The Role of Mental Health Stigma in University Students' Satisfaction With Web-Based Stress Management Resources: Intervention Study

BACKGROUND

University students frequently report elevated levels of stress and mental health difficulties. Thus, the need to build coping capacity on university campuses has been highlighted as critical to mitigating the negative effects of prolonged stress and distress among students. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, web-based stress management resources such as infographics and web-based workshops have been central to supporting university students' mental health and well-being. However, there is a lack of research on students' satisfaction with and uptake of these approaches. Furthermore, mental health stigma has been suggested to have not only fueled the emergence of these web-based approaches to stress management but may also influence students' help-seeking behaviors and their satisfaction with and uptake of these resources.

OBJECTIVE

This study explored potential differences in students' satisfaction and strategy use in response to an interactive infographic (an emerging resource delivery modality) presenting stress management strategies and a web-based workshop (a more common modality) presenting identical strategies. This study also examined the relative contribution of students' strategy use and family-based mental health stigma in predicting their sustained satisfaction with the 2 web-based stress management approaches.

METHODS

University students (N=113; mean age 20.93, SD 1.53 years; 100/113, 88.5% women) completed our web-based self-report measure of family-based mental health stigma at baseline and were randomly assigned to either independently review an interactive infographic (n=60) or attend a synchronous web-based workshop (n=53). All participants reported their satisfaction with their assigned modality at postintervention (T1) and follow-up (T2) and their strategy use at T2.

RESULTS

Interestingly, a 2-way mixed ANOVA revealed no significant group × time interaction or main effect of group on satisfaction. However, there was a significant decrease in satisfaction from T1 to T2, despite relatively high levels of satisfaction being reported at both time points. In addition, a 1-way ANOVA revealed no significant difference in strategy use between groups. Results from a hierarchical multiple regression revealed that students' strategy use positively predicted T2 satisfaction in both groups. However, only in the web-based workshop group did family-based mental health stigma predict T2 satisfaction over and above strategy use.

CONCLUSIONS

While both approaches were highly satisfactory over time, findings highlight the potential utility of interactive infographics since they are less resource-intensive than web-based workshops and students' satisfaction with them is not impacted by family-based mental health stigma. Moreover, although numerous intervention studies measure satisfaction at a single time point, this study highlights the need for tracking satisfaction over time following intervention delivery. These findings have implications for student service units in the higher education context, emphasizing the need to consider student perceptions of family-based mental health stigma and preferences regarding delivery format when designing programming aimed at bolstering students' coping capacity.

Comparing mental health and well-being of US undergraduate and graduate students during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: This study explored how COVID-related mental health and well-being varied between undergraduate and graduate students. Relationships with physical health behaviors were also examined. Participants: Undergraduate (n = 897) and graduate (n = 314) students were recruited from three US universities between mid-April and late-May 2020. Methods: Participants in this cross-sectional survey self-reported perceived stress, financial stress, resilience, repetitive negative thinking, mood, anxiety, diet, sleep, and physical activity using validated instruments. Results: Undergraduate students reported more perceived stress, more repetitive negative thinking, less positive mood, and less support from professors than graduate students. Perceived stress, repetitive negative thinking, negative mood, and anxiety increased among all students (p < .05 for all). Correlations between mental health outcomes and physical health behaviors were weak to moderate (r = .08 to .49). Conclusions: College students, particularly undergraduates, perceived negative mental health impacts during COVID. Creative approaches for meeting student needs are necessary.

COVID-19 lockdown: Impact on college students' lives

Objective: In light of COVID-19, leaders issued stay-at-home orders, including closure of higher-education schools. Most students left campus, likely impacting their employment and social network. Leaders are making decisions about opening universities and modality of instruction. Understanding students' psychological, physiological, academic, and financial responses to the shut-down and reopening of campuses can help leaders make informed decisions. Participants: 654 students from a large western university enrolled during the pandemic shutdown. Methods: Students were invited via email to complete an online survey. Results: Students reported stress, depression, loneliness, lack of motivation, difficulty focusing on schoolwork, restless sleep, appetite changes, job loss concerns, and difficulties coping. Most wanted to return to campus and felt social/physical distancing was effective but were mixed in terms of testing or masks. Conclusions: Moving to remote learning created physical and psychological stress. Students want to return to campus but do not want to take risk-reducing measures.

