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15
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ MENTAL
HEALTH PROBLEMS AND POTENTIAL
SOLUTIONS
S
tudents in university and college, especially those in rst year,
face many hardships throughout their studies. ey may have
diculty dealing with numerous issues, including relationships
with friends, family, and signicant others, as well as academic
stress that develops as their term progresses (Figure 1). ese is-
sues make them vulnerable to mental health issues and range from
mild, with students feeling anxious or lonely, to severe, in the
form of clinical depression.1,2 ese feelings often have a nega-
tive impact on academic performance, retention, and graduation
rates.3 Additionally, depression and anxiety have been linked to
higher rates of suicide, substance abuse, troubled relationships,
and diculties with sexual identity.1 e Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention reported the suicide rate for young adults
to be on the rise, specically for the 15–19 year age group and
the 20–24 year age group.4 is implies that risk for suicide is a
signicant problem during high school and persists among young
adults in university and college.5 Among adults, those aged 18-24
have the highest reported suicidal tendencies.6 Researchers with
the World Health Organization’s world mental health survey ini-
tiative have shown that identifying and treating depression early
may reduce the serious consequences of depression and prevent
the consideration of suicide.7 Most alarming of all, an epidemi-
ological study by Mackenzie et al. through the College Health
Intervention Projects involving 1,622 Canadian post-secondary
students found that the 15-21 age category had the highest past-
year prevalence rate of mental illness at 39% in 2011.1 With up
to 25% of students in university or college reporting symptoms
of depression, and approximately 10% of students having suicidal
thoughts, interventions should be considered to improve emo-
tional wellbeing on campuses.1
A survey asking questions relating to perceived stress, internal re-
sources, and social support provided to 2000 university students
found a strong positive correlation between perceived feelings of
stress and low mental health.8 A lack of proper services to help
alleviate such stress and emphasis on developing protective fac-
tors such as mastery and self-esteem among the student popula-
tion can have a negative impact on the overall mental health of
students on campus.8 Services that can help to reduce the stress
that students experience, and to increase mental and emotional
wellbeing, include professional counsellors, psychiatrists, and
peer support centres. Professional counsellors and psychologists
are powerful resources students can use to improve and maintain
their mental health. Researchers used a questionnaire to survey
undergraduate students at the University of Birmingham.9 ey
allowed students considered as high-risk for dropping out to un-
dergo professional counselling and found that 15 out of 16 high
risk students who underwent counselling successfully completed
their rst year.9 eir results suggest that students who reported
feeling overwhelmed and stressed were less likely to drop out of
university or college after having received professional support.9
us, professional counselling can be an eective tool in increas-
ing student retention rates (Figure 1).
Ikdip Kaur Brar1*, Jae Eun Ryu2*, Kamran Shaikh3*, Ashlie Altman4, Jeremy Ng5
Motivation for McMaster
1Life Sciences, Class of 2012; 2Arts and Science, Class of 2014; 3Life Sciences, Class of 2013;
4Biology and Pharmacology Co-Op, Class of 2012; 5Biology, Class of 2013
*Authors with equal contributions
Within undergraduate student populations, there has been a rise in the incidence of mental health issues such as depression
and anxiety. These problems have been shown to negatively impact emotional wellbeing and academic success.1 Many
elements of the undergraduate experience, including stressful transitions from high school to rst year, contribute to mental
health problems amongst this student body. Peer support is a relatively recent resource for universities to address growing
mental health concerns on campus. Peer support, which involves trained students who voluntarily provide emotional
support to peers, oers a unique function to student mental health. It can be useful throughout a student’s undergraduate
career and is also benecial to those who provide the support. While it may not replace professional mental health services,
it may be a signicant addition to the existing student wellness support systems on university campuses today.
