Wasil Akash R, Malhotra Tanvi, Nandakumar Nivedita, Tuteja Nandita, DeRubeis Robert J, Stewart Rebecca E, Bhatia Avantika
University of Pennsylvania.
Ashoka University.
Behav Ther. 2022 Mar;53(2):348-364. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2021.09.004. Epub 2021 Sep 29.
The mental health of college students is increasingly viewed as an important public health priority. However, there has been little attention paid specifically to college students' perspectives on factors that contribute to mental health challenges or on potential initiatives that could address them. Even less research has focused on students in low- and middle-income countries. In an effort to better understand how to improve mental health and wellness on college campuses, we administered an open-ended survey to 141 Indian college students (M = 19.47, 65% female). We asked the students to identify: (a) issues that contribute to mental health problems among college students, (b) potential initiatives or strategies that could be used to improve mental health and wellness, and (c) topics that students would like to learn about in a course about mental health and wellness. Applying thematic analysis, we identified academic stressors (e.g., pressure to succeed, competitiveness) and social stressors (e.g., lack of community, party culture and substance abuse) that students reported as contributors to mental health problems. Students also described mental health promotion strategies that could be implemented by faculty members (e.g., providing academic accommodations for students with mental health concerns), the student body (e.g., establishing peer counseling groups), and individual students (e.g., checking in with others). Finally, they identified topics that they would like to learn about in mental health and wellness courses (e.g., how to identify mental health concerns, how to support friends). By raising several potential targets for mental health and wellness interventions for Indian college students, our study illustrates how open-ended surveys can be a useful and feasible way to solicit input from stakeholders in low- and middle-income countries. Future research will be needed to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of mental health promotion strategies, including those proposed by students.
大学生的心理健康越来越被视为一项重要的公共卫生优先事项。然而，人们很少专门关注大学生对导致心理健康挑战的因素的看法，或对可能解决这些挑战的潜在举措的看法。更少的研究关注低收入和中等收入国家的学生。为了更好地了解如何改善大学校园的心理健康和幸福感，我们对141名印度大学生（平均年龄M = 19.47岁，65%为女性）进行了一项开放式调查。我们要求学生们指出：(a) 导致大学生心理健康问题的因素；(b) 可用于改善心理健康和幸福感的潜在举措或策略；(c) 学生们希望在心理健康和幸福感课程中学习的主题。通过主题分析，我们确定了学生们报告的导致心理健康问题的学业压力源（如成功的压力、竞争）和社会压力源（如缺乏社区感、派对文化和药物滥用）。学生们还描述了教师（如为有心理健康问题的学生提供学业便利）、学生团体（如成立同伴咨询小组）和学生个人（如与他人交流）可以实施的心理健康促进策略。最后，他们确定了希望在心理健康和幸福感课程中学习的主题（如如何识别心理健康问题、如何支持朋友）。通过提出针对印度大学生心理健康和幸福感干预的几个潜在目标，我们的研究说明了开放式调查如何能够成为从低收入和中等收入国家的利益相关者那里征求意见的一种有用且可行的方式。未来需要进行研究，以评估心理健康促进策略（包括学生提出的策略）的有效性和可行性。
