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Perceptions of University Students Toward Mental Health

Annotated bibliography

Chan, J. K., Farrer, L. M., Gulliver, A., Bennett, K., & Griffiths, K. M. (2016). University Students’ Views on the Perceived Benefits and Drawbacks of Seeking Help for Mental Health Problems on the Internet: A Qualitative Study. JMIR Human Factors, 3(1), e3. https://doi.org/10.2196/humanfactors.4765

The study by Chan et al., (2016) sought to investigate the views that university students on seeking help with regard to mental health issues on the internet. Students in higher education encounter significant rates of mental health issues, yet only a small percentage of them seek specialist care. It's possible that university students may benefit from mental health therapies that are delivered through the internet. On the other hand, there isn't a lot of published qualitative research that looks at the perceived advantages and downsides of seeking treatment for mental health issues on online platforms. Concerns around confidentiality and privacy, difficulties communicating over the internet, and the quality of materials available on the web were some of the issues that people believed to be raised by obtaining help via the internet. The avoidance of stigma and anonymity were two potential benefits that the students identified.

DeFreitas, S. C., Crone, T., DeLeon, M., & Ajayi, A. (2018). Perceived and personal mental health stigma in latino and african american college students. Frontiers in Public Health, 6(49). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00049

According to DeFreitas et al., (2018) stigma associated with mental health comes about when individuals develop negative beliefs and thoughts about the illness or treatment of mental health. The stigma associated with mental health is linked to a variety of unfavorable outcomes, such as poor mental health outcomes and decreased usage of mental health care services. These implications may be especially significant for members of racial or ethnic minorities who are already subjected to other forms of discernment, such as Latinos and African Americans. In order to shed light on the factors that contribute to the formation of mental health stigma, DeFreitas et al., (2018) investigated the ways in which Latino and African American college students perceive and personally experience stigma related to mental health.

Ibrahim, N., Amit, N., Shahar, S., Wee, L.-H., Ismail, R., Khairuddin, R., Siau, C. S., & Safien, A. M. (2019). Do depression literacy, mental illness beliefs and stigma influence mental health help-seeking attitude? A cross-sectional study of secondary school and university students from B40 households in Malaysia. BMC Public Health, 19(S4). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-6862-6

In spite of the significant prevalence of mental illnesses among young people, very few of them seek treatment for their conditions, particularly those who come from families with lower socioeconomic status. It is crucial to understand the variables that influence people in the B40 demographic to seek treatment, such as perceptions about mental illness, stigma, and literacy levels; yet, there is not much previous research on this topic. As a result, Ibrahim et al., (2019) wanted to investigate the characteristics that are connected with students' attitudes toward obtaining mental health care who fall into the B40 income category. Differences in views regarding mental illness, stigma, and attitudes toward getting treatment were also explored between students attending university and those attending secondary school. Students who came from families with poor incomes were more likely to have unfavorable views toward obtaining mental health assistance if they were younger and had higher levels of self-stigma. Increased efforts to minimize self-stigma in this demographic are required since it is possible that self-stigma acts as a barrier to actually seeking care for mental health issues.

Kamimura, A., Trinh, H. N., Johansen, M., Hurley, J., Pye, M., Sin, K., & Nguyen, H. (2018). Perceptions of mental health and mental health services among college students in Vietnam and the United States. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 37, 15–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2018.07.012

There is a serious problem with public health caused by the worldwide burden of mental health illnesses. College students are an example of a demographic that may be at increased risk for mental health problems. There is a lack of information on the perspectives of college students in Vietnam with regard to mental disease and assistance for mental health. The individuals from the United States and Vietnam in the research had quite different ideas about the factors that contribute to mental illness. The participants from Vietnam had a tendency to think that those who suffered from mental diseases were dangerous and should be isolated from society, whereas the participants from the United States thought that mental illnesses are the same as other ailments (Kamimura et al., 2018).

