Staff Voices: What Helps Students With High Mental Health Support Needs Connect to School?

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Anderson ◽  
Helen Kerr-Roubicek ◽  
Louise Rowling
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
School Mental Health ◽  
School Staff ◽  
Support Needs ◽  
School Students ◽  
Mental Health Support ◽  
Health Support ◽  
Fitting In

AbstractResearch indicates that an important determinant of mental health is the degree to which someone feels connected to his or her environment. For young people, how they feel about ‘fitting in’ at school, in terms of peers, staff and the curriculum, is an important factor in their wellbeing. An effective whole school mental health promotion approach will therefore involve the creation of a school environment that encourages a sense of belonging and connection for its students. While the theory behind student connection to school has received a significant level of attention in the education, health and crime prevention literature, not so much is known about how school staff understand the process of ‘students connecting to school’ and what they do to enable it. Even less is reported about the experiences and views of students with high mental health support needs themselves on the issue (see Unheard Voices, Holdsworth & Blanchard, 2005). Therefore, the following study was conducted to seek understanding of the perspectives of school staff about how students connect to school and the implications for enabling the connection of students with high mental health support needs. Qualitative analysis of interviews revealed the emergence of a number of themes that align with previous research on connection to school. This study formed part of the MindMatters Plus initiative, a combined health and education best practice approach to improving the mental health outcomes of secondary school students with high support needs. The findings of this study have practical implications for school staff who are looking for ways to further enable student connection to school. They also add a complementary perspective to those of students as extrapolated in Holdsworth and Blanchard (2005).

scholarly journals Reluctancy towards Help-Seeking for Mental Health Concerns at Secondary School among Students in the COMPASS Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (19) ◽  
pp. 7128
Author(s):  
Natalie Doan ◽  
Karen A. Patte ◽  
Mark A. Ferro ◽  
Scott T. Leatherdale
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
School Connectedness ◽  
School Mental Health ◽  
School Characteristics ◽  
School Students ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Mental Health Concerns ◽  
Household Incomes

Youth populations represent a key population for addressing mental health, yet many youths express reluctance towards help seeking. Considering the volume of time that almost all youth spend at school during the school year, it is important to assess the role of the school environment in relation to students’ attitudes toward help-seeking. Data from 47,290 grade 9 to 12 students and 116 Canadian secondary schools that participated in the 2018-19 wave of the COMPASS (Cannabis, Obesity, Mental health, Physical activity, Alcohol, Smoking, Sedentary behaviour) study were analyzed using GEE models to assess the student and school characteristics associated with attitudes regarding seeking help for mental health concerns from an adult at school. Overall, 58% of students reported being reluctant to seek help for mental health concerns at school. Students who reported lower self-rated mental health (aOR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.65, 1.87), emotion regulation (aOR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.07, 1.09), family support (aOR = 2.31, 95% CI = 2.16, 2.47), peer support (aOR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.13, 1.31), and school connectedness (aOR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.92, 0.93) scores were more likely to be reluctant towards help-seeking at school than students with more favourable scores on these variables. Students with higher flourishing scores were less likely than students who were languishing to report reluctance to help-seeking at school (aOR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.96, 0.97). Students attending schools in areas with lower population densities and median household incomes between $50,000–75,000 were less likely to be reluctant to help-seeking relative to students attending schools in areas with higher density (aOR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.79, 0.93) and median household incomes (aOR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.13, 1.31), respectively. The availability of school mental health services and specialists were not associated with student help-seeking reluctance. High levels of resistance towards help-seeking among youth remain a significant barrier, particularly among youth at highest risk (i.e., with lower support and poorer mental health). The student and school characteristics identified in the current study can help inform strategies to promote greater acceptance of help seeking among students in schools.

Peer-to-Peer Mental Health Support: Validating Scores on the Mental Distress Response Scale With High School Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 2156759X2110066
Author(s):  
Michael T. Kalkbrenner ◽  
Emily Goodman-Scott
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High School Students ◽  
School Counselors ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
Response Scale ◽  
School Students ◽  
Mental Health Support ◽  
Health Support

This investigation tested the internal structure of scores on the Mental Distress Response Scale (MDRS), a peer-to-peer mental health support screening tool, with a national sample of 237 adolescents from 111 high schools in 30 states. Results revealed psychometric support for the scores on the MDRS and demographic differences in students’ responses. We discuss implications for how school counselors can use the MDRS to enhance peer-to-peer mental health support as part of a comprehensive school counseling program.

scholarly journals Importance of Psychological Support for Disaster-Affected Adolescents: 10 Years After the Great East Japan Earthquake

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 914-921
Author(s):  
Junko Okuyama ◽  
Shunichi Funakoshi ◽  
Shuji Seto ◽  
Yu Fukuda ◽  
Kiyoshi Ito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Support System ◽  
School Nurses ◽  
Great East Japan Earthquake ◽  
Psychological State ◽  
School Students ◽  
Mental Health Support ◽  
Health Support

