Document Tag: mental health

Persistent and Changing Food Insecurity Among Students at a Midwestern University is Associated With Behavioral and Mental Health Outcomes (2023)

Purpose
To assess associations between persistent and changing food insecurity and behavioral and mental health outcomes in college students.
Design
Online surveys conducted November 2018 and March 2019 (freshman year), and March 2020 (sophomore year) were used to assess food insecurity, which was then used to create 4 food security transitions: persistent food insecurity, emergent food insecurity, emergent food security, and persistent food security.
Setting
Large Midwestern university.
Sample
593 students completing all 3 surveys.
Measures
Dietary intake and behavioral and mental health outcomes (eating disorders, anxiety, depression, sleep quality) were assessed using validated instruments.
Analysis
Associations between food security transitions and dietary intake, behavioral, and mental health outcomes were examined using generalized linear models.
Results
Compared to persistent food security, emergent and persistent food insecurity was associated with lower (7% and 13% respectively) intake of fruits and vegetables combined; persistent food insecurity was associated with 17% lower intake of fruits, 6% lower intake of fiber and 10% higher intake of added sugar from beverages. Compared to persistent food secure students, eating disorder symptom risk was higher for emergent food insecure (OR = 7.61, 95% CI: 3.32, 17.48), and persistent food insecure (OR = 6.60, 95% CI: 2.60, 16.72) students; emergent (OR = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.14, 3.71) and persistent (OR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.34, 4.87) food insecure students had higher odds of poor sleep quality, and persistent food insecure, emergent food insecure, and emergent food secure students had higher odds of anxiety and depression (OR range 2.35-2.85).
Conclusion
Food security transitions were associated with aspects of low diet quality and poorer behavioral and mental health outcomes among college students.

Addressing Social Determinants of Mental Health to Improve College Access, Retention, and Completion (2023)

Addressing non-medical factors that adversely impact mental health, wellness, and academic persistence is important to increasing access to college for vulnerable college students. This systematic review synthesized 63 articles on interventions to address college students SDOMH (social determinants of mental health) challenges. Researchers found that SDOMH themes were addressed in intervention studies at different rates, specifically, healthcare access and quality (n = 27; 42.3%), education access and quality (n = 24; 37.5%), social and community context (n = 11; 17.4%), economic stability (n = 3; 4.7%), and neighborhood and built environment (n = 1; 1.6%). Implications for higher education stakeholders conclude the article.

Resilience-Thinking Training for College Students: Evidence from a Randomized Trial (2023)

We conducted a randomized evaluation of a universal primary prevention intervention whose main goal was to increase the resilience of students from a large broad-access Hispanic Serving Institution and commuter urban college. In a 90-minute workshop, students were: introduced to the resilient-thinking approach, which offers conceptual tools to cope with unexpected negative shocks; worked individually and in groups to identify challenges in their community; and brainstormed strategies to address them. We find that the intervention increased by 5 percent of a standard deviation the short-run resilience of the average student. Importantly, the intention-to-treat effects were larger for students with lower levels of baseline resilience. The intervention was most effective among students with weaker individual protective factors at baseline (the most vulnerable students, those with lower resilience, and with higher mental health problems), and for those with stronger community protective factors, suggesting that individual and community factors mediate differently within this intervention. The intervention effects on students’ resilience persisted over time. These effects were mostly driven by an improvement in students’ collaboration (i.e., maintenance and formation of support networks and personal relationships), and vision (i.e., sense of purpose and belief in an ability to define, clarify, and achieve goals).

How Community Colleges Can Support Student Mental Health Needs (2023)

Community colleges in the study have expanded their mental health support programs through integrating them in the broader college environment.
While community colleges in this study offered multiple levels of mental health supports, most lack a clear organizing framework.
Community college leadership should consider explicitly supporting prioritization of student mental health—and broad staff buy-in is important. Community colleges struggle to meet students’ mental health needs because of limited resources. Financial support for student mental health should extend beyond high school.

No food for thought: Food insecurity is related to poor mental health and lower academic performance among students in California’s public university system (2018)

This study examined the relationships between food insecurity, mental health, and academic performance among college students in a California public university system (N = 8705). Structural equation modeling was performed to examine a direct path from food insecurity to student grade point average and an indirect path through mental health, controlling for demographic characteristics. Food insecurity was related to lower student grade point average directly and indirectly through poor mental health. These findings support the need for future interventions and policy on the importance of providing students with the basic needs to succeed both academically and in the future.

Navigating the Mental Health Provider Shortage in Higher Education (2023)

Since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, there has been a renewed focus on postsecondary mental
health. A growing body of evidence draws explicit links between student mental health and their
likelihood of entering and persisting through higher education, highlighting a truth that mental
health professionals and postsecondary leaders deeply understand in the years following the
pandemic: mental health is a basic need critical to student persistence and academic success.
In response to this need, the Trellis Foundation launched the two-year Postsecondary Mental Health
and Wellbeing Learning Community to support student mental health and academic success.

No Food for Thought: Insights on Basic Needs Insecurities and Mental Health Challenges from Trellis’ Fall 2020 Student Financial Wellness Survey (2022)

More than half of students were experiencing one or more basic need insecurities at the time of the survey—50 percent of four- year students and 54 percent of two-year students. • Nearly one in ten students— nine percent—had experienced homelessness, food insecurity, and housing insecurity within the past year (from October/November 2019 to October/November 2020). • The majority of respondents with BNI reported the COVID-19 outbreak had added to their levels of stress, anxiety, or depression— 89 percent at two-year colleges and 92 percent at four-year institutions. • Respondents with demonstrated basic needs insecurities were more likely to work while enrolled, identify as a first-generation student, be female, and financially support children or other dependents.

Too Distressed to Learn? Mental Health Among Community College Students (2016)

A new study at 10 community colleges across the nation reveals that half of
the more than 4,000 community college students surveyed are experiencing
a current or recent mental health condition. Less than half of these students
are receiving any mental health services. Students age 25 and younger are
especially likely to have an untreated mental health condition. As mental
illness can impair academic success and quality of life, there is a clear
need for greater attention to and resources for mental health services and
programs on community college campuses.