About our Studies

Our Research

Mental health difficulties are common across the lifespan throughout the world. Suicide is the most tragic (and preventable) outcome of mental illness and mental distress which is why our group, based in Toronto, Canada, studies how to prevent it. Studies have repeatedly shown that suicide can often occur through social learning (people mimicking behavior they have observed in fictional or non-fictional media). The good news is that everything can be learned. There is growing evidence that resilience and coping is also contagious. This is why we are passionate about teaching youth how to cope with distress through engaging narratives and identifiable characters. And who better to encourage youth to emulate than Harry Potter, a character who experiences symptoms of depression and anxiety and nevertheless finds a way to cope.

Our hope is to teach young people that distress is an expected part of life that can be overcome and to impart simple strategies derived from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to help them to be resilient. But that is a hypothesis and we are scientists. So we have studies aimed at understanding if we are correct.

Read about our studies below.

Our Previous Research Studies

Please click on the links below to read about our prior studies. These studies were conducted to help us better understand the feasibility and impacts of the curriculum.