SMaRteN held a funding call entitled ‘What is Distinctive about Student Mental Health’ this Spring. After reviewing over 45 applications, we’re delighted to announce the funded projects! We’re excited to see where these projects will lead and look forward to updating our network on their achievements.
Funded Projects:
- Accommodation/Transitions
- Things and the mind: students’ graphic memoir of material things that mediate their mental health experiences
- Assessing the mental health of Widening Participation Students across their journeys into and through elite Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)
- The understandings of distinctive experiences of mental health, disclosure and help seeking among Asian students
- Identifying risk and protective factors to help support student mental health
Accommodation/Transitions
Tell us about your project, its findings and outcomes
Despite Universities UK emphasising a ‘whole university approach’ to improve mental health and wellbeing, research exploring the role of accommodation environments in student mental health is limited. To explore the role of accommodation environments in first year student mental health and wellbeing, a cross-sectional survey and a number of focus groups were conducted in two universities in North West England. Within the milieu of university accommodation, low sense of belonging and feeling uncomfortable were associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Poor relationships with fellow residents and not using communal areas were associated with higher levels of depression and loneliness. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis, and three overarching themes were identified: ‘Moving from home to a new university environment’; ‘Accommodations as vessels to cultivate friendships and communities’; and ‘The importance of staff’. Young people are vulnerable whilst they go through a process to re-attach to new people and a new environment, and loneliness and social isolation were keenly felt during this period. Physical attributes of place that prevent social cohesion further exacerbated feelings of loneliness. In order for students to flourish in their new homes, accommodation providers and teams must consider relational wellbeing, making places that foster a sense of belonging where students feel sufficiently connected to others.
What are your next steps?
Given the importance of student accommodation as a venue for community building interventions that support social cohesion, we are planning on running and evaluating a number of group-based activities (e.g., shared reading groups, music groups and film-making groups) in halls of residence. As cities tend to support a large number of social enterprises (e.g., in Liverpool, there is ‘Can Cook’, ‘The Reader Organisation’ and the ‘Lee Cooper Foundation’) running group-based activities in student accommodation would also connect students to the city.
In addition to this, accommodation providers should consider co-designing university accommodation spaces with their student users when it is time to refurbish or to add more provision. The co-design of space would support the wellbeing of those involved in the process. It would be important to evaluate this process.
I am planning to discuss our findings with accommodation providers and teams in the Liverpool City Region. I am keen to disseminate the findings to a wider audience, particularly people working in accommodation. If you would like to get in touch for a discussion, it would be great to hear from you at jworsley@liverpool.ac.uk
Despite Universities UK emphasising a ‘whole university approach’ to improve mental health and wellbeing, research exploring the role of accommodation environments in student mental health is limited. To explore the role of accommodation environments in first year student mental health and wellbeing, a cross-sectional survey and a number of focus groups were conducted in two universities in North West England. Within the milieu of university accommodation, low sense of belonging and feeling uncomfortable were associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Poor relationships with fellow residents and not using communal areas were associated with higher levels of depression and loneliness. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis, and three overarching themes were identified: ‘Moving from home to a new university environment’; ‘Accommodations as vessels to cultivate friendships and communities’; and ‘The importance of staff’. Young people are vulnerable whilst they go through a process to re-attach to new people and a new environment, and loneliness and social isolation were keenly felt during this period. Physical attributes of place that prevent social cohesion further exacerbated feelings of loneliness. In order for students to flourish in their new homes, accommodation providers and teams must consider relational wellbeing, making places that foster a sense of belonging where students feel sufficiently connected to others.
What are your next steps?
Given the importance of student accommodation as a venue for community building interventions that support social cohesion, we are planning on running and evaluating a number of group-based activities (e.g., shared reading groups, music groups and film-making groups) in halls of residence. As cities tend to support a large number of social enterprises (e.g., in Liverpool, there is ‘Can Cook’, ‘The Reader Organisation’ and the ‘Lee Cooper Foundation’) running group-based activities in student accommodation would also connect students to the city.
