College students (usually between the ages of 18 and 24) are in a transitional period in their lives in which they are expected to adapt to many overwhelming and sudden changes. Mental health problems that college students experience most commonly arise from extreme academic, relationship, financial, and psychosocial strains. Despite these high rates of stressors and mental health problems, these same college students demonstrate a persistently low level of perceived need for help and actual service utilization which leads to non-treatment seeking behaviors. This study examined common barriers that prevent college students from seeking mental health treatment by using standardized measures. Two hundred and fifty college students in the Psychology Subject Pool (PSP) at the University of Washington volunteered to participate in the study which was conducted by using online survey software. Information collected included past/current mental disorder diagnoses and mental health treatment, duration of the treatment, and knowledge of on-campus resources (e.g., Counseling Center, Hall Health). Further, participants answered seven questionnaires about attitudes toward, barriers to, and fear of treatment, in addition to participants’ ambivalence concerning emotional expressiveness. The results are primarily descriptive in nature and focused on exploring common barriers, attitudes, and issues that interfere with reaching out to and receiving mental health treatment. By identifying the barriers we hope to bring the target consumer audience closer to effective treatments via distributing our findings to local counseling centers. We also examined how demographic variables relate to college students’ attitudes toward mental health treatment which will help local universities and colleges to tailor advertising efforts with greater specificity to ensure that college students in need of mental health services are aware of and engaged in available services.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and alcohol use disorders (AUDs) frequently co-occur and are each associated with an increased risk of suicide. However, little research has been conducted comparing individuals with comorbid BPD and AUDs to individuals with BPD only. The present study sought to determine whether individuals with comorbid BPD and AUDs exhibit more non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicidal behaviors, and emotion dysregulation than individuals with BPD and no history of AUDs. Data from previously conducted research studies were analyzed via multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). It was expected that the group with comorbid BPD and AUDs would more frequently engage in NSSI and suicidal behaviors, and would have more emotion dysregulation, on average, than the group with BPD and no AUDs. The results of this study have implications for the treatment of individuals with comorbid BPD and AUDs. In addition, results may provide evidence for increasing AUD prevention efforts among those with BPD in order to improve the likelihood of positive future outcomes for these individuals.

The Learn and Serve Environmental Anthropology Field (LEAF) School at Edmonds Community College has partnered with Nikkei Manor and the Wing Luke Museum to develop the Nikkei Concerns Oral History Project. Through this project, students have the opportunity to serve as both mentors and mentees. Eight students have undergone training, interviewed and recorded the experiences of Japanese Americans who were interned during World War II. From these survivors we are learning more than the easy to record factual history, we are learning about experience, about the diversity of coping strategies, adaptive solutions, and emotional struggles these Americans lived. We found unexpected stories relating to aspects of control and freedom within the camps, as well as humor, acceptance, bitterness and forgiveness. The hope in a project such as this is to develop a greater understanding of the experience of these people, to record their stories and create awareness of what they faced. This is a unique opportunity for students to hear firsthand accounts from internment survivors and participating students will continue to learn about the internment era while transcribing the stories shared by Nikkei residents, and mentoring their classmates in the transcription process. While there has been much research elsewhere, the story of internment in the Northwest has received less attention. This project has allowed for student engagement and development as well meeting the needs of the Nikkei residents who wished to share their stories. Recordings will be kept both by the Wing Luke museum and Edmonds community college.

Does a genetic predisposition towards excessive alcohol consumption influence the acquisition of habits? The study of alcohol dependency and its effects on learning and behavior continues to be a subject of growing importance. With an animal model of alcoholism, we sought to uncover some of these potential behavioral consequences. We focused on the development of both flexible and habitual spatial behaviors in rats selectively bred for High Alcohol Drinking (HAD) and Low Alcohol Drinking (LAD). Using a standard plus-maze task, rats were trained to run to an unchanging reward arm. We hypothesized that HAD rats would rely more on response learning strategies than spatial strategies, and would develop a habit more quickly than LAD rats. Initially, visual cues were placed around the room, and two probes were conducted to assess the progress of habitual behaviors in each animal. Later, cues were removed and one last probe was conducted. Preliminary data analysis revealed some unexpected findings, the most striking of which was seen in the LAD rats’ behavior. We expected both groups of animals to form a habitual response by the end of testing, however the percentage of LAD rats using spatial strategies increased with each successive probe. HAD rats, on the other hand, did appear to increasingly rely on response strategies over time, suggesting that they may be more prone towards developing a habitual behavior under these conditions. Additionally, a large number of HAD rats consistently omitted trials and demonstrated increased latencies when compared to LAD rats, possibly indicating that receiving a reward was not enough of an incentive to run the task. These preliminary findings may suggest that genetic preferences for alcohol consumption could influence the learning strategies employed in solving simple behavioral tasks.