Meta-Review on the Effectiveness of Classroom-Based Psychological Interventions Aimed at Improving Student Mental Health and Well-Being, and Preventing Mental Illness

As educators, the authors have all witnessed students cope with academic, social, financial, and familial struggles. However, there seems to be a growing trend whereby they are witnessing students who are feeling an increasing sense of hopeless and inability to persist. Students appear to lack competence, grit, or resilience to work through adversity. This chapter helps readers contextualize the challenges students are facing and how faculty members are gaining the knowledge and skills to learn and understand mental illness, mental health, and well-being in order to improve their ability to serve, support, and educate.

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Sleep and Mental Health Among Older Adults in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckz186.594 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽

Author(s):

R Rodrigues ◽

K Nicholson ◽

P Wilk ◽

G Guaiana ◽

S Stranges ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Mental Health ◽

Older Adults ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Sleep Duration ◽

Sleep Problems ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Initiatives ◽

Mental Well Being ◽

Health And Well Being

Abstract Background Global studies have demonstrated consistent associations between sleep problems and mental health and well-being in older adults, however Canadian data are lacking. We investigated associations between sleep quantity and quality with both mental illness symptoms and well-being among older adults in Canada. Methods We used cross-sectional baseline data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, a national survey of 30,097 community-dwelling adults aged 45 years and older. Self-reported sleep measures included average past-week sleep duration (short [<6h], normal [6-8h], long [>8h]), and sleep quality (satisfied or dissatisfied vs neutral). Mental illness outcomes included depressive symptoms and psychological distress. Mental well-being outcomes included self-rated mental health and satisfaction with life. We used modified Poisson regression models with adjustment for sociodemographic, behavioural, and clinical factors, and stratification by sex and age to explore effect modification. Results In the unadjusted analysis, short and long sleep duration and sleep dissatisfaction were associated with higher mental illness symptoms and lower well-being across all outcomes. Sleep satisfaction was associated with a lower likelihood of mental illness symptoms and better well-being. Short sleep duration was associated with the largest effects on mental health outcomes. Self-rated mental health and depressive symptoms had the largest associations with sleep measures. Effects were larger in males and the 45 to 54 year age group. Conclusions Preliminary evidence suggests sleep duration and quality are associated with symptoms of depression, psychological distress, and poor mental well-being among older adults. We are unable to determine whether sleep problems are a cause or consequence of poor mental health. Nonetheless, sleep may be an important target for public health initiatives to improve mental health and well-being among older adults. Key messages Our findings contribute further evidence that sleep difficulties are associated with adverse health outcomes including higher mental illness symptoms and lower well-being among older adults. Sleep disturbances are an unmet public health problem, and may be an important target for public health initiatives to improve mental health and well-being among older adults.

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COVID-19, mental health and psychological first aid

Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/ipm.2020.41 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 37 (4) ◽

pp. 259-263 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

E. Minihan ◽

B. Gavin ◽

B. D. Kelly ◽

F. McNicholas

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Well Being ◽

First Aid ◽

World Health ◽

Psychological First Aid ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

The World ◽

Health Organization ◽

Health And Well Being

Crises such as the global pandemic of COVID-19 (coronavirus) elicit a range of responses from individuals and societies adversely affecting physical and emotional well-being. This article provides an overview of factors elicited in response to COVID-19 and their impact on immunity, physical health, mental health and well-being. Certain groups, such as individuals with mental illness, are especially vulnerable, so it is important to maximise the supports available to this population and their families during the pandemic. More broadly, the World Health Organization recommends ‘Psychological First Aid’ as a useful technique that can help many people in a time of crisis.

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Measuring mental health and well-being of South African undergraduate students

Global Mental Health ◽

10.1017/gmh.2020.26 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

Author(s):

Irma Eloff ◽

Marien Graham

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Short Form ◽

Well Being ◽

Student Mental Health ◽

Time Points ◽

Psychological Flourishing ◽

Academic Year ◽

Health And Well Being

Abstract Background Increased investment in optimal student mental health and well-being has been noted by universities around the world. Studies show the need for contextually relevant, granular understandings of specific aspects of student mental health and well-being. Methods A survey was conducted at two time points – at the beginning and end of the academic year – at a large, urban university in South Africa. The Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, the Flourishing Scale, and the Fragility of Happiness Scale were used in the testing of undergraduate students from a variety of scientific disciplines. Two separate comparisons were made, based on the baseline data (n = 551) and the follow-up data (n = 281). In Comparison 1 (baseline, n = 443; follow-up, n = 173), two independent, biographically (very) similar groups were compared. Comparison 2 (n = 108) compared the results from the baseline and follow-up of the same group of students who completed the instruments at both time points. Results Results indicate a significant decline in mental health and well-being for both groups (independent and dependent) over the course of the academic year. Both follow-up groups were found to have lower psychological, emotional and social well-being, psychological flourishing, and reduced mental health, in comparison with the baseline groups. Conclusions The statistically significant decreases in the mental health and well-being of participants in this study indicate the need for substantive interventions to support student mental health and well-being. Strong foci for well-being interventions should include self-efficacy, sense of direction, meaning and creating a sense of belonging.

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Women Mental Health and Well-being: A New Paradigm

International Journal of Indian Psychology ◽

10.25215/0402.102 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Mrs. Ashwini. R ◽

Dr. Vijay Prasad. B

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Well Being ◽

New Paradigm ◽

The Family ◽

Stigma Of Mental Illness ◽

Gender Perspectives ◽

And Gender ◽

The Impact ◽

Health And Well Being

This paper reviews literature on the determinants of women’s mental health through a stigma of mental illness and gender perspectives. This approach stresses that women’s particular health needs have been neglected in a male-centred models of health, and argues for the importance of addressing these needs in a way that views women and their lives holistically. A woman in social context is seen as parents and their roles have been demonstrated from their life within the family and society as well. This article draws attention to the women and physical health instead of looking at mental illness alone. The impact of violence against women, in particular, the effects of childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence and rape has been illustrated in western and Indian perspectives. In recommendations initiatives in mental health services especially, for women mental health has been emphasized broadly.

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Insanity and Imprisonment in British Guiana, 1814-1966

LIAS Working Paper Series ◽

10.29311/lwps.202143750 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

Author(s):

Clare Anderson ◽

Kellie Moss ◽

Estherine Adams

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Twentieth Century ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Well Being ◽

Asian Immigrants ◽

Diverse Population ◽

British Guiana ◽

Early Twentieth Century ◽

Health And Well Being

This paper explores links between incarceration and enslavement, migration, and mental health, in the colony of British Guiana. Contemporaries recognised the negative impact that mobility and labour had on the health and well-being of enslaved persons and Asian immigrants, including on plantations. Understandings of ‘insanity’ later developed to bring ideas about biology, context, and behaviour into dialogue, including through the racialisation of its prevalence and character amongst the colony’s diverse population. Before the construction of separate institutions, people who were believed to be suffering from mental illness were sometimes kept in jails, and due to a lack of capacity this continued even after lunatic asylums were developed from the 1840s. At the same time, colonial administrators recognised that incarceration itself could cause mental ill-health, and as such into the early twentieth century British Guiana engaged with global debates about criminal insanity.

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