Examining Different Strategies for Stigma Reduction and Mental Health Promotion in Asian Men in Toronto

Fung, Kenneth; Liu, Jenny J. W.; Sin, Rick; Shakya, Yogendra; Guruge, Sepali; Bender, Amy; Wong, Josephine P.

doi:10.1007/s10597-020-00723-3

Original Paper
Published: 19 October 2020

Examining Different Strategies for Stigma Reduction and Mental Health Promotion in Asian Men in Toronto

Kenneth Fung ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4441-8420^1,2,
Jenny J. W. Liu³,
Rick Sin⁴,
Yogendra Shakya^5,6,
Sepali Guruge⁴,
Amy Bender⁷ &
Josephine P. Wong⁴

Community Mental Health Journal volume 57, pages 655–666 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Mental illness stigma has detrimental effects on health and wellbeing. Approaches to address stigma in racialized populations in Western nations need to emphasize inclusivity, social justice, and sociocultural intersectionality of determinants of health. The current paper evaluates three intervention approaches to reduce stigma of mental illness among Asian men in Toronto, Canada. Participants received one of four group interventions: psychoeducation, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Contact-based Empowerment Education (CEE), and a combination of ACT+CEE. Self-report measures on stigma (CAMI, ISMI) and social change (SJS) were administered before and after the intervention. A total of 535 Asian men completed the interventions. Overall analyses found that all intervention approaches were successful in reducing stigma and promoting social change. Subscale differences suggest that CEE may be more broadly effective in reducing mental illness stigmatizing attitudes while ACT may be more specifically effective in reducing internalized stigma. More work needs to be done to elucidate mechanisms that contribute to socioculturally-informed mental illness stigma interventions for racialized communities and traditionally marginalized populations.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Movember Foundation Grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

Asian Initiative in Mental Health, Equity, Gender, and Populations Division, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto Western Hospital, 399 Bathurst Street, 9 EW, Toronto, ON, M5T 2S8, Canada
Kenneth Fung
Department of Psychiatry, UHN - Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Canada
Kenneth Fung
Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
Jenny J. W. Liu
Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
Rick Sin, Sepali Guruge & Josephine P. Wong
Access Alliance, Toronto, Canada
Yogendra Shakya
Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Yogendra Shakya
Laurence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Amy Bender

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Kenneth Fung
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Jenny J. W. Liu
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Rick Sin
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Yogendra Shakya
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Sepali Guruge
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Amy Bender
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Josephine P. Wong
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Correspondence to Kenneth Fung.

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Fung, K., Liu, J.J.W., Sin, R. et al. Examining Different Strategies for Stigma Reduction and Mental Health Promotion in Asian Men in Toronto. Community Ment Health J 57, 655–666 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00723-3

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Received: 31 January 2019
Accepted: 03 October 2020
Published: 19 October 2020
Issue Date: May 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00723-3

Keywords

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Contact-based Empowerment Education (CEE)
Mental health
Stigma
Mental illness
Intervention research
Asian Men