Peer Participation Research Articles

Polysubstance use and lived experience: new insights into what is needed.

During the current overdose crisis in the United States and Canada, both polysubstance use and interventions involving people with lived experience of substance use disorder have grown. This review investigates the intersection of these topics to recommend best practices. We identified four themes from the recent literature. These are ambivalence about the term lived experience and the practice of using private disclosure to gain rapport or credibility; efficacy of peer participation; promoting equitable participation by fairly compensating staff hired for their lived experience; challenges unique to the current polysubstance-dominated era of the overdose crisis. People with lived experience make important contributions to research and treatment, especially given the additional challenges that polysubstance use creates above and beyond single substance use disorder. The same lived experience that can make someone an excellent peer support worker also often comes with both trauma related to working with people struggling with substance use and lack of opportunities for career advancement. Policy priorities for clinicians, researchers and organizations should include steps to foster equitable participation, such as recognizing expertise by experience with fair compensation; offering career advancement opportunities; and promoting self-determination in how people describe themselves.

Peer Participation in a Tailored-Crossword Puzzle Activity for English Majors in China

Vocabulary teaching in an English as a Foreign Language environment can be painful and tedious. This paper adopted Tailored-Crossword Puzzle Activity (Shortened as TCPA) generated by the software for an exploration of vocabulary teaching to English major freshmen. This paper examines five dimensions of students’ TCPA group competition: group discussion participated; helped keep the group on task; contributed useful ideas; the amount work was done; and quality of completed work. The results show that, in general, one’s own participation is closely correlated to other group members’ participation efforts. Meanwhile, the difficulty of a TCPA has to be carefully controlled with the consideration of time and vocabulary amount.

Team-based learning with group awareness: impact on students with different self-regulated learning levels

ABSTRACT Team-Based Learning (TBL) has been widely applied in different fields (courses) and has been indicated to be efficient. Meanwhile, many studies have asserted that Group awareness (GA) information, which visually displays peers’ learning context and activities, can increase peer participation within an online collaborative learning environment. As the level of preparation by students before class affects their subsequent learning performance in the TBL process, this study incorporates GA information into the preparation stage of TBL process and further develops the online TBL + GA system in order to raise peer preparation level. Furthermore, self-regulated learning (SRL) levels of a student and online learning environment interactively influence learning effectiveness. Accordingly, this study further investigates how the TBL + GA environment influences students with different SRL levels. Two freshman classes were randomly chosen, with one as the control class (using the traditional TBL) and the other as the experimental class using the TBL + GA. Analytical results indicate that although the two classes do not reach significance overall on preparation level, TBL + GA can significantly enhance preparation levels for high-SRL students, but not low-SRL students.

Effect of Scaffolding and Peer Review on Learning in a PAD Class

We investigated the effectiveness of peer review in the PAD class teaching mode in a university English course in northwest China using both qualitative and quantitative methods; we collected data through teaching platform observation, text analysis, and questionnaires. 378 useable responses were received from non-English major undergraduates.Peer review assignments in the PAD class improved the autonomy, collaboration and critical consciousness of university students in learning English. The active participation, help, question raising and problem solving of peers allowed students to improve their English. In the correlation analysis, the three dimensions：peer feedback analysis; analysis of online speech; discussion, and writing analysis of questionnaire survey of peer review showed significant correlation in a peer review survey (p<0.01). Among them, the attitude and evaluation ability of peer review were related to "subjective initiative, critical thinking, learning ability and evaluation ability to promote learners' English application ability", and the organization way of peer evaluation was related to "open mind and systematic ability". There were strong correlations between the evaluation criteria of peer assessment and "systematic ability and cognitive maturity" (0.6<r<0.8). The other dimensions were very strongly correlated (r>0.8).Peer review in the PAD class mode was effective; most learners showed a positive attitude towards this method; adopting it can not only avoid increasing teacher workload, but also gave multidimensional feedback to the teachers about student learning situations. It can also guide the second language learners to improve their learning methods.

Peer mentoring for smoking cessation in public housing: A mixed-methods study.

