Social-Emotional Health of University Students and the Importance of Its Research

Abstract Introduction: Health and well-being are crucial for individuals, a particular country as well as the whole society. Therefore, it is important to focus research on it, and the Social-Emotional Health Survey - Higher Education used on the sample of university students is a good example of it. Purpose: The aim of the article is to bring information on the current issues of social-emotional health in Slovakia and the possibilities of its measuring with the emphasis on the brand new international questionnaire method Social-Emotional Health Survey - Higher Education (SEHS-HE) by M. Furlong. Methods: The method measures four basic dimensions and twelve psychological indicators of social-emotional health of university students. It helps to find the strengths and health predictions of students. Conclusions: Mental health of young people is the priority of the Slovak National Treating Program for Children and Youth, from which goes the necessity to identify the mental health of various groups of people especially of children and youth, to support it and to create the conditions for its optimal development.

Download Full-text

Social-Emotional Health and Psychological Well-Being among Church School Students

Acta Educationis Generalis ◽

10.2478/atd-2021-0010 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 19-30

Author(s):

Eva Gajdošová ◽

Jana Janičová

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Emotional Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Social Emotional ◽

School Students ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

Psychological Indicators ◽

The Social ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Church School

Abstract Introduction: This study aims to determine the level of social-emotional health of church school students and relationships among the variables of social-emotional health and psychological well-being. Methods: The research group consisted of 73 church school students in Presov Region. The data collection tools were the Social – Emotional Health Survey for secondary education (SEHS-S) and the Scale of Psychological Well-Being (PWB). The presented quantitative study has a correlation character with the comparative questions and exploratory - verification design. Results: The findings of the study showed that there is a strong positive correlation between overall social-emotional health referred to covitality and psychological well-being. Strong and moderate correlations were found among domains and psychological indicators of social-emotional health and dimensions of psychological well-being. A domain belief in others strongly correlates with positive relations with others. A strong correlation has been found between the indicator of peer support and the dimension of positive relations with others. The findings showed a moderately large, statistically significant difference in the level of belief in self in favor of males compared to females. Small and medium-sized differences between males and females were also found at the level of psychological indicators. The level of overall social-emotional health increases with the increase in the mastery of the environmental mastering and positive relations with others, which explains 35% of the data variance. Discussion: Research indicates relationships between the social-emotional health and psychological well-being as well as among dimensions, domains and indicators. The results support previous findings of other authors. Furthermore, the results showed a significant difference in the level of belief in self domain in favour of males compared to females. This finding indicates that males have higher self-confidence while compared to females. Limitations: There are certain limitations in the research, which include usage of non-standardized methods on Slovak population and a low level of reliability for Psychological Well-being Scale. Among other limitations, we include the time of data collection, which took place during the last class at the end of the week. Conclusion: Mental Health is about more than mental illness. Being mentally healthy and feeling well is important. To measure and identify elements of mental health may be useful to comprehend and promote psychological strengths of a person. A value of the paper lies in findings concerning social-emotional health of church school students, which contributed to the standardization of SEHS-S in Slovakia. Nevertheless, social-emotional health of Slovak students should not be neglected and further research on a larger sample is needed.

Download Full-text

TEACHERS' SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH INDICATORS IN THE DISTANCE LEARNING SITUATION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Problems of Psychology in the 21st Century ◽

10.33225/ppc/21.15.26 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 26-38

Author(s):

Guna Svence ◽

Eva Gajdasova ◽

Ala Petrulyte ◽

Lūcija Kalnina ◽

Lāsma Lagzdina ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Distance Learning ◽

Health Survey ◽

Emotional Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Distance Teaching ◽

Teacher Engagement ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Social And Emotional ◽

