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Caring for the Mental Health of Higher Education Students: Coping...
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Caring for the Mental Health of Higher Education Students: Coping Strategies and Well-Being Support

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Assessments".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 May 2025 | Viewed by 3139

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Lídia Susana Mendes Moutinho

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing, Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa, 1600-096 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: nursing; mental health; quality of life; well-being
Dr. Patrício Costa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Medicine, The University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Interests: data analysis; statistics; research methodologies; machine learning; marketing; voting behaviour; cognition; empathy
Dr. Olga Maria Martins de Sousa Valentim

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing, Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa, 1600-096 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: addictive behaviors; mental health; quality of life; well-being; positive mental health; mental health literacy; mental health stigma
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to a Special Issue focusing on the mental health of higher education students.

The mental health and well-being of higher education students have become increasingly important considering the academic and personal challenges they face. The specialized literature contains a wide variety of validated strategies and methods for assessing and promoting students’ mental health. However, inconsistencies in outcome assessment pose significant challenges for higher education institutions and healthcare professionals in decision-making, hindering efforts to improve students’ well-being and preventing the comparison of crucial interventions with evidence-based practices.

This Special Issue aims to explore and disseminate effective strategies for promoting students’ mental health and well-being, providing a platform to share successful research, experiences, and practices.

We seek original studies and reviews (narrative, systematic, scoping, umbrella reviews, and meta-analyses), including both clinical trials and observational studies, that can advance knowledge and practices in mental health care among higher education students. Topics may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Coping strategies and resilience;
  • Psychological interventions and counseling;
  • Well-being programs and social support;
  • Impact of the academic environment on mental health;
  • Technologies and innovations in mental health support;
  • The importance of emotional intelligence and humor for well-being.

We invite all researchers, academics, and professionals to submit their manuscripts.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Lídia Susana Mendes Moutinho
Dr. Patrício Costa
Dr. Olga Maria Martins de Sousa Valentim
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mental health
  • coping strategies
  • resilience, psychological
  • psychological support
  • stress management
  • student health
  • emotional intelligence
  • student welfare
  • humor

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 283 KiB  
Article
Mental Health Awareness: Stigma and Help-Seeking Among Portuguese College Students
by Paula Saraiva Carvalho, Nádia Pombal, Jorge Gama and Manuel Loureiro
Healthcare 2024, 12(24), 2505; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12242505 - 11 Dec 2024
Viewed by 657
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Help-seeking—that is, the attempt to attain external help for mental health, be it from formal or informal sources—can be described as an adaptive coping process. Mental illness stigma is the most frequently identified barrier that prevents students from seeking psychological help. This [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Help-seeking—that is, the attempt to attain external help for mental health, be it from formal or informal sources—can be described as an adaptive coping process. Mental illness stigma is the most frequently identified barrier that prevents students from seeking psychological help. This study analyzed college students’ beliefs about mental illness and attitudes toward formal psychological help-seeking. Methods: Two hundred and eighty-two students from the first and third undergraduate years of Psychology, Sociology, Fashion Design, and Sports Science courses participated. The majority of the sample (75.4%) was female, while only 24.6% was male, with a mean age of 20.04 years. The scales used were the Inventory of Beliefs about Mental Illness (IBMI), the Inventory of Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services (IATSMHS), and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Results: The results revealed that females, third-year students, and Psychology students had fewer stigmatizing beliefs about mental illness and more positive attitudes towards help-seeking. Moreover, there were statistically significant differences in beliefs and attitudes in relation to psychological support and familiarity with mental illness. We also glimpsed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ mental health, and observed a change in opinions and attitudes toward mental illness during this period. Correlation analysis showed negative correlations between stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes toward seeking help. Finally, a cluster analysis identified two profiles of individuals that reflected different levels of stigma and help-seeking attitudes. Conclusions: This study delineated two distinct groups of students, which is relevant as it allows us to trace profiles to outline more uniform intervention groups and, in turn, implement new and improved interventions that are better adapted to the specific needs of college students. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Caring for the Mental Health of Higher Education Students: Coping Strategies and Well-Being Support)
16 pages, 594 KiB  
Article
Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Italian Nursing Students: Prevalence and Predictors
by Felice Curcio, Lara Guedes de Pinho, Cristiana Rago, Davide Bartoli, Gianluca Pucciarelli and Cesar Iván Avilés-González
Healthcare 2024, 12(21), 2154; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12212154 - 29 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1528
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Mental disorders in nursing students, although very common under normal circumstances, have worsened over time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to assess (1) what the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in Italian nursing students was and (2) [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Mental disorders in nursing students, although very common under normal circumstances, have worsened over time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to assess (1) what the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in Italian nursing students was and (2) what factors were associated with them. Methods: In May 2023, a cross-sectional study was conducted on the bachelor’s degree Nursing course in an Italian university. Levels of anxiety and stress were assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), respectively. In addition, socio-demographic variables and data on mental health, drug intake, and substance use were collected. Multiple binary logistic regression adjusted analyses were used to identify predictive factors. Results: A total of 148 nursing students completed the questionnaire. A total of 9.5% reported a previous diagnosis of a mental disorder, and, of these, 35.7% reported that it was diagnosed after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mean GAD-7 and PHQ-9 score was 9.68 (SD = 5.2) and 8.37 (SD = 5.6), respectively. Protective factors for depressive symptoms included not having a previous diagnosis of a mental disorder (adjusted odds ratio = 0.10, 95% CI: 0.002–0.47, p < 0.001) and a perceived high (adjusted odds ratio = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.003–0.22 p < 0.001) or medium (adjusted odds ratio = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.03–0.82, p < 0.05) socioeconomic level, while the predictor of anxiety symptoms was returning home once a month for students studying away from their residence (adjusted odds ratio = 6.4, 95% CI: 1.01–40.8, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Urgent investments are needed in universities to implement mental health promotion programmes and to offer counselling services to reduce and prevent mental health problems among students. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Caring for the Mental Health of Higher Education Students: Coping Strategies and Well-Being Support)
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Review