Tobacco use disproportionately affects low-income African American communities. The recent public housing smoke-free policy has increased the demand for effective smoking cessation services and programs in such settings. This mixed-method pilot study explored feasibility and potential impact of a peer-mentoring program for smoking cessation in a public housing unit. The quantitative study used a quasi-experimental design while qualitative data were collected via focus group discussions with peer mentors and participants. Three residents of the public housing complex were trained as peer mentors. Each peer mentor recruited up to 10 smokers in the residence and provided them individual support for 12 weeks. All participants were offered Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). A follow-up investigation was conducted 3 months after completion of the 12-week intervention. At baseline and follow-up, the participants' smoking status was measured using self-report and was verified using exhaled carbon monoxide (eCO) monitoring. The intervention group was composed of 30 current smokers who received the peer-mentoring intervention. The control group was composed of 14 individuals. Overall mean eCO levels dropped from 26 ppm (SD 19.0) at baseline to 12 (SD 6.0) at follow-up (P < 0.01). Participants who were enrolled in our program were more likely to have non-smoking eCO levels (<7 ppm) at follow-up (23.3%) compared to those who did not enroll (14.3%). Our program is feasible for low-income predominantly African American communities. Using peers as mentors may be helpful in providing services for hard-to-reach populations. Given the non-randomized design of our study, randomized trials are needed to test the efficacy of our program in the future.

Construindo pontes para o cuidado: a experiência da navegação de pares na habilitação do vínculo com a PrEP para homens adolescentes que fazem sexo com homens e mulheres transgêneros

Vulnerable populations are at increased risk for HIV/AIDS, especially adolescent men who have sex with men (AMSM) and adolescent travestis and transgender women (ATGW). Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is one component of combination HIV prevention and is already available for these populations in Brazil. However, ensuring its uptake entails certain challenges since inequality and barriers have traditionally marked access and linkage to the related public health services. Peer navigation could be a way of mediating the linkage process because it involves peers keeping track of others' care schedules, dynamically fostering linkage to care according to the needs of users and the actors involved in their everyday care contexts. Therefore, this study proposes analyzing peer-navigator-mediated linkage to PrEP care for 15- to 19-year-old MSM and transgender women from the PrEP1519 project in Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil. In total, 15 field notebooks/diaries, written in April-July 2019, by four peer navigators were analyzed, as were the transcripts of one focal group and 20 semi-structured interviews with adolescents (17 MSM and three trans women) between June and December 2019. Linkage via peer navigator and participant is influenced by emotional dynamics and shared personal characteristics. It is fluid and unstable and calls for care practices to be shaped to meet each participant's needs. For peer navigation to be adopted as a care strategy for sexually transmitted infection prevention and treatment, it should envisage not only increased linkage to care but also sensitivity to service users' specific characteristics and lived experiences.

Empowerment of the Indonesian Red Cross Organization (IRCO) as a Convenience of Knowledge Healthy and Clean-Living Behavior (HCLB) during the Covid-19 Pandemic in the School through Graphic Design Media

he impact of the lack of Clean and Healthy Living Behavior (HCLB) is a learning atmosphere that is less comfortable due to a dirty environment, lowers enthusiasm for learning, and reduces the good image of the school in the general public. Diseases that occur in school-age children such as diarrhea, intestinal worms, anemia, dengue fever are related to Clean and Healthy Living Behavior. This community empowerment program aims to provide information with the aim of increasing knowledge about clean and healthy living behavior (HCLB) through graphic design media during the COVID 19 pandemic. Theain material for this training was an overview of HCLB in general and HCLB that is more specific in school settings during the COVID 19 pandemic, as well as showing examples of graphic design to practice skills as an educational medium. The program targets were members of IRCO MAN 2 Makassar City. The first activity, namely the empowerment team from UIN Alauddin Makassar, first conducted a problem analysis by making IRCO members as partners. The second activity was advocacy by conducting program presentations, getting support from the school, their willingness to work together, and sharing team work with partners. The third activity, namely building an atmosphere, which was carried out by training and mentoring partners to become cadres, will be held on March 8-9, 2022. Assistance in making graphic designs on March 10, 2022. The number of students who were trained were 12 students who were members of IRCO as prospective peer counselors with the paired sample t-test, a 2-tailed significance value of 0.013 &lt; 0.05, indicating a significant difference in pre- and post-test knowledge. The last activity is a community movement which is carried out in the form of implementing the previous peer educator training. The results obtained from 36 peer participants using the Wilcoxon test, known as Asymp.Sig. (2-tailed) is worth 0.000&lt; 0.05. The results show that there is an effect of implementing empowerment on cadres and peers regarding HCLB in the school setting.

