AFFIRM Online: Utilising an Affirmative Cognitive–Behavioural Digital Intervention to Improve Mental Health, Access, and Engagement among LGBTQA+ Youth and Young Adults

Shelley L. Craig, Vivian W. Y. Leung, Rachael Pascoe, Nelson Pang, Gio Iacono, Ashley Austin and Frank Dillon
Additional contact information
Shelley L. Craig: Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1V4, Canada
Vivian W. Y. Leung: Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1V4, Canada
Rachael Pascoe: Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1V4, Canada
Nelson Pang: Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1V4, Canada
Gio Iacono: School of Social Work, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
Ashley Austin: Ellen Whiteside-McDonnell School of Social Work, Barry University, Tallahassee, FL 32304, USA
Frank Dillon: College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: Digital mental health interventions may enable access to care for LGBTQA+ youth and young adults that face significant threats to their wellbeing. This study describes the preliminary efficacy of AFFIRM Online, an eight-session manualised affirmative cognitive behavioural group intervention delivered synchronously. Participants (M age = 21.17; SD = 4.52) had a range of sexual (e.g., queer, lesbian, pansexual) and gender (e.g., non-binary, transgender, cisgender woman) identities. Compared to a waitlist control ( n = 50), AFFIRM Online participants ( n = 46) experienced significantly reduced depression ( b = ?5.30, p = 0.005, d = 0.60) and improved appraisal of stress as a challenge ( b = 0.51, p = 0.005, d = 0.60) and having the resources to meet those challenges ( b = 0.27, p = 0.059, d = 0.39) as well active coping ( b = 0.36, p = 0.012, d = 0.54), emotional support ( b = 0.38, p = 0.017, d = 0.51), instrumental support ( b = 0.58, p < 0.001, d = 0.77), positive framing ( b = 0.34, p = 0.046, d = 0.42), and planning ( b = 0.41, p = 0.024, d = 0.49). Participants reported high acceptability. This study highlights the potential of digital interventions to impact LGBTQA+ youth mental health and explores the feasibility of digital mental health to support access and engagement of youth with a range of identities and needs (e.g., pandemic, lack of transportation, rural locations). Findings have implications for the design and delivery of digital interventions for marginalised youth and young adults.

Keywords: LGBTQA+; cognitive–behavioural; technology-mediated; intervention; mental health; youth; sexual and gender minorities; online adaptation; digital mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1541/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1541/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:4:p:1541-:d:494468

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().