Reaction Index ◽

Emotional Burnout

There were 3 countries which participated in Erasmus+ project „Supporting teachers to face the challenge of distance teaching” (2020-1-LV01-KA226-SCH-094599) during last year. The aim of the project was to develop a well-functioning digital support system for teachers, promoting socio-emotional health and resilience. The main aim of this research was to outline a research problem on teacher well-being factors in three countries during the Covid-19 pandemic, when teachers worked remotely, and to further explore the problem in a focus group in Latvia. The following is a description of the study that was carried out in Latvia on the problems of teachers' social and emotional health factors during distance learning in 2020-2021. The study in Latvia took place in parallel with the study in Slovakia and Lithuania. This article describes the first part of the study in Latvia. One of the tasks of the study was to identify the factors that predicted teachers’ social and emotional health (SEH-T), to determine the relationships between teacher SEH, emotional burnout and teacher engagement in work indicators, and to perform a linguistic and psychometric adaptation of the teacher SEH-T (Social-emotional Health Survey – Teachers, Furlong and Gajdosova, 2019). Latvian teachers from different schools in Latvia participated in this study. Respondents completed three surveys: Teachers SEH-T (Social- emotional Health Survey – Teachers, Furlong and Gajdosova, 2018), Engaged Teachers Scale (ETS; Klassen, Yerdelen & Durksen, 2013) and the K. Maslach Burnout Survey – General Survey (MBI– GS, Maslach, Jackson & Leiter, 1996; Caune, 2004). The results showed that the translation of teachers' SEH-T survey into Latvian language had good internal coherence of articles, the article discrimination index indicator was statically significant, and the reaction index was within the normal range. Teachers SEH is positively predicted by teacher engagement indicators. Demographic and emotional burnout rates do not predict teachers' SEH-T scores. The results showed that there were statistically significant positive correlations between teacher SEH-T, teacher engagement, and emotional burnout rates. There were statistically significant negative correlations between teachers' SEH-T indicators, teacher involvement and emotional burnout indicators. Keywords: Teachers SEH, work engagement, emotional burnout

Download Full-text

Cultivating spiritual resources for improving undergraduate student’s mental health

International Journal of Research in Counseling and Education ◽

10.24036/0024za0002 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 14

Author(s):

Irwan Nuryana Kurniawan

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Social Desirability ◽

Emotional Health ◽

Positive Association ◽

Well Being ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Correlational Design ◽

Spiritual Resources

The increasing number of students coming to the university’s guidance and counselling unit demonstrates the need for more serious and systemic efforts to deal with students’ mental health. Previous studies have shown that religion has significant contribution to the human mental health and psychological well-being. This study specifically examined the role of one of the spiritual resources that get emphasis in Islamic teachings that is “Tawakal toward Allah SubhanahuwaTa’ala” to the undergraduate students’ mental health. To test the research hypothesis that asserted there is a positive relationship between surrender to God and social-emotional health, current study uses correlational design. The study involved 57 undergraduate students of the statistic class at Psychology Department of Islamic University of Indonesia, Yogyakarta and Surrender to God Scale (Wong-McDonald & Gorsuch, 2000) and Social-Emotional Health Survey (Furlong, You, Shishim, & Dowdy, 2017) were administered to them. When social desirability on the relationship between surrender to God and social-emotional health was controlled, partial correlation r (56) = .510, p = .001was found.The result suggests that there was a significant and strongly positive association between surrender to God and students’ social-emotional health when controlling social desirability scores

Download Full-text

Social Emotional Health Survey--Higher Education Version

PsycTESTS Dataset ◽

10.1037/t73677-000 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Michael J. Furlong ◽

Sukkyung You ◽

Mark Shishim ◽

Erin Dowdy

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Health Survey ◽

Emotional Health ◽

Social Emotional

Download Full-text

Anonymous Versus Self-Identified Response Formats for School Mental Health Screening

Assessment for Effective Intervention ◽

10.1177/1534508420959439 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 153450842095943

Author(s):

