Universities can most effectively support their students¡¯ mental health by focusing on providing them with a?meaningful education, Australian research suggests.

A University of Melbourne survey?of almost 8,000 undergraduates found that those with multifaceted mental health problems are around two-thirds more likely to doubt the value of their degrees than their happier, less stressed peers.

They are also around half as likely to rate their university experience as good, and ¨C predictably ¨C more than twice as likely to consider dropping out.

Study leader Chi Baik said the findings supported years of research associating ¡°sense of course value¡± with students¡¯ well-being. She said it was unclear whether poor mental health detracted from students¡¯ perception of university, or poor university experience detracted from students¡¯ mental health.

ÌÇÐÄVlog

Either way, universities could help by injecting their programmes with purpose beyond simply preparing students for work. ¡°Is this¡­worth my time? Is it of interest to me? Is it going to help me [find] my place in the world? Am I learning something that¡¯s meaningful? Is this the right fit?

¡°Our research is showing that¡­if we can do something to boost students¡¯ sense of course value, it can be a protective factor. It boosts students¡¯ positive well-being and [works as] a buffer for psychological distress. I¡¯m not¡­suggesting that they reduce psychological services. But if universities do this well, we would expect to see perhaps less demand for their psychological services.¡±

ÌÇÐÄVlog

The ¡°Uni Student Wellbeing¡± was completed by 7,725 mostly full-time undergraduates from eight universities in six states and territories. Just over 15 per cent report experiencing both high ¡°psychological distress¡± ¨C characterised by symptoms like low mood, stress, anxiety and depression ¨C and low ¡°well-being¡±, which meant they lacked optimism, self-esteem positive relationships and sense of purpose.

People in this group record the worst average scores across all seven ¡°academic experiences¡± explored ¨C ¡°academic self-efficacy¡±, ¡°academic stress¡±, course value, peer engagement, sense of belonging, teacher support and ¡°university climate¡± ¨C at all eight universities.

Fifty-eight per cent of them question whether their degrees were ¡°worth the time, money and effort¡±, compared?with 35 per cent of the overall sample. Fifty per cent rate their university experience as poor or fair and 43 per cent have seriously contemplated quitting, compared with 26 per cent and 21 per cent respectively in the larger sample.

Baik said growing numbers of Australian students were ¡°languishing¡± and ¡°feeling a bit meh¡± about their studies ¨C a phenomenon she likened to reports of young people ¡°lying flat¡± in countries like China, Japan and Korea.

ÌÇÐÄVlog

¡°Having a strong sense of purpose and meaning to what you do makes you more likely to be resilient against challenges [and] more likely to persist. Those are fundamental concepts in well-being.¡±

She said universities provided ¡°amazing¡± services to ¡°boost belonging¡±, social connection and mental health literacy. ¡°But the majority of students don¡¯t engage. They don¡¯t have time or they¡¯re just not interested. Our studies have shown¡­that you¡¯re likely to get more effect, a bigger bang for your buck, by equally focusing on the value that students are perceiving and experiencing in their course, because that¡¯s why they¡¯re here.¡±

The study gauged components of students¡¯ psychological, social and emotional health ¡°that we believe universities have a unique responsibility to manage. We focus on aspects of student experiences that universities can modify,¡± the researchers explained.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com