Awareness and utilization of mental health services on college campuses is a salient issue, particularly for first-year students as they transition into college life. The current study uses focus groups and surveys to test help-seeking messages for first-year students. In this formative research, Phase 1 focus-group participants (N = 47) discussed four message concepts related to awareness of symptoms of mental health problems and services available to students. Phase 2 participants (N = 292) viewed one of three message concepts and then completed items that measured their perceptions of the message. Focus-group results helped prioritize likely effectiveness of messages based on responses to message features and provided an understanding of mental health help-seeking perceptions among college students. The quantitative results indicate the messages have potential for increasing awareness of mental health issues, as well as promoting availability of campus resources. Implications for tailoring campaign messages to first-year students are discussed.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2016.1250065DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

mental health
20
first-year students
12
health help-seeking
8
college students
8
messages first-year
8
message concepts
8
students
6
health
5
promoting mental
4
help-seeking behavior
4

Similar Publications

Investigating Smartphone-Based Sensing Features for Depression Severity Prediction: Observation Study.

J Med Internet Res

January 2025

Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.

Background: Unobtrusively collected objective sensor data from everyday devices like smartphones provide a novel paradigm to infer mental health symptoms. This process, called smart sensing, allows a fine-grained assessment of various features (eg, time spent at home based on the GPS sensor). Based on its prevalence and impact, depression is a promising target for smart sensing.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aim: To investigate the detection and initial management of first psychotic episodes, as well as established schizophrenia, within the primary care of the Andalusian Health System.

Background: Delay in detecting and treating psychosis is associated with slower recovery, higher relapse risk, and poorer long-term outcomes. Often, psychotic episodes go unnoticed for years before a diagnosis is established.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study aimed to assess measurement invariance for the Five-Factor Inventory for (Oltmanns & Widiger, 2020) across nine national samples from four continents ( = 6,342), and to validate a French translation in seven French-speaking national samples. All were convenience samples of adults. Exploratory factor analyses supported a four-factor structure in the French-speaking Western samples (Belgium, Canada, France, and Switzerland) while a three-factor structure was preferred in the French-speaking African samples (Burkina Faso and Togo), and no adequate structure was found in the Indian sample.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Antagonism is a personality domain located in most major trait models and is central to multiple personality disorders. This construct has been linked to many societally harmful externalizing behaviors (e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!