Student mental health in higher education: the contextual influence of “cuts, competition & comparison”
Corresponding Author
Miles Thompson
Psychological Sciences Research Group (PSRG), Department of Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
Correspondence should be addressed to Miles Thompson, Psychological Sciences Research Group (PSRG), Department of Social Sciences, University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), Frenchay Campus, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK (email: [email protected]).
Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), Data curation (equal), Formal analysis (equal), Investigation (equal), Methodology (equal), Project administration (equal), Supervision (equal), Writing - original draft (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal)
Search for more papers by this authorChris Pawson
Psychological Sciences Research Group (PSRG), Department of Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
Contribution: Investigation (equal), Project administration (equal), Validation (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal)
Search for more papers by this authorArianna Delfino
Department of Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
Contribution: Data curation (equal), Formal analysis (equal)
Search for more papers by this authorAlex Saunders
Department of Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
Contribution: Data curation (equal), Formal analysis (equal)
Search for more papers by this authorHolly Parker
Department of Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
Contribution: Data curation (equal), Formal analysis (equal), Writing - original draft (equal)
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Miles Thompson
Psychological Sciences Research Group (PSRG), Department of Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
Correspondence should be addressed to Miles Thompson, Psychological Sciences Research Group (PSRG), Department of Social Sciences, University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), Frenchay Campus, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK (email: [email protected]).
Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), Data curation (equal), Formal analysis (equal), Investigation (equal), Methodology (equal), Project administration (equal), Supervision (equal), Writing - original draft (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal)
Search for more papers by this authorChris Pawson
Psychological Sciences Research Group (PSRG), Department of Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
Contribution: Investigation (equal), Project administration (equal), Validation (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal)
Search for more papers by this authorArianna Delfino
Department of Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
Contribution: Data curation (equal), Formal analysis (equal)
Search for more papers by this authorAlex Saunders
Department of Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
Contribution: Data curation (equal), Formal analysis (equal)
Search for more papers by this authorHolly Parker
Department of Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
Contribution: Data curation (equal), Formal analysis (equal), Writing - original draft (equal)
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Background
The mental health of students in UK higher education (HE) is receiving increased attention, and support services for students are under increased pressure.
Aims
Drawing on ecological systems theory (EST), this study sought to explore possible contextual influences, over time, on student distress within HE.
Method and Samples
We conducted a two-stage Delphi study, first asking UK professionals (n = 236) from primary, secondary, further education, and HE to provide possible reasons for increases in student distress. The material was reduced to 58 representative statements across all sectors with a further 10 specific to HE. In stage 2, 89 participants rated each statement in terms of whether it: (1) takes place and (2) contributes to distress.
Results
The results suggest multiple contextual influences potentially contributing to student distress. They can be summarized using the words: cuts, competition, and comparison. Education professionals in our sample reported that, upstream from HE, pressures on schools and colleges have led to a narrowing of curricula, with a more singular focus on assessment. Reduced teaching teams and pressurized staff unintentionally embed an assessment focus within students who unhelpfully compare themselves with peers while also struggling with wider societal cuts, austerity, and political uncertainty.
Conclusions
The discussion draws on the peer-reviewed literature and relevant reports, discussing them in the context of EST, finding considerable support for these influences. The potential importance of adopting a contextual approach and incorporating this knowledge into the way we understand and tackle students’ distress and their preparedness for HE is discussed.
Conflicts of interest
All authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open Research
Data availability statement
The data that support the findings are available from the corresponding author.
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