In addition to this, accommodation providers should consider co-designing university accommodation spaces with their student users when it is time to refurbish or to add more provision. The co-design of space would support the wellbeing of those involved in the process. It would be important to evaluate this process.
I am planning to discuss our findings with accommodation providers and teams in the Liverpool City Region. I am keen to disseminate the findings to a wider audience, particularly people working in accommodation. If you would like to get in touch for a discussion, it would be great to hear from you at jworsley@liverpool.ac.uk
Joanne Worsley is a University Teacher in Psychology at the University of Liverpool. Student mental health is a strong focus of her research and she co-ordinates the annual mental health survey at the University of Liverpool. Joanne was awarded her PhD last year and her research emphasised the enduring role of adult attachments for mental health. With attachment relationships disrupted by the transition and the need to form new attachments, this key psychological mechanism is critical for students. Joanne is also conducting a review of reviews of interventions to improve mental health and well-being of UK students.
Co-Investigators: Rhiannon Corcoran and Paula Harrison-Woods, University of Liverpool
Co-Investigators: Rhiannon Corcoran and Paula Harrison-Woods, University of Liverpool
Things and the mind: students’ graphic memoir of material things that mediate their mental health experiences
"'Things and the mind' applies an art-based participatory method, where students have a central role from the beginning until the end. The project is explored and co-created by students, giving them the needed agency to talk about their experiences and choose how they will be represented.
Student-volunteers, together with a graphic art student, will produce their own graphic memoir narratives about their experiences of mental health and material “things” that affect it. A graphic memoir features illustrations in a comic-like format to present lived experiences from an authentic perspective of the author(s). Graphic memoir is a powerful way of expressing lived experiences of mental health. A solid number of graphic memoirs and zines about mental health experiences exist. However, no graphic memoir so far has focused on materiality, as collectively expressed by students reflecting on their lived mental health experiences, which is what we will develop in this project. The materiality in question includes animate and inanimate matter, such as the human body and various artefacts that students use and encounter. This research will develop a better understanding of material culture and the role of materiality in student mental health."
Student-volunteers, together with a graphic art student, will produce their own graphic memoir narratives about their experiences of mental health and material “things” that affect it. A graphic memoir features illustrations in a comic-like format to present lived experiences from an authentic perspective of the author(s). Graphic memoir is a powerful way of expressing lived experiences of mental health. A solid number of graphic memoirs and zines about mental health experiences exist. However, no graphic memoir so far has focused on materiality, as collectively expressed by students reflecting on their lived mental health experiences, which is what we will develop in this project. The materiality in question includes animate and inanimate matter, such as the human body and various artefacts that students use and encounter. This research will develop a better understanding of material culture and the role of materiality in student mental health."
Natasa Lackovic is a Director of the Centre of Higher Education Research and Evaluation (CHERE) at the department of Educational Research, Lancaster University. She is also a Director of Lancaster University’s international graphic novels and comics network ReOPeN, which works in close collaboration with the Lakes International Comic Art Festival and is an Organising Committee member of the public and academic symposium of the festival, Comics Up Close. Via ReOPeN, Dr Lackovic has participated in and contributed to various projects, including two national awards in the field of education, health innovation and creativity. Her track record shows a consistent pedagogy and research relating to student support, learning, experiences and empowerment. Natasa sees the arts and the questioning of omnipresent material culture as integrated within research and in teaching-learning methods and theories.
