Olivia Chapell
Author: Olivia Chapell | Major: Public Health, Biology | Semester: Fall 2024
My name is Olivia Chapell, and I’m working to gain a B.S. in Public Health with a minor in Medical Humanities from the College of Education and Health Professions (COEHP), alongside a B.A. in Biology from the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Davis, an Assistant Professor of Public Health and director of the Substance Use and Mental Health Laboratory (SUMH), I have been involved in the early stages of research that will view the effect of stigma, guilt, and shame on the help-seeking behaviors of problematic alcohol users within college-aged students in Northwest Arkansas.
Looking ahead, I recently applied to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and hope to join their Medical Doctorate (MD) program next fall, after completing my undergraduate degree in Spring 2025.
Research Focus and Goals
Our research explores the role of shame and guilt in influencing whether individuals with problematic alcohol use are likely to seek help. We hypothesize that guilt may increase an individual’s likelihood of seeking help, while shame may decrease this likelihood. Our broader goal is to understand better how these two factors influence behaviors, which can ultimately inform public health initiatives and clinical skills directed toward substance misuse.
In our preliminary research, we have researched the prevalence of alcohol misuse in college-aged students. And, we’ve learned about historical programs to decrease substance use and their effects on participants. We hope this work can act as an introduction to developing productive programs to reduce this issue.
Impact and Real-world Applications
The impact of this research has the potential to extend beyond academic curiosity. We can learn how to improve addiction treatment and intervention strategies by examining how guilt, shame, and stigma influence help-seeking behavior. Specifically, this research can help develop more emotionally informed treatment approaches that reduce the stigma around addiction by promoting a more compassionate, productive system.
This research also has broad applications for public health campaigns. Historically, many public health initiatives targeting addiction have focused on creating a negative stigma surrounding substance users. However, these approaches often fail to motivate actual behavior change and can increase negative feelings amongst users while having little effect on their use. This research can be used to create more productive campaigns that are conducive to change and understanding.
Challenges and Key Lessons
One of the most important lessons we’ve learned during this semester is the value of patience and organized planning in research. This semester, we have spent considerable time working on our IRB submission, going through multiple rounds of revisions and addressing feedback. The delays from minor errors have been frustrating at times; however, it’s underlined the importance of setting a solid foundation for conducting ethical, well-structured research before moving forward. Despite the setbacks, this process has reinforced the importance of persistence in research, patience, and open communication.
Personal and Academic Growth
Within my academic journey, I learned about the importance of research within medicine and the profound impact of current research on public health and clinical initiatives. In Spring 2024, I took a Health Behavior Theories class with Dr. Robert Davis, which sparked my interest in how health initiatives can influence individual behaviors. This class gave me the tools to understand why certain behaviors are more likely to lead to health improvements than others. I learned about Dr. Davis’s research, which aims to conceptualize biopsychosocial factors associated with various health-promoting and health-risk behaviors, and my subsequent conversations with Dr. Davis led me to join his lab and contribute to this exciting research.
Throughout the semester, Dr. Davis, his graduate students, and I have worked together to finalize our Likert scale survey for the study. My role has focused on revising and finalizing documents, ensuring everything is in order while waiting for our IRB approval. Dr. Davis has been an exceptional leader for our team. He’s worked to guide the project, keep the team organized, and delegate tasks. I’ve also been fortunate to have Dr. Bart Hammig, a public health professor at COEHP, as a mentor in the lab. Dr. Hammig has provided critical feedback on how to strengthen our research methods throughout the study.
Looking Ahead
Looking to next semester, we plan to begin our research with human subjects and begin obtaining data. From there, we will analyze the data to draw conclusions and begin forming plans for future research. Our work has the potential to significantly impact how we approach addiction treatment and public health campaigns moving forward, and I’m excited to continue contributing to this project.