Through this comprehensive approach, we seek to capture the variance in performance on an assessment of mental health literacy for college students for the vital purpose of improving knowledge and awareness of mental health in this at-risk population. Regarding field of study, participants who had studied psychology and medicine had the highest true symptom scores for both schizophrenia and depression, when compared to students from other disciplines , and medically-focused undergraduates were more adept at recognizing depression and knowing about appropriate treatment options . With the goal of facilitating better mental health literacy for college students, it is critical to identify the factors related to both increased and decreased knowledge in this area. Due to the high prevalence rates of mental health issues that occur in the college population 2, 3 and because early adulthood is frequently the time of onset for common psychological disorders , increasing the mental health literacy of college students is crucial. Future research could explore other unmeasured factors related to school race/ethnic enrollment and student mental health such as presence of a school police officer, disciplinary practices and policies, ethnic-specific support and curricula, and race/ethnic make-up of teachers/staff. Previously validated for use in demography, education, and social science research, a diversity index measured the range of different race/ethnic groups and general representation of each group within a school.27-30 The index, ranging from 0 to 1, equals the probability that two students taken at random from the sample represent the same race/ethnic group.
The existing literature highlights a role for school-based mental health interventions in bolstering youth resilience, in part given the opportunity for widespread application (Kuperminc et al., 2020; Lee et al., 2012; Seligman et al., 2009). Likewise, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) conducted in 2019, a greater percentage of non-Hispanic Black high school students reported attempting suicide compared to Hispanic and non-Hispanic White students (Ivey-Stephenson et al., 2020). Native American youth have the highest rate of suicide deaths across all racial and ethnic groups (“Web-based Fatal Injury Data Visualization Tool”). Certain racial and ethnic minority populations in the United States are linked with a particularly high prevalence of suicide thoughts and behaviors. Racial minority students exhibited greater improvements in personal and total resilience compared to White students, controlling for baseline scores. A single-arm pragmatic trial design was utilized to evaluate the equity of outcomes of the universal, school-based mental health coaching intervention, Building Resilience for Healthy Kids.
Discrimination as a risk factor
Thirteen participants were international students, including six undergraduate and seven graduate students. Initial participants were approached based on their key roles within these units, ensuring their insights could provide a foundational understanding of the mental health support landscape. For instance, managers overseeing counseling and psychological services units, faculty from pertinent departments, staff directly involved in mental health services and managers of sociocultural and inclusive support units were purposefully selected based on their expertise. The study involved 32 participants, including students and staff, from a state university in the United States. Third, research in this area can address the underrepresentation of international students in the mental health literature (Hamamura and Laird, 2014; Nam et al., 2023).
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- However, our data suggest that 3 of 4 students who were screened denied any prior history of mental health service receipt, indicating that many students with current needs likely remain underserved.
- They died after being physically assaulted in a school bathroom, their death ruled a suicide by police.
- One manager said, “Faculty involvement in mental health support delivery is limited.
- However, our results are difficult to directly compare with previous studies due to the variation in age groups.
- Prior to asking about participants’ suggestions for adaptation of the UP-A, we provided them with a brief overview of the intervention using presentation slides that explained cognitive behavior therapy and the typical structure of the UP-A (e.g., session length, modules).
Intervention delivery in schools reduces logistic burden for engaging in services, including time and cost, and affords parents with greater access to support their youth’s care. One key environment for accessing and providing evidence-based mental health care to diverse adolescents is the school setting. Youth who do initiate help-seeking for https://www.umaryland.edu/counseling/self-help-resources/student-parents-or-pregnant/ emotional disorders face significant capacity issues in specialist mental health services leading to lengthy wait times for assessment and treatment and high clinical thresholds for entry (Crenna-Jennings & Hutchinson, 2018). Overall, there is a critical need for effective, accessible, and culturally relevant mental health care for racially and ethnically diverse adolescents. COVID-19 social distancing measures, including school closures and remote learning, resulted in a substantial rise in psychological distress in youth, especially those already struggling with mental health difficulties (Theberath et al., 2022).
1 Effectiveness of The Guide in improving mental health literacy
Globally, schools play an essential role in enabling students to acquire college credentials and knowledge, become familiar with the culture, learn about interpersonal relationships, ideals, and standards, and develop survival skills and expertise abilities (Skovdal and Campbell, 2015). This study examined the literature that explains why society fails to provide enough support to LGBTQ students. Our findings offer a basis for understanding the mental health needs of diverse undergraduate students by providing an opportunity to identify not only those with high mental health literacy, but also those with low mental health literacy. However, if participants would be studied more narrowly, via their specific majors, more information could be provided on how concentrated areas of study relate to mental health literacy. In general, these studies have examined the relationship between overall disciplines and mental health literacy as opposed to individual majors, and our study, as well, assessed domains of study as opposed to particular majors.
The decision to employ different interview schedules for each participant group was underpinned by the recognition of their unique roles, experiences and contributions to the university’s mental health support landscape. This iterative process allowed to make adjustments and modifications based on insights obtained from the pilot studies. This collaborative effort ensures a comprehensive approach to mental health support.
This has the chance of triggering many students, causing anxiety and mental distress. Thus, for students that are currently suffering from mental health issues, you can see that you are far from alone. Campus mental health services offices have become one of the most popular and heavily utilized departments at school, and for good reason.