The aim of this flexible, multi-method case-study (after Yin 1994, 2003), was to elicit the 'student perspective' on issues relating to mental well-being within the Higher Education Institution setting. It has been guided by the ideology of the health promotion model, the concept of salutogenesis and the Health Promoting University initiative. Phase One consisted of eleven focus group discussions involving fifty one self-selecting participant undergraduates and a semi-structured interview conducted with the lead medical practitioner of the Medical Centre on site. In Phase Two, a quota sample of 806 undergraduates completed a questionnaire. The three datasets were analysed according to a facilitative and complementary approach (Brannen 2004) and in keeping with assumptions of the paradigms from which they originated. The qualitative data were analysed within the framework provided by Miles and Huberman (1994) and the survey was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings demonstrated that this multi-site university may have specific difficulties with regard to the provision of equal access to the support services. Reduced pastoral care could pose risks to the mental well-being of some students whereas the allocation of students to a personal tutor might increase levels of social capital and reduce symptoms of 'anomie'. Conclusions of the study suggest that HEIs need an understanding of the concerns of the students and their help-seeking behaviour in order to define 'health assets' and minimise 'health deficits'. Overall, the development of co-ordinated institutional support service provision - that is responsive to the needs of a diverse student body - facilitates and supports the creation of a salutogenic environment that both promotes and sustains mental well-being. Health education programmes need to address the persistence of stigma and discrimination. Attention should be focused on health protection measures so that all groups of students are treated equally and fairly in order to counter-balance a possible residual biomedical approach to health promotion from within the medical sector provision. As a case-study of one university, the findings may be theoretically generalisable to other similar multi-site HEIs in their mental health promotion provision.

abstract: Studies suggest that graduate students experience higher rates of anxiety and depression than their peers outside of academia. Studies also show exercise is correlated with lower levels of anxiety and depression among graduate students. However, despite this evidence, nearly half of graduate students do not exercise regularly. Accordingly, I suggest universities consider adding an exercise requirement to promote graduate student well-being. One potential objection to this recommendation is that an exercise requirement is objectionably paternalistic. I answer this objection with two possible replies. First, there are reasons why the exercise requirement might not be paternalistic, and there may be sufficient non-paternalistic reasons to justify the policy. Second, there are reasons why even if the policy is paternalistic, it is not objectionably paternalistic, and may still be justified. I will offer reasons to consider paternalism in a positive light and why the exercise requirement may be an example of a good paternalistic policy. Because the exercise requirement might be justified on paternalistic grounds, there are reasons to consider other paternalistic policies to promote graduate student well-being. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Philosophy 2020

Thesis advisor: David Miele / This dissertation adopts a fundamental needs perspective to examine the associations between first-year students’ reasons for attending college and their well-being. It extends Basic Psychological Needs Theory (BPNT; Ryan & Deci, 2017), by proposing that (a) meaning, safety, and status (in addition to autonomy, competence, and relatedness) are fundamental needs that students aim to satisfy in college, and (b) the salience of particular needs influences students’ goal-directed behavior and well-being. The first phase of the dissertation involved the development of three novel measures which were used in the second phase to explore different profiles of salient needs and their associations with college students’ experiences of need satisfaction, need conflict, and four outcome variables (GPA, intentions to persist toward graduation, psychological distress, and overall well-being).A latent profile analysis of the first wave of data (N= 512) identified three profiles based on students’ reasons for attending college: Weaker Reasons, Balanced Reasons, and Stronger Reasons. Subsequent analyses examined whether profile membership at Wave 1 predicted need satisfaction, need conflict, and the student outcomes at Wave 2 (n = 219). Results indicated that the Stronger Reasons profile was associated with higher levels of need satisfaction compared to the other two profiles, whereas the Balanced Reasons profile was associated with lower GPA and intentions to persist. Next, structural equation models were estimated to examine the relations between need satisfaction, need conflict, and the four outcomes. Results indicated that need satisfaction was positively associated with intentions to persist and well-being, but negatively related to distress, whereas need conflict positively predicted distress. Contrary to expectations, need conflict and need satisfaction were not significantly associated. Although additional research is needed to examine motivation profiles, findings from this dissertation study suggest that students attend college with different patterns of need-based motivations, and these profiles are related to important student outcomes. The dissertation also adds to the literature examining the association between need satisfaction and well-being, and suggests that need conflict is a construct worthy of additional inquiry. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

abstract: Much research has been conducted regarding the current state of public education within the United States. Very little of that research bodes well for the system’s current circumstances or for the direction our system is headed. The debate stems around two opposing ideologies. One believes that there needs to be more accountability via high-stakes testing and the continuum of the status quo that the country has maintained for centuries, regardless of the effect it may be having on the students’ well-being. While the opposing view sees high-stakes testing as a contributing factor to the seemingly unproductive, chaotic, and even harmful conundrum of bias and hegemony that shows a positive correlation of deleterious effects to student well-being. Although this paper references the research of highly esteemed scholars, it asserts that the voices of those that are most relegated to that of undervalued and ignored are precisely the voices that need to be gleaned most relevant. This paper’s purpose is to hear what the ‘experts’ in the field of education, the students themselves, have to say. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Social and Cultural Pedagogy 2018

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of parental support on social work students’ well-being. This study assessed social work students’ perspectives on perceived social support, financial support and the relationship between student stress levels and depression levels. The data was collected using quantitative surveys and was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS). A total of 64 students participated in the study. Results concluded that there was no relationship between parental financial support, parental social support, depression levels, and stress levels were not statistically significant. The study also revealed that parents did not contribute financially to social work students. It was also found that friends played a bigger role in social work students life compared to family. The study recommends increases educational materials on stress and depressive symptoms, training, support from staff, and a one-time mandatory mental health counseling session.