Physical Effort Exertion for Peer Feedback Reveals Evolving Social Motivations From Adolescence to Young Adulthood

Peer relationships and social belonging are particularly important during adolescence. Using a willingness-to-work paradigm to quantify incentive motivation, we examined whether evaluative information holds unique value for adolescents. Participants (N = 102; 12–23 years old) rated peers, predicted how peers rated them, and exerted physical effort to view each peer’s rating. We measured grip force, speed, and opt-out behavior to examine the motivational value of peer feedback, relative to money in a control condition, and to assess how peer desirability and participants’ expectations modulated motivated effort across age. Overall, when compared with adolescents, adults were relatively less motivated for feedback than money. Whereas adults exerted less force and speed for feedback when expecting rejection, adolescents exerted greater force and speed when expecting to be more strongly liked or disliked. These findings suggest that the transition into adulthood is accompanied by a self-protective focus, whereas adolescents are motivated to consume highly informative feedback, even if negative.

Psychosocial determinants of the intention and self-efficacy to attend antenatal appointments among pregnant adolescents and young women in Cape Town, South Africa: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundAntenatal care is imperative for adolescents and young women, due to their increased risk of pregnancy-related complications. Evidence on the psychosocial determinants of antenatal attendance among this vulnerable group is lacking. This study assessed the relevance of the psychosocial sub-determinants of intention and self-efficacy to attend antenatal appointments among pregnant adolescents and young women in Cape Town, South Africa; with a view to informing behaviour change interventions.MethodsPregnant women and girls aged 13-20 years were recruited to complete a cross-sectional questionnaire assessing their pregnancy experiences, pregnancy-related knowledge and psychosocial determinants related to antenatal care seeking. Confidence Interval Based Estimation of Relevance (CIBER) analysis was used to examine the association of the psychosocial sub-determinants with the intention and self-efficacy to attend antenatal appointments, and to establish their relevance for behaviour change interventions. The psychosocial sub-determinants comprised knowledge, risk perceptions, and peer, partner, family and individual participant attitudes.ResultsThe mean gestation age of participants (n=575) was 18.7 weeks, and the mean age was 18 years. Risk perceptions of experiencing preeclampsia and heavy bleeding during pregnancy or childbirth if clinic appointments are not attended had moderate mean scores and were positively correlated with intention and self-efficacy, which makes them relevant intervention targets. Several family, peer, partner and individual participant attitudes that affirmed timely appointment attendance had strong positive associations with intention and self-efficacy but their mean score were already high.ConclusionsGiven the high means of the family, peer, partner and individual participant attitudes, the relevance of these attitudinal items as intervention targets was relatively low. Further studies are recommended to assess the relevance of these sub-determinants in similar populations.

Psychopathological symptoms associated with psychosocial functioning in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders and their typically developing peers

Children and adolescents with autism have increased prevalence of psychosocial disabilities. Studies in autism indicate that key psychosocial factors including adaptive functioning, school absence, special needs education, frequency of peer socialization and participation in organized leisure activities may differ in their relationship with autistic, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, but the findings are so far mixed. Therefore, we examined if these measures of psychosocial functioning displayed specific associations with autistic, internalizing and/or externalizing symptoms in 61 children with autism aged 7–14 years compared to 61 typically developing controls. Multiple linear regression analyses across all participants showed that lower adaptive functioning, frequency of peer socialization and participation in leisure activities were driven by more social communication problems and not internalizing, externalizing or autistic-like symptoms including rigidity, stereotypy and sensory sensitivity. Notably, increased school absence was specifically driven by more internalizing symptoms and not autistic or externalizing symptoms. These associations were observed across all participants, both children with autism and their typically developing peers, and therefore appear to be dimensional and general in nature. Within the autism group, children who received special needs education displayed fewer social communication problems compared to those who attended regular education, while a developmental history of social interaction problems was related to lower adaptive functioning. Our findings suggest that social communication problems are more critical for psychosocial functioning than other autistic-like behaviors, internalizing or externalizing symptoms but that efforts to reduce school absence specifically need to target internalizing symptoms and not autistic-like or externalizing symptoms.

