Dr. Vincent Paquin

Psychiatry Resident - McGill University

“The Green/Screen Study”

Stratas is thrilled to announce the winner of the $1,000 Stratas Winter Award to Vincent Paquin, a psychiatry resident at McGill University. Vincent's research examines the association between lifestyle factors, like time spent in green spaces or in front of screens, and psychotic experiences.

Psychotic experiences are more common in youth (aged 18-25) and are associated with a higher risk of psychotic disorders, anxiety, depression, and suicide. The Green/Screen study introduces relatively harmless interventions targeting psychotic experiences, which could improve long-term mental health outcomes in at-risk youth. In this study, a sample of 1,000 young adults ages 18-25 years will undergo two lifestyle changes: reducing screen time and increasing time in green spaces. The research team hypothesizes that these changes may buffer psychotic experiences and improve mental health in youth. To date, no previous study has investigated or directly tested this hypothesis in a prospective study.

This award will help fulfill Vincent's recruitment goals by offering participants financial incentives. The findings from this study will have practical implications: helping clinicians identify behaviours linked to psychotic experiences in their patients and paving the way for future intervention research. This research will be the first to examine the association of green time and screen time with psychotic experiences, fitting with Stratas' interest in novel research.