Kecojevic, A., Basch, C. H., Sullivan, M., & Davi, N. K. (2020). The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on mental health of undergraduate students in New Jersey, cross-sectional study. PLOS ONE, 15(9). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239696

Kecojevic et al., (2020) sought to investigate how the COVID 19 pandemic impacted the mental health of university students. College students have been living through a time of turmoil as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic. The purpose of this research was to investigate the factors that are connected to the rising levels of mental health burden that have been seen amongst a representative group of first-year college students from Northern New Jersey. S students reported significant levels of academic and everyday challenges, as well as mental health discomfort at extremely high levels. Higher levels of anxiousness were more likely to be reported by learners who were not first-years and by those who spent more than an hour per day searching for material on COVID-19. High rates of depression were connected with difficulty in concentrating on schoolwork and with employment losses.

Laidlaw, A., McLellan, J., & Ozakinci, G. (2015). Understanding undergraduate student perceptions of mental health, mental well-being and help-seeking behaviour. Studies in Higher Education, 41(12), 2156–2168. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1026890

Most college students do not seek treatment when they are having problems, despite the fact that there are relatively high levels of psychological discomfort. The purpose of this study was to investigate undergraduate students' grasp of the notions of mental health and mental well-being, as well as the locations college students would seek help for challenges related to their mental well-being.  The findings showed that the vast majority of participants considered mental well-being and mental health as two separate concepts; nevertheless, these participants' perceptions did not influence the locations where they would seek assistance for issues related to their mental well-being (Laidlaw et al., 2015). Individuals at medical schools have claimed that there is a stigma attached to getting care for issues related to mental health. College students were more likely to seek help for issues related to their mental well-being from their classmates, but it is less obvious whether or not they benefited from this experience.

Lipson, S. K., Lattie, E. G., & Eisenberg, D. (2019). Increased Rates of Mental Health Service Utilization by U.S. College Students: 10-Year Population-Level Trends (2007–2017). Psychiatric Services, 70(1), 60–63. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201800332

On college campuses all around the United States, concerns about the physical and emotional well-being of students are becoming increasingly prominent. It is believed that one student out of every three has a mental health condition that is substantial enough to need therapeutic attention (Lipson et al., 2019). The primary objective of this research was to establish population-level changes in the consumption of mental health services by college students. There was a notable rise in the number of people receiving therapy and being diagnosed. 

Mishna, F., Regehr, C., Lacombe-Duncan, A., Daciuk, J., Fearing, G., & Van Wert, M. (2018). Social media, cyber-aggression and student mental health on a university campus. Journal of Mental Health, 27(3), 222–229. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2018.1437607

Students in higher education may reap significant benefits from the use of information technologies, including increased opportunities for participation and interactions with others, as well as enhanced opportunities for self-directed and collaborative learning. However, factors such as the perception of obscurity and the absence of social signs may increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior amongst individuals. This study fills a vacuum in the research that has been done on bullying in post-secondary settings. Previous research has focused on bullying in educational settings for children and adolescents. A sizeable portion of today's college students has been victims of cyberaggression, which has a negative effect on both their feeling of well-being and their mental health (Mishna et al., 2018).

Othman, N., Ahmad, F., El Morr, C., & Ritvo, P. (2019). Perceived impact of contextual determinants on depression, anxiety and stress: a survey with university students. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-019-0275-x

Young people who are beginning their education at a college or university face many challenges connected to the transitional life period and the unique places they are entering (Othman et al., 2019). Recent research reveals alarmingly high prevalence rates of symptoms associated with common mental health conditions such as worry, stress, and depression. On the other hand, there is a paucity of information about the factors that contribute to these issues among Canadian students. The major objective of the study was to evaluate the influence of contextual variables, as viewed by learners, on self-reported mental wellbeing, and to determine how these effects differed.

Vidourek, R. A., & Burbage, M. (2019). Positive mental health and mental health stigma: A qualitative study assessing student attitudes. Mental Health & Prevention, 13, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2018.11.006

Problems with mental health and the stigma that surrounds mental health are important public health issues. In light of the fact that fewer than one-third of people who suffer from mental health issues receive treatment, there is a pressing need for research to investigate the stigma that is associated with seeking assistance for mental health issues. Students saw the stigma around mental health therapy as a barrier to receiving it (Vidourek & Burbage, 2019). Students thought that it was necessary to minimize stigma-related attitudes through expanding awareness and education, connecting students to services, being compassionate and empathetic to people who were facing mental health difficulties, and providing educational opportunities.