Sexting as a Predictor of First-Time Sexual Behavior Among At-Risk Early Adolescents

“Sexting” (electronic transmission of sexual pictures/messages) among early adolescents is associated with early sexual activity, a marker of increased sexual risk. The current study is a secondary analysis that examined the longitudinal relationship between sexting and first-time sex among a sample of early adolescents deemed “at risk” due to behavioral or emotional problems. Adolescents participated in a longitudinal sexual risk prevention trial and completed questionnaires assessing demographics, unsupervised peer time, mental health, and participation in sexting, oral sex, and penetrative sex (vaginal/anal). Analyses included 343 early adolescents ( Mage = 12.89, 51% female, 77% racial/ethnic minority) with no history of oral or penetrative sex. Those who reported sexting at baseline were more likely to report first-time oral and/or penetrative sex by the 1-year follow-up. Exploratory analyses revealed that sexting predicted those who had engaged in both oral and penetrative sex. These findings highlight the need to address sexting in risk prevention.

Development of a functional and psychosocial evaluation toolkit using mixed methodology in a community-based physical activity program for childhood cancer survivors.

The evidence demonstrating the benefits of exercise and PA in patients and survivors of childhood cancer has been translated into a handful of community-based programs, such as the Pediatric cancer patients and survivors Engaging in Exercise for Recovery Program (PEER). To support the translation of research to practice, the next step in knowledge translation is to evaluate program effectiveness. An evaluation must consider the goals of the PEER program, feedback from key stakeholders, and logistics of this program. Thus, the purpose of this study was to develop an evaluation toolkit with an algorithm for the implementation of the PEER program. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three different groups (stakeholders in pediatric oncology, PEER parents, and PEER participants). The interviews were transcribed and coded by two independent reviewers. Key themes extracted from the interviews were split into physical and psychosocial themes. The most reported psychosocial themes were quality of life (QOL), fatigue/energy levels, fun, and cs; and physical themes included motor skills, physical literacy, and physical activity levels. Tools were compiled into the evaluation based on key themes identified as well as logistics of PEER. An algorithm was developed to tailor the evaluation to participants based on age and mobility. To date, this is the first evaluation toolkit and algorithm developed for a specific community-based PA program, the PEER program. The next step in knowledge translation will be to implement the evaluation to assess feasibility and share the evaluation for adoption within other developing programs.

What helps distressed Australian adolescents impacted by cancer? Mechanisms of improvement of the PEER program.

PEER is a four-day residential program for adolescents impacted by their own or a relative's cancer, with both psychosocial (acceptance and commitment therapy, self-compassion) and recreational components. This study aimed to determine whether previously observed improvements in quality of life amongst highly distressed participants were mediated by improvements in processes targeted by psychotherapeutic elements of the program (psychological flexibility, mindfulness, self-compassion, peer support, distress). Adolescents attending PEER completed surveys assessing the quality of life and proposed mediator variables at pre-program, post-program and two-month follow-up. Adolescents experiencing high/very high levels of baseline distress (n= 52; 5 patients/survivors, 31 siblings/offspring, 13 bereaved siblings/offspring) were previously identified as experiencing clinically significant improvements in psychosocial well-being; here, mediation analyses explored whether these improvements were associated with improvements in process variables. Findings evidenced improvements in quality of life amongst distressed PEER participants, mediated by increases in psychological flexibility and self-compassion, and reductions in distress. Peer support and mindfulness were not significant mediators. Together, this suggests that the psychosocial benefits of PEER observed for highly distressed adolescents are linked to the specific therapeutic approaches used in the program, rather than being non-specific effects of peer connection or recreation. Findings from this evaluation provide further evidence for the efficacy and mechanisms of the effect of PEER for supporting distressed adolescents impacted by cancer. The study also demonstrates the viability and utility of the therapeutic approaches (acceptance and commitment therapy, self-compassion) used, showing that they have psychosocial benefits for this population.