CRITICAL REVIEW
CRITICAL REVIEW
University Campus Peer Support Centres:
Benets for Student Emotional and Mental Well-Being
16
The Meducator | March 2012
However, professional counselling services are also accompanied
by high service costs and wait times. Institutional budget cuts and
administrative adjustments have put professional counselling ser-
vices under nancial scrutiny.10 Additionally, it has been shown
that students will refrain from seeking professional assistance
when wait times and appointments are involved.11 While provid-
ing professionally trained counsellors for all students who require
such services would be ideal, the reality is that this cannot always
be met from a logistical point of view. As a result, peer support
centres have recently been explored as a potentially exible and
inexpensive adjunct to professional counselling. A report that in-
vestigates this sought to explore a particular model of peer support,
recent academic research on its eectiveness, and how these ini-
tiatives can be expanded or improved upon to better address the
needs of mental health in university settings.12 e report suggests
that both peer support and professional services are benecial to
emotional wellbeing, but peer support may be more feasible when
professional services cannot be utilized (Figure 1).12
DEFINING AND UNDERSTANDING
THE PROCESS OF PEER SUPPORT
Peer support can be divided into several categories based on three
criteria: the medium in which it is conducted; the individuals
running the service; and the administration in control of the ser-
vice.13 One of the major benets of peer support is that it oers
a comfortable environment for the student seeking support. is
is due to the fact that the students providing support may have
encountered similar life experiences and can relate to them.14 Stu-
dents providing peer support on university and college campuses
have endured many of the stressors that accompany being an
undergraduate student. As a result, peer supporters can oer au-
thentic empathy and validation to fellow peers, which can make
students feel more comfortable and receptive to the advice and
suggestions presented.15 Furthermore, peer support establishes a
foundation for an open conversation or discussion aimed at fa-
cilitating a desirable change.13 e council of Higher Education
Quality concluded that the eectiveness of peer support lies in the
fact that students are ultimately in the best position to recognize
the problems of their peers.16 is kind of support received by
the students can bring a positive change to the emotions that are
currently experienced, since it can reduce the sense of loneliness,
frustration and other negative feelings. If necessary, the desirable
change may involve seeking professional help.13 is is shown in a
report that suggests peer support is most successful when diverse
perspectives and competencies of supporting students, as well as
those of academic and guidance sta, are brought together to take
on the complex, multi-dimensional issues encountered by stu-
dents (Figure 1).17
THE DIFFICULTY OF TRANSITIONING FROM
HIGH SCHOOL TO UNIVERSITY
A longitudinal study examining university expectations in fresh-
men followed 226 Canadian undergraduates before and half-way
through their rst-year.18 e researchers found that the most ef-
fective peer programs aim to prepare students for the challenges
that they may face throughout university or college.18 At the same
time, they provide students with eective strategies that can be
employed to overcome these challenges.18 Considering these facts,
it is vital to establish a peer support system that could provide
guidance to help students overcome problems.19,20
Major life transitions, such as changing schools, can be stressful
since they physically sever existing sources of social support, in-
cluding family and friends.2 ese changes may lead to homesick-
ness, which is one of the most frequently reported concerns of
rst year college and university students (Figure 1). Homesickness
can be problematic if experienced for prolonged periods of time.21
Students who are homesick nd it dicult to adapt and perform
in new situations because they are far from familiar environments
Overview of the Student Support Process
Common Adversies Faced by Incoming Post-Secondary Students:
Independent Benets
Cost-Eecve to
Student
Lessened Wait-
Time to Gain Sup-
port
Posive Interven-
on Provided Be-
fore the Need for
Professional Coun-
selling
Posive Interven-
on that Encour-
ages Professional
Counselling
Peer Support Session(s)
Independent
Benets
Professional Exper-
se in Mental Health
Illness
A Referral Point
when Peer Supporters
are Faced with Address-
ing an Issue Beyond
their Scope of Training
Combined Benets
Comfortable and
Safe Environment
Self-Realizaon
and Idencaon
of Disconcerng
Thoughts and/or
Behaviours
Provision of Sup-
port from Diverse
Perspecves
Improvement in
Ability to Address
Adversity
Professional Counselling
Methods of
Support
Amplicaon of Prior Mental Health
Issue
Loneliness
Lost of Social Support
Homesickness
Increased Stress
Novel Environment
Lack of Knowledge and/or
Preparaon for the University
Experience
Unforeseen Academic Hardship
FIGURE 1: An Overview of the Student Support Process. The transition
into post-secondary education is often filled with various adversities, and yet, any
one or combination of factors may require students to seek external support.1,2 In
the post-secondary setting, students generally have two institution-established
options: peer support session(s) and professional counseling. Student-to-student
peer support is unique in that it has the ability to both provide intervention to the
supported student so that they may never require professional counselling, as
well as encourage those that require professional counseling to identify the need
and take that initiative.17, 23 Should these resources be made successfully avail-
able to students in need, both options are able to provide the support-seeking
