A group of 17 Brock graduate researchers have received $680,000 in federal funding through competitions organized by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Research projects with topics of brain injuries, sustainable vineyard pest management, marginalized genders attaining managerial roles and the National Hockey League’s organizational culture of hegemonic masculinity have all benefitted from the fall 2021 SSHRC funding announced last week.

Among the list is first-time recipient Tia Greto (BA ’21), a Psychology master’s student in the Faculty of Social Sciences, who is examining substance use anti-stigma campaigns that disproportionately feature white, middle-class people who use drugs.

The SSHRC funding will allow Greto, with co-supervisors William Hall and Scott Neufeld, to develop their critical approach on examining substance use anti-stigma campaigns and highlight ways the campaigns mask inequities faced by people who use drugs.

Greto says substance use tends to get a “bad rap” as Canadian public health and government organizations aim to reduce substance use stigma through mass-produced campaigns.

“Government and public health organizations use substance use anti-stigma campaigns to reduce negative attitudes,” she says. “However, there has been a troubling trend with these campaigns underrepresenting those worst affected by substance use stigma.”

Through her research, Greto hopes to better inform practice and policy change at the government level.

“There needs to be a revaluation of these campaigns to serve the people affected by this social emergency accurately,” she says.

Greto’s academic journey didn’t always revolve around substance use, having completed undergraduate studies at Brock with an honour’s thesis focussed on personality traits in sport.

After volunteering for mental health and substance use community organizations, she saw an opportunity to better serve and empower communities through research.

Being awarded the SSHRC funding allowed Greto to reflect on her self-growth throughout her academic journey.

“It was exciting and encouraging to know that this council believed in my research,” she says. “I struggled with imposter syndrome at a younger age and still feel its effects. I’ve learned to embrace it, as I may not know everything, but always look for opportunities to learn.”

Greto started her master’s in 2021 and is thinking of pursing a PhD. She plans to continue volunteering at community organizations to help support the work they’re doing. 

Brock University’s Fall 2021 SSHRC award recipients include:

Doctoral Level

• Melissa Blackburn, Department of Child and Youth Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences, “Examining the Protective Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship Between Adolescent Perfectionism, Stress, and Mental Health.”
• Brianna Anderson, Department of Child and Youth Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences, “Worry warriors: A play-based psychosocial package to target worry-causing compulsions in kindergarteners with autism spectrum disorder.”
• Meghan Borg, Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Social Sciences, “Affinity for Solitude and Motivations for Spending Time Alone in Adolescence.”

Master’s Level

• Kaitlyn Carr, Department of Sustainability Science and Society in the Faculty of Social Sciences, “The Role of Knowledge Mobilization in the Adoption of Integrated Pest Management for Virus Vectors in Viticulture.”
• Daniela Gatti, Department of Organizational Behaviour, Human Resource Management, Entrepreneurship and Ethics in the Goodman School of Business, “After the Glass Ceiling: Assessing how marginalized genders attain managerial mobility in stigmatized industries.”
• Roselyn Gishen, Department of Education in the Faculty of Education, “Writing Self-Efficacy of Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities.”
• Tia Greto, Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Social Sciences, “Ignored Intersections: The Case of Substance Use-Related Anti-Stigma Campaigns.”
• Paige Groot, Department of History in the Faculty of Humanities, “Mapping the English Forest: Historical Geographical Information Systems and the High Weald.”
• Lauren Hough, Department of Applied Disability Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences, “An Online Training Program to Educate Frontline Workers to Implement Differential Reinforcement to Reduce Resistance, Refusal, and Aggression in Persons with Acquired Brain Injury.”
• Madison Kieffer, Department of Classics in the Faculty of Humanities, “Investigating Archaeological Evidence for Intermarriage and the Role of Indigenous Populations at Ancient Kyme (Cumae) from the 8th to 7th centuries BCE.”
• Lulu Larcenciel, Department of Child and Youth Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences, “Adolescent Development and Relational Social Skills Processes in Autism.”
• Taylor Manuge, Department of Applied Disability Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences, “Evaluating the Impact of Acceptance and Commitment Training through Coding Verbal Behaviour of Caregivers of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities.”
• Sullivan Murphy, Department of Sport Management in the Faculty of Applied Health Studies, “Hockey is for Everyone: A critical discourse analysis of the National Hockey League’s organizational culture of hegemonic masculinity through activist perspectives.”
• Fiona Teague, Department of Child and Youth Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences, “Transitioning to First-Year During COVID-19: Implementing and Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Student Mental Health Literacy Program.”
• Micaela Totino, Applied Disability Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences, “Designing and Implementing a Public Transportation Navigation-Skills Training Program for Offenders with Intellectual and Developmental Disability.”

Post-Doctoral Fellows

• Sheereen Harris, Department of Child and Youth Studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences, “Investigating real-time motivation and effort-based decision-making among Canadian youth.”
• Kristen Lucibello, Department of Health Sciences in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, “Internalized weight stigma and psychological well-being in adolescents.”