Rhea Wagle ◽

Erin Dowdy ◽

Michael J. Furlong ◽

Karen Nylund-Gibson ◽

Delwin Carter ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Survey ◽

Emotional Health ◽

School Mental Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Screening ◽

Mental Health Screening ◽

Response Formats ◽

Mean Differences ◽

Psychometric Evidence

Schools are an essential setting for mental health supports and services for students. To support student well-being, schools engage in universal mental health screening to identify students in need of support and to provide surveillance data for district-wide or state-wide policy changes. Mental health data have been collected via anonymous and self-identified response formats depending on the purpose of the screening (i.e., surveillance and screening, respectively). However, most surveys do not provide psychometric evidence for use in both types of response formats. The current study examined whether responses to the Social Emotional Health Survey–Secondary (SEHS-S), a school mental health survey, are comparable when administered using anonymous versus self-identified response formats. The study participants were from one high school and completed the SEHS-S using self-identified ( n = 1,700) and anonymous ( n = 1,667) formats. Full measurement invariance was found across the two response formats. Both substantial and minimal latent mean differences were detected. Implications for the use and interpretation of the SEHS-S for schoolwide mental health are discussed.

Download Full-text

Cultivating spiritual resources for improving undergraduate students’ mental health

Jurnal Aplikasi IPTEK Indonesia ◽

10.24036/4.12113 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Irwan Nuryana Kurniawan

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Social Desirability ◽

Emotional Health ◽

Positive Association ◽

Well Being ◽

Guidance And Counseling ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Correlational Design ◽

Spiritual Resources

The increasing number of students coming to the university’s guidance and counseling unit demonstrates the need for more serious and systemic efforts to deal with students’ mental health. Previous studies have shown that religion has significant contribution to the human mental health and psychological well-being. This study specifically examined the role of one of the spiritual resources that get emphasis in Islamic teachings that is “Tawakal toward Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala” to the undergraduate students’ mental health. To test the research hypothesis that asserted there is a positive relationship between surrender to God and social-emotional health, current study uses correlational design. The study involved 57 undergraduate students of the statistic class at Psychology Department of Islamic University of Indonesia, Yogyakarta and Surrender to God Scale (Wong-McDonald & Gorsuch, 2000)and Social-Emotional Health Survey (Furlong, You, Shishim, & Dowdy, 2017) were administered to them. When social desirability on the relationship between surrender to God and social-emotional health was controlled, partial correlation r (56) = .510, p = .001was found.The result suggests that there was a significant and strongly positive association between surrender to God and students’ social-emotional health when controlling social desirability scores.

Download Full-text

Evaluation of an mHealth App (DeStressify) on University Students’ Mental Health: Pilot Trial

JMIR Mental Health ◽

10.2196/mental.8324 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. e2 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Rebecca Anne Lee ◽

Mary Elizabeth Jung

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

University Students ◽

Emotional Health ◽

Pilot Trial ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Problems ◽

Full Time ◽

Promising Alternative ◽

Health Support ◽

Mhealth Apps

Background One in five Canadians experience mental health issues with those in the age range of 15 to 24 years being most at risk of a mood disorder. University students have shown significantly higher rates of mental health problems than the general public. Current university support services are limited by factors such as available staff and finances, and social stigma has frequently been identified as an additional barrier that prevents students from accessing these resources. Mobile health (mHealth) apps are one form of alternative health support that is discrete and accessible to students, and although they are recognized as a promising alternative, there is limited research demonstrating their efficacy. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate a mindfulness-based app’s (“DeStressify”) efficacy on stress, anxiety, depressive symptomology, sleep behavior, work or class absenteeism, work or school productivity, and quality of life (QoL) among university students. Methods Full-time undergraduate students at a Canadian university with smartphones and Internet access were recruited through in-class announcements and on-campus posters. Participants randomized into an experimental condition were given and instructed to use the DeStressify app 5 days a week for 4 weeks. Control condition participants were wait-listed. All participants completed pre- and postintervention Web-based surveys to self-assess stress, anxiety, depressive symptomatology, sleep quality, and health-related QoL. Results A total of 206 responses were collected at baseline, with 163 participants completing the study (86 control, 77 experimental). Using DeStressify was shown to reduce trait anxiety (P=.01) and improve general health (P=.001), energy (P=.01), and emotional well-being (P=.01) in university students, and more participants in the experimental condition believed their productivity improved between baseline and postintervention measurements than the number of participants expected to believe so randomly by chance (P=.01). The app did not significantly improve stress, state anxiety, physical and social functioning, and role limitations because of physical or emotional health problems or pain (P>.05). Conclusions Mindfulness-based apps may provide an effective alternative support for university students’ mental health. Universities and other institutions may benefit from promoting the use of DeStressify or other mindfulness-based mHealth apps among students who are interested in methods of anxiety management or mindfulness-based self-driven health support. Future steps include examining DeStressify and similar mHealth apps over a longer period and in university staff and faculty.

