Marie Yap

Publications (39) View all

• Article: Psychiatric labels and other influences on young people's stigmatizing attitudes: Findings from an Australian national survey.

  Marie Bee Hui Yap, Nicola Reavley, Andrew James Mackinnon, Anthony Francis Jorm
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  ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Stigma is a major impediment to help seeking for mental disorders by young people. To reduce stigma and improve help seeking, a better understanding of the influences on different components of stigma for different disorders is required. METHODS: In 2011, a telephone interview was conducted with a national sample of 2522 Australians aged 15-25 years. Participants were presented with a vignette of a young person portraying either depression, depression with suicidal thoughts, social phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder or psychosis. They were then asked what they thought was wrong with the person, exposure to mental health problems in themselves and in family or friends, stigmatizing attitudes, and their awareness of beyondblue. RESULTS: Accurate psychiatric labeling of the mental disorder presented in the vignette and beyondblue awareness were the best predictors of less stigmatizing attitudes, followed closely by exposure to family or friends with mental health problems. Across vignettes, the personally held stigmatizing perception of mental health problems as a weakness rather than an illness was most strongly associated with these predictors. LIMITATIONS: Stigma and labeling were assessed with reference to a vignette character and may not reflect actual experience or behaviors. Other limitations include the cross-sectional design and potential for social desirability bias in the stigma measure. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that community awareness campaigns (such as those by beyondblue) that encourage appropriate close contact with others affected by mental health problems and improved accurate psychiatric label use may have potential to counter various aspects of stigma, especially personal beliefs that mental illness is a weakness.
  Journal of affective disorders 01/2013; · 3.76 Impact Factor
• Article: Where would young people seek help for mental disorders and what stops them? Findings from an Australian national survey.

  Marie Bee Hui Yap, Nicola Reavley, Anthony Francis Jorm
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  ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: In order to improve help seeking by young people for mental illness, a better understanding is required of their help-seeking intentions and barriers to their help seeking from various different sources and for different disorders. METHODS: Young people's help-seeking intentions and perceived barriers to help seeking were assessed by a national telephone survey of 3021 youths aged 15-25 years. Respondents were presented with a vignette of a young person portraying depression, depression with suicidal thoughts, depression with alcohol abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, social phobia, or psychosis. RESULTS: Embarrassment or shyness was the most frequently mentioned barrier to seeking help from most sources. However, different barriers featured prominently depending on the disorder and the helper. Age, sex, and knowing a family member or friend who had received professional help for mental illness predicted some barriers. LIMITATIONS: Help-seeking intentions and barriers were assessed with reference to a vignette character and may not reflect actual experience or behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Findings can facilitate the targeting of future efforts to improve young people's help seeking for mental disorders by highlighting the barriers that are more relevant for specific disorders, sources of help and personal characteristics.
  Journal of affective disorders 12/2012; · 3.76 Impact Factor
• Article: The influence of stigma on young people’s help-seeking intentions and beliefs about the helpfulness of various sources of help

  Marie B. H. Yap, Annemarie Wright, Anthony F. Jorm
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  ABSTRACT: PurposeIn this study, we examined whether young people’s help-seeking intentions and beliefs about the helpfulness of various sources of help are influenced by their own, and their parents’ stigmatising attitudes towards young people with mental disorders. MethodsA national telephone survey was conducted with 3,746 Australians aged 12–25years and 2,005 of their parents. Stigmatising attitudes, help-seeking intentions, and perceived helpfulness of various sources of help were assessed in relation to four vignettes of a young person with a mental disorder (psychosis, depression, depression with alcohol misuse or social phobia). ResultsUnlike ‘stigma perceived in others’, the ‘weak-not-sick’, ‘social distance’ and ‘dangerous/unpredictable’ dimensions of young people’s stigma were associated with both help-seeking intentions and helpfulness beliefs about various sources of help. Attributing mental disorder to a personal weakness rather than an illness was associated with less intention to seek help from a doctor and less positive beliefs about professional sources (including doctors, counsellors, and psychologists). In contrast, young adults aged 18–25years who perceived the vignette character as more dangerous or unpredictable had greater intention to seek help from a psychiatrist and a helpline, and more positive beliefs about psychiatrists. Greater social distance was associated with less intention to seek help from informal sources and less positive beliefs about these sources. No consistent pattern of associations was found for parent stigma. ConclusionsThe findings suggest that different dimensions of youth stigma differentially influence help-seeking intentions and beliefs about the helpfulness of different sources of help. KeywordsYoung people–Stigma–Help seeking–Beliefs–Helpfulness
  Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 04/2012; 46(12):1257-1265. · 2.70 Impact Factor
• Article: Young people's mental health first aid intentions and beliefs prospectively predict their actions: findings from an Australian National Survey of Youth.

  Marie Bee Hui Yap, Anthony Francis Jorm
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  ABSTRACT: Little is known about whether mental health first aid knowledge and beliefs of young people actually translate into actual behavior. This study examined whether young people's first aid intentions and beliefs predicted the actions they later took to help a close friend or family member with a mental health problem. Participants in a 2006 national survey of Australian youth (aged 12-25 years) reported on their first aid intentions and beliefs based on one of four vignettes: depression, depression with alcohol misuse, psychosis, and social phobia. At a two-year follow-up interview, they reported on actions they had taken to help any family member or close friend with a problem similar to the vignette character since the initial interview. Of the 2005 participants interviewed at follow-up, 608 reported knowing someone with a similar problem. Overall, young people's first aid intentions and beliefs about the helpfulness of particular first aid actions predicted the actions they actually took to assist a close other. However, the belief in and intention to encourage professional help did not predict subsequent action. Findings suggest that young people's mental health first aid intentions and beliefs may be valid indicators of their subsequent actions.
  Psychiatry Research 02/2012; 196(2-3):315-9. · 2.52 Impact Factor
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  Article: Young people's beliefs about preventive strategies for mental disorders: findings from two Australian national surveys of youth.

  Marie Bee Hui Yap, Nicola Reavley, Anthony Francis Jorm
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  ABSTRACT: Political interest in prevention of mental illness has increased in recent years. However, relatively little is known about the public's beliefs about prevention, and the predictors of these beliefs. Since many disorders start in the first decades of life, a focus on young people is warranted. Young people's prevention beliefs were assessed by a national telephone survey of 3746 Australian youths aged 12-25 years in 2006. A similar survey was repeated in 2011 with 3021 youths aged 15-25. In both surveys, respondents were presented with a vignette portraying depression, psychosis, social phobia, or depression with alcohol abuse in a young person. The 2011 survey also included depression with suicidal thoughts and post-traumatic stress disorder. Respondents rated the helpfulness of seven potential prevention strategies, and reported on any experience of mental health problems and treatment in the past year, exposure to beyondblue and mental health information at school or work. Most respondents believed that regular contact with friends and family and regular physical activity would be helpful. Respondents who had recently experienced mental health problems, younger respondents, females, and those not exposed to beyondblue or mental health information were more likely to hold beliefs that differed from those of health professionals or available evidence. No significant changes were observed between surveys. Actual preventive actions and reasons behind respondents' beliefs were not assessed. Future prevention efforts should target subgroups with beliefs that differ from professionals' and research evidence. Beyondblue and school and work settings may be promising avenues for these efforts.
  Journal of affective disorders 02/2012; 136(3):940-7. · 3.76 Impact Factor