Manuscript: effects of bereavement on graduate students: a qualitative study

Abstract Introduction Bereavement can be characterized by the loss, through death, of a significant person. Individuals who experience bereavement can experience changes in their roles, habits, and routines. In addition, individuals can experience changes in their occupations, such as social and leisure participation and in their activities of daily living. Objective This research aimed to identify graduate students' needs and problem areas following the loss of a loved one to better inform the role of occupational therapy in assisting students during the bereavement process. Method This study utilized a mixed-methods approach. The survey developed and distributed to participants contained qualitative and quantitative data to understand better the relationship between grief, occupational participation, and academic performance. Results This study reviewed the students' needs and problem areas after losing a loved one and determined the areas that impact students' daily living. Conclusion This study demonstrated that losing a loved one affects students' academic performance and ability to perform daily activities.

Can Emerging Adults' Dating Psychological Aggression be Explained by Family-of-Origin Psychological Aggression, Emotion Dysregulation, and Drinking?

Intimate partner violence (IPV) impacts the lives of millions of individuals; nearly 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men report experiencing IPV during their lifetime. Previous studies frequently cite family-of-origin aggression as a risk factor for later experiences with IPV. Research with adults who engage in IPV finds an association with childhood exposure to family violence, but the strength of that association may vary. Psychological aggression often pre-dates more severe IPV and college students are a particular risk group for IPV. Additionally, previous literature has revealed gender differences in response to childhood experiences of family violence. As such, the current study sought to identify factors that explain and moderate risk for dating psychological aggression (DPA) in college adults, and sex differences in those associations. Participants (464 women, 142 men), who were in a current romantic relationship lasting at least 3 months, completed measures of past psychological aggression in the family-of-origin (PAF), current emotion dysregulation, risky drinking, and DPA perpetrated in current dating relationships. Emotion dysregulation mediated the relationship between PAF and current DPA; however, differences among specific types of PAF and sex were noted. Results support an intergenerational transmission of PAF and suggest that parent-child sex dyads influence this process. The findings also provide evidence that higher levels of drinking are associated with increased emotion dysregulation. These results contrast with the alcohol expectancy for stress relief and support public messaging that alcohol use does not relieve stress. Clinical and research implications for prevention of the intergenerational transmission of aggression are discussed.

Smartphone Addiction among University Students in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prevalence, Relationship to Academic Procrastination, Quality of Life, Gender and Educational Stage

The current study aims to identify the level and proportions of smartphone addiction, and academic procrastination among university students in the light of the Corona pandemic; identify the differences in smartphone addiction, academic procrastination, and quality of life according to gender and stage of study; and revealing the predictive ability of academic procrastination and quality of life for smartphone addiction. Methods: 556 male and female students from Saudi universities participated in the study, whose ages ranged from 18 to 52 years. Measures of academic procrastination and quality of life were used, in addition to the Italian scale of smartphone addiction, which was translated and checked for validity and reliability. Results: The results revealed that 37.4% of the sample were addicted to smartphone use, while 7.7% had a high level of procrastination, and 62.8% had an average level of procrastination. The results did not show statistically significant differences in smartphone addiction and quality of life according to gender and educational stage, while there were statistically significant differences in academic procrastination according to gender in favor of males, and according to stage of education in favor of undergraduate students. The results also revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between academic procrastination and smartphone addiction, and a statistically significant negative relationship between smartphone addiction and quality of life. A negative relationship between quality of life and academic procrastination was found. The results also revealed that addiction to smartphones could be predicted through academic procrastination and quality of life.

Development and Validation of a Coping Strategies Scale for Use in Chinese Contexts

Individuals’ coping strategies have a profound effect on how well they respond to negative life events. Despite this, most coping strategies instruments that are available currently have been developed exclusively in Western contexts. In the present study, a Coping Strategies Scale (CSS) for use with Chinese participants was developed and validated based on responses from 734 Chinese university students (334 male, 399 female, 1 other). Results supported a seven-factor structure for the CSS, which included the dimensions of Withdrawal, Positive Adaptation, Problem-solving, Disengagement, Prosocial Focus, Seeking Emotional Support, and Self-regulation. The results supported the validity of the seven-factor CSS in terms of its content, associated response processes, internal structure, and relationships with other variables. Based on these results, the CSS provides a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing the coping strategies used by Chinese adults in confronting potentially adverse psychological events.

