In 2010, Dr. Rebecca Meisenbach, Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Missouri, proposed a theory and model of stigma management communication that explains how people use communication to manage the stigma they experience. REACH Lab members have published several studies that apply and extend this theory and are currently working to develop a scale that can be used to measure stigma management strategies. Our team was awarded the 2023 Federation Prize from the Central States Communication Association to fund this project and used these funds to collect a sample that was diverse across gender, race, and ethnicity. We are committed to creating a scale that is valid and reliable across a diverse sample, thus enabling scholars to investigate the relationship between SMC strategies and a variety of predictor and outcome variables.
Families experience a wide range of consequences when a loved one engages in substance use. Our team is currently conducting a study to better understand the types of support services that families perceive as helpful, unhelpful, or lacking as they deal with challenges related to a loved one’s substance use. This study will inform our overarching goal to address the gap in support services available to families impacted by substance use through the development of an innovative, targeted intervention that aims to mitigate the burden addiction places on families.
Identity characteristics such as gender, race/ethnicity, and family income, play a significant role in student experiences, success, and mental wellbeing during college. Existing research overwhelmingly suggests students from underrepresented backgrounds face unique challenges during their college experience in relation to their marginalized identities. Despite evidence citing the effectiveness of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, legislators across the United States are working to pass bills that would restrict efforts to enhance DEI in higher education institutions. The impacts of Utah’s recent anti-DEI legislation (i.e., HB261) are unknown. Since evidence-based DEI initiatives are well-established as integral to improving equal access to higher education for marginalized groups, the REACH Lab is working to understand how the prohibition of DEI initiatives will impact Utahns’ college student experience. We are conducting a study to investigate Utah college students’ perceptions of DEI-restrictive legislation, sense of belonging, sense of community, academic success, and intention to return in university settings where anti-DEI legislation is in effect.
Utah consistently ranks as one of the worst states for air pollution in the U.S. by the American Lung Association. The REACH Lab is working with the Community and Natural Resources Institute (CANRI) at USU to investigate Utahns’ perceptions of risk, efficacy, information seeking behaviors, and protective behaviors related to poor air quality in our state. In 2023, CANRI conducted a statewide survey called the Utah People and the Environment Poll (UPEP). Our team asked Utahns about the extent to which they view air pollution as a threat as well as their health and information-seeking behaviors related to air pollution. We are partnering with CANRI to conduct another UPEP in Fall 2024 in efforts to continue monitoring Utahns’ risk perceptions and behaviors related to air quality in our state. Our results can inform state public health officials’ development of strategic health messaging that encourages Utahns to act in response to air pollution in the state.
