Exploring Mental Health Across Cultures: Siduiqi’s Research Featured at AACAP 2024
Article By: Sama ayoub
Conversations about mental health are highly stigmatized, driving away those who need it most from seeking the support they need. To tackle such an issue, it is necessary to understand that the stigma surrounding mental health is multifactorial and is highly influenced by factors including culture and perception. The nature of this issue presents a great research opportunity to better craft solutions. Manaal Siddiqui, a dedicated 4th-year medical student, under the mentorship of Prof. Ziyad Mahfoud; professor of research in population health, decided to delve into this topic with a research project titled: "College Students’ Attitudes and Perceptions of Mental Health Treatment and Subsequent Impact on Help-Seeking Behaviors—A Cross-Cultural Retrospective Analysis."
Siddiqui’s study was a secondary analysis of data collected by researchers in Lebanon, Qatar and USA, and it looked at how cultural differences between students in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the United States manifested differently in their attitudes toward mental health treatments and behaviors. Siddiqui’s work identified gender, mental health literacy, and religiosity as distinct factors that contribute to seeking therapy, thus calling on healthcare providers to be culturally mindful in tailoring their therapeutic strategies when it comes to mental health. Accordingly, Siddiqui presented her work at the world’s largest gathering of child and adolescent psychiatrists – the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)’s annual meeting.
Reflecting on her participation in this reputable conference, Manaal shared,
““I had the opportunity to present my Areas of Concentration Research Project at the conference, which was an incredibly enriching experience. It allowed me to connect with psychiatry professionals from around the world and learn about global systems of care and collaborative models for supporting children and adolescents with complex mental health needs. I also met several psychiatry residents and fellows who became valuable connections throughout the ERAS application cycle. Overall, the conference was instrumental in shaping my professional identity, expanding my network of like-minded clinicians, and inspiring creativity in how I envision my future practice as a physician.” ”
Achieving such an accomplishment dates back to Siddiqui’s pre-medical years at WCM-Q, where being awarded a research grant to explore the relationship between lifestyle factors and suicide sparked her interest in psychiatry as a medical field. This interest continued to grow as she achieved honors in her psychiatry clerkship and was awarded Excellence for her insightful research into the attitudes and perceptions of college students regarding mental health treatment.
As a current Psychiatry Resident Physician at the University of Missouri, Columbia, Manaal’s experience shows how medical conferences are an essential opportunity for students to share their passion, research, and meet like-minded individuals, cultivating a progressive academic community with a global perspective.