Systems Thinking and Leadership of Teachers in Education for Sustainable Development: A Scale Development

This study aims to develop scales to measure teachers’ systems thinking and leadership in education for sustainable development (ESD) at an environmental care and culture school, which is important because the school serves as an ESD benchmark for other public schools. However, there is no adequate performance measurement scale that incorporates the three dimensions of the triple bottom line (TBL). The 133 samples in this study were collected from four schools in regencies and cities in Indonesia. We developed a scale to measure teachers’ systems thinking and leadership in ESD. The developed scale was then tested using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). We found that the teachers had the lowest performance in systems thinking competence compared to other competences, such as ability to plan content and social dimensions. The teachers set a good example by using polite language and gestures but did not model green behavior. The teachers also had low scores in peer participation in external organizations and activities. The scale formulated in this study can be used to measure teacher performance in ESD, although some indicators must be further developed. In the future, purely confirmatory studies can validate the dimensional structure of this exploratory factor analysis.

Reframing Early Psychiatric Crises: a Capabilities-Informed Approach

Spurred by a working conference convened in the fall of 2009 by the Center to Study Recovery in Social Contexts and INTAR (the International Network Towards Alternatives and Recovery), this paper first develops a serviceable version of Sen’s capabilities approach for use in public mental health and then explores how its conceptual toolkit might aid us in rethinking about we approach “first breaks” and early crises. This will be exploratory labor.2 Provisional efforts have been made to use the capabilities approach to rethink recovery and social integration as outcomes, to support self-determination, and to make a case for peer participation in research. This paper shifts the focus from the remedial work of treatment and social re-entry to the preventive work of crisis management and biographical continuity. After sorting through Sen’s approach for grounding principles and heuristic guides – which is here compiled into a sort of primer or toolkit, distilled into 8 key ideas and an anthropological coda on adolescent trial/error – I go on to identify three alternative ways that a capabilities approach might usefully reframe disability and impairment. That done, I make the case for applying the third (or radical) version to the social reception of early crises and try to envision what that might look like in practice.

Willing, Silent or Forced Participation? Insights from English for Academic Purposes Classrooms

This study explores students’ participation in English for Academic Purposes classrooms from both teachers’ and students’ perspectives. Data were collected from videotaping of 11 English for academic purposes classes, semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers and stimulated-recall interviews with 33 students. The results indicate that three types of participation were identified, including willing, silent and forced participation. The results also show that a range of contextual and individual factors affect students’ participation in class activities and discussions. The contextual factors include class atmosphere, teacher support, peer participation, task, topic and interactional pattern. The individual factors include students’ confidence, personality and their perceived and actual communicative competence. Pedagogical implications and directions for future research are also discussed.

Peer Effects of Electronic Media Use Among Adolescents: A Class Social Network Perspective

With the popularity of Internet and intelligent electronic products, adolescents spend more time playing video games and watching TV online, which has gradually become a concern of the whole society. However, there is no research on the peer effects of electronic media in China. Using the 2013-2014 random class assignment data from China Education Panel Survey（CEPS）, this paper analyzes the peer effects of playing video games and watching TV online among the students in seventh and ninth grades. We study the extended margin of peer effects from the participation behavior of playing video games（watching TV）, and the intensive margin of peer effects from the time spent on playing video games（watching TV）. The results suggest positive and significant peer effects in both participation and time spent in playing video games（watching TV）. The probability of students playing video games（watching TV）increases by 0.212%（0.286%）if the proportion of their classmates playing video games（watching TV）increases by 1%; while the time students spending on playing video games（watching TV）increases by 0.338（0.240）hours if their classmates spend 1 more hour playing video games（watching TV）. The results are robust after excluding correlation effects using instrumental variables or pseudo regression. The analysis of the influence mechanism of peer effects shows that the better the relationship between classmates, the greater the peer effects of playing video games, but this mechanism has no significant influence on the peer effects of watching TV. The severity of parents to their children playing video games（watching TV）does not change peer effects. The results of heterogeneity analysis show that the proportion of peer participation affects the student behavior of playing video games or watching TV on weekdays or weekends, but the peer effects only significantly affect the time spent on weekends, and does not significantly affect the time spent on weekdays. There is no significant difference in peer effects between male and female students playing video games, but the peer effects of female students watching TV are greater.

