Clubhouse communities rapidly responded to the COVID-19 pandemic to keep members connected as psychosocial rehabilitation programs were globally disrupted. This investigation aims to elucidate how Clubhouse directors responded to the pandemic and their members’ needs, while also directly assessing the needs and well-being of members. This study utilized secondary data from Director and Member surveys designed to capture Clubhouse status, member engagement, and measures of well-being. Descriptive statistics and correlation coefficients were computed across data from directors (n = 140) and members (n = 1136). Directors across 19 countries indicated that the majority of Clubhouses closed and were engaging with members using a variety of technologies, primarily Zoom videoconferencing. For members, greater levels of virtual Clubhouse engagement were positively correlated with physical and mental well-being and negatively correlated with hospitalization rates. This study provides support for an association between virtual Clubhouse engagement and well-being. Repeated measures studies are needed to further investigate this association.
Intentional recovery communities, such as Clubhouses, exist as physical spaces for individuals living with Serious and Persistent Mental Illness. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was necessary for these facilities to rapidly convert to virtual platforms. The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which virtual Clubhouse communities impacted the well-being of their members during the initial weeks of pandemic-related closures. Two hundred and eighty nine Clubhouse members across 19 countries responded to weekly measures of Clubhouse engagement, contact with other members, and well-being. A repeated measures multivariate analysis of covariance indicated that members with high levels of Clubhouse engagement reported higher mental and physical health ratings over time than those with low levels of engagement. These findings support the virtual Clubhouse model and highlight the efficacy of Clubhouses’ rapid adaptations to the pandemic.
Background: War and natural disasters lead to forced migration – and increased risk of adverse psychological outcomes – in approximately 1% of the global population. Though recent years have brought a greater understanding of the consequences of war exposure on mental health outcomes for refugee children, little is known about the longitudinal and developmental impact of these experiences on youth. Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of direct exposure to war and/or combat on trajectories of symptoms related to anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Syrian and Iraqi refugee youth following resettlement. Prevalence of possible anxiety disorders and PTSD was also assessed. Method: Participants included accompanied refugee youth resettled in the state of Michigan in the U.S. ( n = 74). Youth filled out self-report measures of trauma exposure, anxiety symptoms, and PTSD symptoms upon arrival and 2 years later. Linear mixed-effects modeling was used to assess the effect of war exposure over time. Results: Upon arrival, 38% screened positive for an anxiety disorder and 4.1% met diagnostic thresholds for PTSD. While war exposure did not predict changes to PTSD symptom trajectories ( p = .481), anxiety symptoms increased over time among children reporting war exposure ( B = 10.13, SE = 4.22, t = 2.40, p = .019). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that without appropriate interventions, anxiety- and trauma-related symptoms often do not decrease. Further, exposure to war trauma may lead to progressive worsening of symptoms. These findings suggest that assessing for type of trauma exposure, rather than focusing solely on migration status, may inform focused attention and interventions among trauma-exposed children resettling as refugees.
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