This document discusses a study on the effects of a peer-led mental health literacy course called BRIDGES. The 12-week course was taught by people with lived experience of mental illness and aimed to improve participants' mental health literacy, reduce stigma, and support recovery. The study involved collecting pre- and post-course surveys from 19 participants measuring constructs like mental health knowledge, peer support, and problem-solving skills. Results found improvements in several areas, and participants reported increased understanding of their conditions and confidence in managing their mental health. Peer support was a particularly valuable aspect for many. The study faced limitations like a small sample size but provides initial evidence that peer-led courses may effectively improve mental health literacy and recovery.

1. ALLIANCE ON MENTAL
ILLNESS’S PEER-TO-
PEER CLASS AND ITS
EFFECTS ON MENTAL
HEALTH LITERACY
AND RECOVERY
Ariel Hargrave
Melinda Russell-Stamp, Ph.D.
Weber State University

2. “One in four adults-approximately 57.7
million Americans experience a mental
health disorder within a given year. One in
17 lives with serious mental illnesses such
as schizophrenia, major depression or
bipolar disorder and about one in 10
children live with a serious mental or
emotional disorder” (U.S. Census Bureau,
2004).

3. Knowledge and beliefs about help-seeking,
treatment, causes of mental illness and
their risk factors.
Mental Health Literacy:

4. Building Recovery of Individual Dreams and
Goals through Education and Support
(BRIDGES)
 Consumers are taught by fellow
consumers on the road to
recovery
 12-week educational course
 BRIDGES handbook is given to
all participants

5. Key Factors for Self-Advocacy
 Mental health
literacy
 Stigma
reduction
 Peer supports
 Communication
 Connection to
family/communit
y support
 Problem solving
 Coping skills

6. Rated from 1 (strongly agree) to 5
(strongly disagree)
1. I believe that mental illness is a brain disorder that occurs due to a
complex interaction of biology and environment.
2. I believe that mental illness is a character flaw or weakness.
3. I feel discriminated against or stigmatized due to my mental illness.
4. I am able to explain my mental illness to family, friends, and others.
5. I feel confident in my ability to build and maintain supportive relationships
with others.
6. I believe that there are people who understand my experience with
mental illness.
7. I am confident in my ability to identify personal barriers to help-seeking
and recover and to overcome these barriers.
8. I feel confident in my ability to solve problems in positive ways.
9. I feel confident in my ability to communicate effectively with others.
10. I feel confident in my ability to manage my mental illness.
11. I feel a peer-to-peer approach is useful in my recovery.

7. Demographics Pre-Test Data
(N=19)
Average Minimum Maximum
Female 57.9%
Male 42.1%
Age 39 20 55
Ethnicity 84.2%
Caucasian
15.8%
Hispanic/Latino

8. Methods
 Participants: Individuals 18 and older
with a mental illness diagnosis under
the DSM-IV, registered for the
BRIDGES class
 Procedures: Pre-test was distributed
the first day of the BRIDGES class
and a post-test was distributed on the
last day. Assessments are
anonymous and consent forms were

9. Analysis
Mean N Standard
Deviation
Pre Test Total 25.57 7 8.039
Post Test
Total
21.71 7 5.678
t df Significance
(2-tailed)
Pre Test Total-
Post Test Total
1.645 6 .151

11. Analysis
N Mean Standard
Deviation
Pre-Total
Complete
7 25.57 8.039
Pre-Total
Incomplete
12 30.42 6.626
t df Significance
(2-tailed)
Mean
Difference
Equal
variances
assumed
-1.424 17 .173 -4.845

13. Partial Correlations among Key
Factors (N=19)
Pre- Mental
Health
Literacy
Pre- Peer
Support
Pre-
Connection
to Family
Pre- Skills
Pre- Mental
Health
Literacy
.576* .578*
Pre- Total .915** .698*
*p<.05
**p<.001

15. Personal Comments
 What was the most valuable
aspect of the BRIDGES class?
 “My illness is a result of my biology.”
 “The information about my disorder and how it
effects the way in which I can approach my future
with confidence and enthusiasm.”
 “It was interesting to learn how many people had
mental illness.”
 “I have to be proud of myself, I’m doing the best I
can do to get better.”

16.  “Speak up! Tell other’s things that I don’t want
to tell them when it’s important…like when I
was having scary thoughts and ended up
going to the UNI Hospital.”
 “One thing that was very valuable was having
other’s who understand.”
 4 out of the 7 mentioned some
form of peer support as being
helpful in their recovery.

17. Discussion
 High drop out rate of class
 Possible misunderstanding of statements
 Small sample size
 Could severity of a diagnosis be a reason for
high scores?
 Collect information on how many classes each
individual took, compare scores

18. A thank you
to NAMI
Utah, Kim
Myers, and
the
facilitators of
the
BRIDGES
classes for
making this
research
possible.
 U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates by Demographic Characteristics. Table 2:
Annual Estimates of the Population by Selected Age Groups and Sex for the United
States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2004 (NC-EST2004-02) Source: Population Division,
U.S. Census Bureau Release Date: June 9, 2005.
http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/
 Cumming, G., & Finch, S. (n.d.). Inference by eye confidence intervals and how to read
pictures of data. (2005).American psychologist, 170-180.