student with various benefits to assist them with their successful transition to the
university experience.12
17
such as their family setting or community.22 Depression and re-
current thoughts about death or suicide have most often been as-
sociated with students suering from homesickness.21 Researchers
have found that most rst year university students who display
signs of insecurity and poor social skills before starting their un-
dergraduate education have a greater tendency to exhibit signs
of homesickness during the rst few weeks of their rst term.22
Counselling or peer support may be an eective way to help stu-
dents adjust to the university environment since it is capable of
relieving some of the anxiety, depression and stress experienced
by rst year students. Peer support can provide students with the
skills necessary to manage stress independently. is is done so by
discussing strategies that are specic to the problem the student is
encountering (Figure 1).23
THE EFFECT OF PEER SUPPORT SERVICES ON
CAMPUS THROUGHOUT STUDENTS’
UNDERGRADUATE CAREERS
Not only is peer support an eective way to combat the stress
and depression that can accompany the transition from high
school to university, it can also be useful throughout a student’s
undergraduate career.2 Researchers conducted a web-based survey
at a large university in 2005 and 2007 and screened the results
for symptoms of mental disorders.23 eir results indicated that
60% of students suering from at least one mental health issue
remain aicted by the same issue two years later.23 is suggests
that mental health problems can be long-lasting and may persist
throughout one’s academic career. Additionally, the study revealed
that less than half of those with a mental health problem received
eective treatment within the two-year time span.23 Only 32.9%
of those surveyed in 2005 and 42.9% in 2007 had a perceived
need to receive professional treatment.23 However, those who visit
peer support may benet because peer supporters can help identi-
fy disconcerting thoughts and behaviours and urge those without
a perceived need to receive professional help.20,24 In this case, peer
support can be a benecial addition to student campuses along-
side professional services.
Interestingly, peer support has shown to be benecial for both
those providing and those receiving support.24 One study trained
lay people to be peer supporters and used statistical analysis based
on questionnaires to determine benets of peer support on the
supporters.25 eir research showed that after one- and two-year
periods of providing support, the volunteer peer supporters re-
ported increased psychosocial performance and well-being.25
Furthermore, individuals who became peer supporters reported
feeling more self-aware.25 Another study used a questionnaire
survey to peer supporters in UK schools.19 e students noted
that peer supporters had acquired useful skills and were pleased to
show that they cared presumably about their peers.19 Researchers
also noted that peer supporters experienced a “gratifying sense of
responsibility” associated with their roles.24 ey also identied
qualitative research conducted by another researcher indicating
peer supporters show increased self-esteem and condence.13
THE POTENTIAL OF PEER SUPPORT
In recent years, there has been a rise in the number of univer-
sity students reporting mental illnesses, indicating a greater need
for institutions to expand their mental health support services.11
Peer support centres can be benecial in improving the emotional
well-being of the student population. However, the issue is that
many students with mental health issues do not seek professional
counselling or peer support services even if they are available on
campus.11 e lack of interest in using such professional services
may be explained by a lack of student knowledge about their ex-
istence or about the services provided.11 A peer support service
oering both drop-in, immediate support, and the ability to book
appointments would ensure that students can access peer sup-
port services when they need them, without conicting with their
schedules. rough careful steps taken to design, develop, and
establish a student-based peer support program, peer support has
the potential to be a valuable addition to mental health support
services on university campuses.12
Reviewed by Dr. Debbie Nifakis, Ed.D., C.Psych
Dr. Debbie Nifakis is a Psychologist and the Clinical Director of the Student Wellness Centre. She has practiced psychotherapy at uni-
versity counselling centres for over thirty years. At McMaster, she co-developed and ran the rst Peer Helper Program for over twenty
years and has presented at conferences as an invited speaker on the benets of Peer Helping in post-secondary institutions.
About Motivation for McMaster
Motivation for McMaster (MFM) was founded in January 2011 to provide motivational lectures free of charge to all McMaster un-
dergraduate students. Believing that more could be oered to students, MFM designed and developed a student-to-student peer sup-
port program that was implemented in September 2011. After recruiting and training student peer supporters, MFM ocially began
providing peer support in October 2011. MFM’s volunteer team provides monthly motivational lectures and up to 25 hours of student
peer support every school-week, and has logged more than 2000 hours since January 2011. Authors Ikdip Brar, Jae Eun Ryn, Kamran
Shaikh, and Ashlie Altman are peer supporters at MFM. Jeremy Ng is MFM’s co-founder and director of the MFM peer support pro-
gram. MFM may be contacted at macmfm@mcmaster.ca.
Other Resources
Other peer-based student support groups on campus include the following: e Student Success Centre, the Chaplaincy Centre, the
Student Health Education Centre (SHEC), and the Queer Students Community Centre (QSCC). Professional counselling on campus
is provided at the Student Wellness Centre (SWC).
18
The Meducator | March 2012
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