Introduction: Adolescents affected by disasters need mental health support because they tend to be at risk of developing psychiatric disorders and stress as grown-ups. However, it is difficult to develop and validate a support system for adolescents affected by disasters because it is unknown when and where disasters occur, and there is inadequate data related to this in Japan. Methods: To address these issues, we present a mental health support system for high school students affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. We hypothesized that mental health support could be provided by classroom teachers and school nurses, who are familiar with high school students. We investigated the psychological state of the affected high school students for three years after the earthquake, and the students in psychological crises received interventions from their class teachers and school nurses. Results: The intervention resulted in improvements in depression and post-traumatic stress reaction (PTSR). Conclusion: These results suggest that our high school-based intervention is a feasible solution for mental health support for adolescents affected by the disaster.

scholarly journals The Mental Health of People with Disabilities

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Narsimulu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
General Population ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Support Needs ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Physical Impairments ◽  
Mental Health Support ◽  
Health Support

Disabled people are more likely to experience a lot, or a great deal, of worry than those who are not disabled. People with disabilities (e.g. physical impairments such as cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury etc) are just as likely as the general population to experience mental health problems. They may be even more likely than the general population to need and use mental health services. Possible reasons for this may include – higher rates of poverty and unemployed amongst disabled people which are themselves associated with poor mental health; the greater risks of abuse experienced by disabled children and adults; and, some people with mental health support needs may be more likely to become physically disabled as a result of accidents or attempted suicide. There is also increasing acknowledgement that long-term mental health problems are correlated with conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. People with disabilities appear to be at greater risk of mental health problems than the general population and therefore make a disproportionate contribution to mental health morbidity internationally. The personal and social costs of mental disorders are considerable throughout the world. The mental health of populations has been recognized as an international priority (World Health Organisation 2005). An important part of addressing this will be attending to the needs of people with disabilities who are a disproportionately disadvantaged group. In the following sections we briefly examine what is currently known about the association between disability and mental health. It is suggested that people with physical impairments and mental health support needs tend to be overlooked by policy-makers and commissioners of services. Many people with disabilities report having difficulty accessing mental health services because of their physical impairments. Many also have difficulty accessing physical disability services because of the inadequate recognition of mental health needs with disability related services.

scholarly journals Impact of arthritis on the perceived need and use of mental healthcare among Canadians with mental disorders: nationally representative cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. e041371
Author(s):  
Alyssa Howren ◽  
J Antonio Aviña-Zubieta ◽  
Deborah Da Costa ◽  
Joseph H Puyat ◽  
Hui Xie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Mental Disorder ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Cluster Sampling ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Perceived Need ◽  
Mental Health Support ◽  
Health Support

ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between having arthritis and the perceived need for mental healthcare and use of mental health support among individuals with mental disorders.DesignA cross-sectional analysis using data from Canadian Community Health Survey—Mental Health (2012).SettingThe survey was administered across Canada’s 10 provinces using multistage cluster sampling.ParticipantsThe study sample consisted of individuals reporting depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder.Study variables and analysisThe explanatory variable was self-reported doctor-diagnosed arthritis, and outcomes were perceived need for mental healthcare and use of mental health support. We computed overall and gender-stratified multivariable binomial logistic regression models adjusted for age, gender, race/ethnicity, income and geographical region.ResultsAmong 1774 individuals with a mental disorder in the study sample, 436 (20.4%) reported having arthritis. Arthritis was associated with increased odds of having a perceived need for mental healthcare (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.71, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.77). In the gender-stratified models, this association was increased among men (aOR 2.69, 95% CI 1.32 to 5.49) but not women (aOR 1.48, 95% CI 0.78 to 2.82). Evaluation of the association between arthritis and use of mental health support resulted in an aOR of 1.50 (95% CI 0.89 to 2.51). Individuals with arthritis tended to use medications and professional services as opposed to non-professional support.ConclusionComorbid arthritis among individuals with a mental disorder was associated with an increased perceived need for mental healthcare, especially in men, underscoring the importance of understanding the role of masculinity in health seeking. Assessing the mental health of patients with arthritis continues to be essential for clinical care.

scholarly journals Mental health in higher education students and non-students: evidence from a nationally representative panel study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evangeline Tabor ◽  
Praveetha Patalay ◽  
David Bann
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Lower Odds ◽  
Score Difference ◽  
Mental Health Support ◽  
Health Support ◽  
Nationally Representative

AbstractDespite increasing policy focus on mental health provision for higher education students, it is unclear whether they have worse mental health outcomes than their non-student peers. In a nationally-representative UK study spanning 2010–2019 (N = 11,519), 17–24 year olds who attended higher education had lower average psychological distress (GHQ score difference =  − 0.37, 95% CI − 0.60, − 0.08) and lower odds of case-level distress than those who did not (OR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.81, 1.02). Increases in distress between 2010 and 2019 were similar in both groups. Accessible mental health support outside higher education settings is necessary to prevent further widening of socioeconomic inequalities in mental health.

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