualize and assess successful navigation of reintegration challenges and may serve as an optimal target for public health-oriented suicide prevention. Methods The relationship between US veterans’ psychosocial well-being […]

Anxiety, stress & mindfulness: A do-it-yourself guide to wellness

Instead of trying to get rid of anxiety and stress, change your relationship to them. Mindfulness practice grounds us. Our drama-of-the-moment becomes thoughts and feelings that come and go as we navigate back to now. Awareness wakes us up from automatic pilot, and the mental fog begins to lift. Damaging self-talk starts to lose its […]

The therapist’s reaction to a patient’s suicide: Results of a survey and implications for health care professionals’ well-being

Background: A substantial proportion of therapists experience the loss of a patient to suicide at some point during their professional life. Aims: To assess (1) the impact of a patient’s suicide on therapists distress and well-being over time, (2) which factors contribute to the reaction, and (3) which subgroup might need special interventions in the aftermath of […]

CMA National Physician Health Survey: A national snapshot

How many physicians report burnout or screen positive for depression? The 2018 report on the CMA National Physician Health Survey provides valuable baseline data on a range of wellness indicators for physicians and residents in Canada, providing breakdowns by gender, years of practice, and urban/rural.

Effects of TikTok on adolescent mental health and wellbeing

With over 1 billion active users monthly, TikTok is undoubtedly one of the most widely used social media platforms. The video-sharing app allows users to create, share and watch short videos, which range in content from singing and dancing to recipes and home renovations. TikTok uses an algorithm to track the content that users browse […]

An ontological, anthropological, and psychoanalytic perspective on physician burnout

Post-industrialization, societies have evolved with profound changes in ways of life. However, it was not until just recently that the overall impact of its deleterious and pernicious effects has been widely recognized, studied, and accepted.  In the last few years, increased rates of stress and burnout (BO) not only affect clinicians, personally, but health care […]

Understanding the psychological well-being of patients with locked-in syndrome: A scoping review

Locked-in syndrome (LiS) is a neurological disorder caused by lesions affecting the ventral pons and midbrain and is characterized by loss of physical function, but with perceived consciousness intact. Despite severely limited function, previous studies have shown the quality of life (QoL) in patients to be more positive than naturally assumed by caregivers and relatives. […]

Health outcomes of psychosocial stress within firefighters: A systematic review of the research landscape

Background and Objectives Much of the research surrounding firefighter health has concerned the hazards intuitively associated with the occupation, such as physical, thermal, and chemical risks. However, an additional aspect of their work environment, psychosocial stressors, has begun to attract a growing level of attention. Work-related psychosocial stress may best be described as mental and […]

From hoping to help: Identifying and responding to suicidality amongst victims of domestic abuse

This article analyses findings from a large-scale study conducted in England and Wales into the prevalence of, and mediators and moderators of risk in relation to, suicidality amongst victims of domestic abuse. The authors tracked (disclosed) experiences of suicidal ideation or suicide within a sample of more than 3,500 domestically abused adults and explored factors […]

How Farmstrong impacts farmer behaviour, to improve wellbeing: Report prepared for Farmstrong

MAIN FINDINGS · The primary way in which Farmstrong is impacting the farmers is through repeated exposure to the key messages. · Other contributors were: o Providing communications which resonate with farmers o Farmers seeing the value in what is being communicated · The triangulation of these qualitative findings with the Monitor data provides increased […]

Pandemic and student mental health: Mental health symptoms among university students and young adults after the first cycle of lockdown in the UK

Background: Early COVID-19 research suggests a detrimental impact of the initial lockdown on young people’s mental health. Aims: We investigated mental health among university students and young adults after the first UK lockdown and changes in symptoms over 6 months. Method: In total, 895 university students and 547 young adults not in higher education completed an online survey […]

Trends in medical students’ health over 5 years: Does a wellbeing curriculum make a difference?

Background: Trends in New Zealand (NZ) medical students’ health and the influence of a wellbeing curricula are unknown. Methods: The author’s collected self-report data from NZ medical students on ‘Graduation Day’ from 2014 to 2018, using a serial cross-sectional survey design with validated scales assessing psychological health, stigma, coping, and lifestyle. Comparisons were made with NZ general […]