When the trial ends: moral experiences of caregiving in a randomized controlled trial in Goa, India

This is an ethnographic study that examines the experiences of peer counsellors in the Thinking Healthy Programme Peer-delivered (THPP), a randomized controlled trial of a psychological intervention for perinatal depression in Goa, India. Based on nine months of fieldwork from 2015 to 2017 and through caregiving theories posited by one of us, we examine how caregiving is experienced by peer counsellors in a randomized controlled trial, a context in which care is given for a finite period and is removed at the study’s end. Analysis of our data generated three themes: caregiving as a reciprocated process that impacts peer counsellor and participant; memories of care, with attention to the space that caregiving occupies in the memories and subjectivities of peer counsellors; and the end of the trial as experienced as a removal of care in the community of the counsellors. We posit that the moral aspects of caregiving are particularly important for peer counsellors, and that the context of randomized controlled trials is central to these moral experiences, particularly at the trial’s end, when peer counsellors are asked to end care that, in many cases, remains expressed as needed.

Educational Effects on the Transparency of Peer Participation Levels in Asynchronous Online Discussion Activities

Participation dashboards in online discussions are learning support tools that can have a positive effect on learners&#x2019; learning outcomes and satisfaction levels, but their effectiveness differs according to how learners recognize and interpret them. However, there is a lack of research investigating the effectiveness of visualization methods regarding learners&#x2019; participation levels. Accordingly, in this study, two visualization methods are applied to participation dashboards to show peer participation levels and to support online discussion activities. The Transparent Participation Dashboard (TPD) provides the exact participation levels for all learners who participate in an online discussion, whereas the Private Participation Dashboard (PPD) visualizes a learner&#x0027;s relative level of participation in comparison to the average value of a class. This study aimed to compare the effects of these two types of participation dashboards on the behavioral, cognitive, and affective aspects of online discussion activities. Toward this end, we conducted an experimental study. The participants included 62 undergraduate students who were randomly assigned to two groups. Thirty-two students were assigned to the Transparent group, which received the TPD. Thirty students were assigned to the Private group, which received the PPD. Our findings showed no significant difference in usability, quality of discussions, or learning outcomes between the two groups. However, the Transparent group was more active in its online discussions and expressed more negative satisfaction with the dashboard. This study&#x0027;s conclusions suggest that dashboards for promoting learner competitiveness can positively affect learners&#x2019; behavioral aspects but they may negatively impact their emotions.

Social norms of college students engaging in non-medical prescription drug use to get high: What’s sex got to do with it?

Background: Relationships exist between perceived peer and own use of alcohol, cannabis, and tobacco, particularly when peers and participants are sex-matched. We investigated sex influences on social norms effects for college students’ non-medical prescription drug use (NMPDU). Methods: N = 1986 college students reported on their perceptions of male and female peers’ NMPDU frequency and their own past-month NMPDU. Results: Approximately 3% of students self-reported past month NMPDU, with no sex differences. In a linear mixed model, participants who engaged in NMPDU perceived significantly more frequent peer use. Female participants perceived more frequent peer NMPDU than did male participants, particularly when perceiving male peers’ NMPDU. Significant positive correlations were found between perceived peer NMPDU frequency and participants’ own NMPDU for all peer-participant sex combinations, with no evidence for stronger correlations with sex-matched pairs. Conclusions: While social norm interventions may be effective for college student NMPDU, sex-matching of these interventions is likely unnecessary.