Download Full-text

Social Emotional Health Survey-Secondary (SEHS-S): A Universal Screening Measure of Social-Emotional Strengths for Spanish-Speaking Adolescents

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16244982 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (24) ◽

pp. 4982

Author(s):

Jose A. Piqueras ◽

Tiscar Rodriguez-Jimenez ◽

Juan Carlos Marzo ◽

Maria Rivera-Riquelme ◽

Agustin E. Martinez-Gonzalez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Psychometric Properties ◽

Health Survey ◽

Emotional Regulation ◽

Emotional Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Self Control ◽

Path Model ◽

International Studies ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Social Emotional

The Social Emotional Health Survey-Secondary (SEHS-S), which is a measure of core psychological assets based on a higher-order model of Covitality, is comprised of 36 items and four latent traits (with three measured subscales): belief in self (self-efficacy, self-awareness, and persistence), belief in others (school support, family coherence, and peer support), emotional competence (emotional regulation, behavioral self-control, and empathy), and engaged living (gratitude, zest, and optimism). Previous international studies have supported the psychometric properties of the SEHS-S. The present study extended this research by examining the psychometric properties of a Spanish-language adaptation with a sample of 1042 Spanish adolescents (Mage = 14.49, SD = 1.65.). Confirmatory factor analyses replicated the original factorial structure, with hierarchical omega between 0.66–0.93, with 0.94 for the total score. Factorial invariance across genders revealed small latent mean differences. A path model evaluated concurrent validity, which revealed a significant association between Covitality and bidimensional mental health (psychological distress and well-being). Specifically, correlational analyses showed a negative association with internalizing/externalizing symptoms, and positive associations with subjective well-being, health-related quality of life, and prosocial behaviors. This study provides an example of a culturally relevant adaptation of an international tool to measure student strengths, which is critical to planning school programming and policy.

Download Full-text

Living in quiet desperation: The mental health epidemic in Australia’s higher education

Health Education Journal ◽

10.1177/0017896919867438 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 79 (2) ◽

pp. 138-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Wayne Usher

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Higher Education ◽

Health Status ◽

University Students ◽

Online Survey ◽

Ecological Model ◽

Holistic Approach ◽

Well Being ◽

Community Health Services ◽

Mental Health Status

Objective: This study sought to investigate the relationship between personal, university, home and community influences on Australia’s university students’ mental health status. Design: Positioned within a qualitative, interpretivist paradigm, the study collected data from participants ( n = 934) by means of an online survey requesting lived or witnessed experiences concerning mental health concerns. Bronfenbrenner’s socio-ecological model informed the design of the study. Setting: Five major Australian higher educational settings. Method: Leximancer software was used for concept development. Data were analysed using thematic coding. Results: Findings provide qualitative data of university students’ experiences concerning mental health status, as measured across four domains. Themes identified include personal (stress, anxiety, life skills), university (grades/free physical activity) and home (closer to home, support networks) dimensions. There was no unprompted reference to the community domain. Results reinforce the need to ensure that current and future student mental health policies and initiatives are implemented within each of the domains addressed – to ensure a more holistic approach to students’ well-being and care. Conclusion: Findings highlight challenges concerning Australia’s university students’ mental health status. Findings present an opportunity for the university sector, community health services, and sports and fitness organisations to develop and implement future collaborative health promotion in higher education settings.

Download Full-text