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16 pages, 570 KiB  
Review
Do Academic Libraries Contribute to Students’ and Communities’ Wellbeing?: A Scoping Review
by Shivani Suresh, David Lim, Kanchana Ekanayake and Amit Arora
Healthcare 2025, 13(2), 179; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13020179 - 17 Jan 2025
Viewed by 249
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Academic libraries offer a range of activities and initiatives for their students and community users. However, wellbeing, as a concept in academic libraries, is not very well defined and is poorly understood. The objective of this scoping review was to examine [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Academic libraries offer a range of activities and initiatives for their students and community users. However, wellbeing, as a concept in academic libraries, is not very well defined and is poorly understood. The objective of this scoping review was to examine the role of academic libraries in student and community wellbeing, identify the various kinds of activities and initiatives that they carry out to address their wellbeing, and uncover gaps that might require further research. Methods: An extensive search was conducted in the Library Information Sciences Association (LISA), Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC), Medline (OVID), Scopus, and Web of Science (WOS) databases. Grey literature was searched on a selection of library websites and digital repositories. Data were extracted from studies that met the inclusion criteria for the scoping review. Themes were identified by the authors and reported as a narrative summary. Results: Of the 5437 records identified, a total of 40 documents were included in this scoping review. The authors identified 11 different kinds of activities and initiatives carried out in academic libraries that promote student and community wellbeing, i.e., (1) animal-assisted activities; (2) facilitating dialogues about belonging and identity; (3) fun recreational activities; (4) study support; (5) physical activity promotion; (6) meditation, yoga, and mindfulness; (7) book clubs; (8) art exhibitions; (9) technology and digital support; (10) free food and tea; and (11) health awareness. These activities were found to promote the physical, emotional, and social wellbeing of student and community users. Conclusions: This review highlights the need for further systematic research on the long-term effects of wellbeing initiatives and activities on both student and community users, and how they might impact aspects of wellbeing for specific population groups such as senior citizens and LGBTQIA members. This scoping review demonstrates the potential of academic libraries in promoting health and wellbeing for their users. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Caring for the Mental Health of Higher Education Students: Coping Strategies and Well-Being Support)
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