To Cope or Not to Cope? Characterizing Biology Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Coping with Teaching and Research Anxieties

Recent evidence suggests a mental health crisis among graduate students, particularly with regard to anxiety. To manage anxieties, graduate students can employ coping strategies. Coping is an individual's response(s) to external stressors, often with the goal of reducing or tolerating the stress; these strategies are generally considered adaptive or maladaptive. Adaptive coping strategies advance individuals through problems, while maladaptive strategies prevent stressors from being resolved. We previously identified differences between teaching and research anxieties in a sample of biology graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). This study investigated whether coping with these anxieties differed in this population as well. We interviewed 23 biology GTAs twice over one year. Interview data were qualitatively analyzed using Skinner and colleagues' major coping families as categories. Biology GTAs most often used adaptive coping strategies, such as problem solving and information seeking, to manage both teaching and research anxieties. However, other coping strategies were preferentially employed for either teaching or research, suggesting differences in these aspects of graduate student life. Over one year, GTAs reduced the number of coping strategies they employed. Understanding how GTAs cope with teaching and research anxieties may inform the types of support faculty and professional development leaders can provide to graduate students.

Mental Health Status, Anxiety, and Depression Levels of Bangladeshi University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The current COVID-19 pandemic has affected people of all ages across the world both physically and psychologically. Understanding COVID-19’s impact on university students’ mental health status in Bangladesh has been limited, yet is a necessary population to study, since they are particularly vulnerable to stress and mental health issues. This study assessed anxiety, depressive symptoms, and mental health status among university students in Bangladesh. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Revised Scale, and Mental Health Inventory-5 were translated into Bangla and administered to university students (N = 874) online. In total, 40% of the participants had moderate to severe anxiety, 72% had depressive symptoms and 53% had moderate to poor mental health status. Moreover, path analysis showed worrying about COVID-19 and knowledge about the virus predicted anxiety and moderate to poor mental health status; knowledge and belief about COVID-19’s severity in Bangladesh predicted depressive symptoms. Thus, revealing that mental health issues were high and COVID-19 worry predicted psychopathology symptoms among Bangladeshi university students. Overall, these results, examining students’ mental health during COVID-19, in April 2020, can be helpful to compare how students have adjusted over the pandemic’s progression.

Medicate to Graduate: Academic Strain and Nonmedical Prescription Stimulant Use Among Graduate and Undergraduate Students

The nonmedical use of prescription stimulants has been prevalent on college campuses in recent years. Previously, nonmedical prescription stimulant use (NMPSU) has been associated with increased use of other illicit substances, drug abuse, school dropout, and arrest. It is, therefore, imperative to understand the etiology of NMPSU for prevention, intervention, and harm reduction purposes. This study builds upon previous research on the role of academic strain in NMPSU by (a) considering a measure of strain that is more consistent with strain theory and (b) extending the examination to include graduate students. By utilizing an original data set of 1,121 undergraduate and graduate students at a Southern urban university, our overall results are consistent with general strain theory but mixed with respect to the role of academic strain in particular. The implications of our study for academic strain are discussed.

Physical Activity, Mental and Personal Well-Being, Social Isolation, and Perceptions of Academic Attainment and Employability in University Students: The Scottish and British Active Students Surveys

BACKGROUND

Physical activity (PA) promotes health and well-being. For students, university represents a transitional period, including increased independence over lifestyle behaviors, in addition to new stressors and barriers to engaging in PA. It is, therefore, important to monitor PA trends in students to gain a greater understanding about the role it might play in physical and mental well-being, as well as other factors, such as attainment and employability.

METHODS

Cross-sectional surveys were conducted in 2016 in Scottish universities and colleges, and in 2017 in universities and colleges across the United Kingdom, and the data were pooled for the present study (N = 11,650). Cumulative ordinal logistic regression was used to model the association between PA levels and mental and personal well-being, social isolation, and perceptions of academic attainment and employability.

RESULTS

Only 51% of the respondents met the recommended levels of moderate to vigorous PA per week. There was a linear relationship between PA levels and all outcomes, with better scores in more active students.

CONCLUSIONS

UK university students are insufficiently active compared with the general population of 16- to 24-year olds. Yet, students with higher PA report better outcomes for mental and personal well-being, social isolation, and perceptions of academic attainment and employability.