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With news of rising suicide rates, there is a growing movement to eliminate the stigma associated with mental health across the country.
This effort includes university campuses, where previous national studies showed that 11% of students reported suicidal thoughts, but only 24% received the treatment they needed and this number has since increased.
One organization in particular, Active Minds, has played a crucial role in eliminating the stigma associated with mental health – and one study indicates that the group is achieving results.
Active Minds is a student-peer organization where students from different university campuses are in charge of implementing their programs. It is the oldest national non-profit organization that highlights the importance of familiarizing college students with conversations about mental health.
A new study, implemented by Active Minds, covered 12 campuses across California during the 2016-2017 academic year. According to their research, students know more about the importance of mental health and have seen a decrease in the stigma surrounding mental health issues and asking for help.
Dr. Bradley Stein, MD / Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist in Medical Policy at RAND Corporation and evaluator of this Active Minds study, explained, "More than 1,000 students in California have been recruited through university fairs, The first survey was conducted in September, then the same questions were asked in November and April, and we asked the same questions with each survey, and over time, we saw what was happening with the students' responses.
The surveys used by the researchers are called a Likert scale, which is a scale of "agreement" that measures the agreement of someone with various affirmations. Higher scores mean a greater sense of stigma around mental health issues.
The researchers were pleasantly surprised by the results of the study – decreasing scores over time, which means less stigma.
"When we followed the students, we found that they were becoming more aware and more involved in mental health issues, based on their responses," Stein said.
The results showed that students having started with low engagement with Active Minds information – most students, about 60% – were getting lower scores, less stigma, and were more knowledgeable about mental health problems at the end of the year.
"As a psychiatrist for kids and teens," Stein told ABC News, "I've seen that it's necessary to improve mental health in the colleges." This program, Active Minds, was launched by a young woman after her brother committed suicide.With this peer-led group, we can fight against stigma on college campuses to educate and get help that students need in any the country.
Denise Powell, Master's candidate, is a student from Jackson, Mississippi, who works at ABC News Medical Unit.
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