Standing

Undergraduate

Type of Proposal

Poster Presentation

Faculty

Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Lindsey Jaber

Proposal

Background: Despite experiencing challenges, many young people resist seeking formal mental health support services (McGorry & Mei, 2018). One possible reason for this underutilization is that outreach and current service frameworks might not meet the evolving needs of this group, especially among young people with marginalized identities (Robards et al., 2018). In collaboration with Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, a lead agency engaged with local community mental health services, this project seeks to contribute to initiatives specific to transitional-aged youth’s mental health, possible trauma symptoms, and help-seeking.

Method: This study invites undergraduate students and transitional-aged youth (18–24 years old) residing in Windsor-Essex County, Ontario, to participate in a mixed-method project with two phases. The first phase is ongoing and consists of a quantitative online survey. The next phase of this project will involve adopting a narrative inquiry approach and interviewing a subsample of participants from community and university settings.

Results: Preliminary analyses will be presented. Descriptive and correlational findings will reveal how local transitional-aged youth are coping with mental health challenges and engaging in help-seeking behaviours within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions and disruptions.

Conclusion: The expected implications of this mixed-method study include gaining valuable insights into understanding the unique challenges experienced by a traditionally hard-to-reach population during the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting insights may be leveraged to inform and refine existing support services. This project aims to accomplish these objectives by conceptualizing the problem at the local level from the youth perspective.

Availability

In case availability is required for poster presentations: March 29 from 12–3pm, March 31 from 2–3pm, and April 1 from 12–3pm

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Navigating Emerging Adulthood: Exploring Current Challenges Experienced in the Community

Background: Despite experiencing challenges, many young people resist seeking formal mental health support services (McGorry & Mei, 2018). One possible reason for this underutilization is that outreach and current service frameworks might not meet the evolving needs of this group, especially among young people with marginalized identities (Robards et al., 2018). In collaboration with Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, a lead agency engaged with local community mental health services, this project seeks to contribute to initiatives specific to transitional-aged youth’s mental health, possible trauma symptoms, and help-seeking.

Method: This study invites undergraduate students and transitional-aged youth (18–24 years old) residing in Windsor-Essex County, Ontario, to participate in a mixed-method project with two phases. The first phase is ongoing and consists of a quantitative online survey. The next phase of this project will involve adopting a narrative inquiry approach and interviewing a subsample of participants from community and university settings.

Results: Preliminary analyses will be presented. Descriptive and correlational findings will reveal how local transitional-aged youth are coping with mental health challenges and engaging in help-seeking behaviours within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions and disruptions.

Conclusion: The expected implications of this mixed-method study include gaining valuable insights into understanding the unique challenges experienced by a traditionally hard-to-reach population during the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting insights may be leveraged to inform and refine existing support services. This project aims to accomplish these objectives by conceptualizing the problem at the local level from the youth perspective.