Featured work:
This is a link to a flippable graphic narrative PDF “Communities in Control”, which is about health inequalities and community action across a number of constituencies in England. It is illustrated by the UK artist Joe Decie, in collaboration with my colleague Dr Emma Halliday (Lancaster University), who led this art-informed project with me. The illustrations have been a powerful trigger for reflection in focus groups with diverse constituency representatives, and students: http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/reopen/2018/10/25/communities-in-control-3d-flip-book/
Research Assistant: Monika Conti, second year School of Economics student and President of Lancaster University’s Student Mental Health Society
Featured work:
This is a link to a flippable graphic narrative PDF “Communities in Control”, which is about health inequalities and community action across a number of constituencies in England. It is illustrated by the UK artist Joe Decie, in collaboration with my colleague Dr Emma Halliday (Lancaster University), who led this art-informed project with me. The illustrations have been a powerful trigger for reflection in focus groups with diverse constituency representatives, and students: http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/reopen/2018/10/25/communities-in-control-3d-flip-book/
Research Assistant: Monika Conti, second year School of Economics student and President of Lancaster University’s Student Mental Health Society
Assessing the mental health of Widening Participation Students across their journeys into and through elite Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)
The understandings of distinctive experiences of mental health, disclosure and help seeking among Asian students
"It is estimated that the number of people in higher education (HE) in the UK exceeds 2,343,095 (Higher Education Statistics Agency [HESA], 2018). UK HE institutions have attracted 458,490 international students in 2017/2018 academic year, and nearly 45% of them were from Asian countries (HESA, 2018). Asian international students contribute a significant proportion of the income of UK HE institutions, but the unique challenges and sources of stress faced by them are often overlooked. Many studies have documented the various psychosocial, academic, and financial challenges in the HE environment (Furnham, Cook, Martin, & Batey, 2011; Ryan, Shochet, & Stallman, 2010). Research has yet to specifically explore what is distinctive about student mental health drawing upon Asian international students’ perspectives.
The project's main objectives are to look at the distinct concerns Asian international students experience in terms of their mental health, issues in disclosing mental health problems and in seeking help for mental health within one HE institution (University of Strathclyde). Some key questions emerge from the literature, which will be addressed in the proposed research:
The project's main objectives are to look at the distinct concerns Asian international students experience in terms of their mental health, issues in disclosing mental health problems and in seeking help for mental health within one HE institution (University of Strathclyde). Some key questions emerge from the literature, which will be addressed in the proposed research:
- How do Asian international students understand mental health?
- What factors influence Asian international students’ disclosure of mental health problems?
- What factors influence/inhibit Asian international students’ ability to seek help within HE?
- How can HE institutions develop more appropriate services for Asian international students experiencing mental health problems?"
Nicola Cogan joined Strathclyde in October 2017 having previously worked as a consultant clinical psychologist in the NHS. She has over 15 years NHS experience working as a practitioner psychologist in mental health services. She completed a Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (D.Clin.Psy) at the University of Edinburgh. Her research interests are in the areas of mental health, wellbeing, resilience, recovery and citizenship in applied health and social contexts. She is involved with research adopting community participatory research methods. She is also interested in the uses of technology in health and well-being interventions.
Co-Investigators: Steve Kelly, Xi Liu - University of Strathclyde
Co-Investigators: Steve Kelly, Xi Liu - University of Strathclyde
Identifying risk and protective factors to help support student mental health
Mental health issues are common among students and higher education (HE) institutions can benefit from rigorous research to help inform their student mental health and well-being policies. In particular, information about the factors that influence the mental health of students is important for developing measures and interventions specifically tailored for monitoring and supporting mental health in HE contexts. We will be using an existing large, high quality longitudinal dataset – the UK Household Longitudinal Study to:
- Test whether commonly used measures of mental health, the General Health Questionnaire and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale measure mental health in the same way across students and non-students;
- Compare the levels and types of mental health symptoms that are most prevalent across students versus non-students of the same age and background;
- Identify factors that predict the mental health of students and identify which factors differ between students and non-students;
- Identify factors that predict favourable versus unfavourable mental health trajectories (e.g., improving versus worsening symptoms) over students’ time at university.
Aja Murray is a lecturer in Psychology at the University of Edinburgh. In her research, she applies a developmental perspective to illuminating influences on, and trajectories of, mental health issues from the very beginning of life to emerging adulthood. Information on here published work, as well as current and past research projects can be found here.
Co-Investigators: Karen McKenzie - Northumbria University, Claire Hughes - University of Cambridge
Co-Investigators: Karen McKenzie - Northumbria University, Claire Hughes - University of Cambridge