A Simple Method for Assessing the Mental Health Status of Students in Higher Education

Evaluating the Psychometric Properties and Clinical Utility of a Digital Psychosocial Self-Screening Tool (HEARTSMAP-U) for Postsecondary Students: Prospective Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Existing screening tools for mental health issues among postsecondary students have several challenges, including a lack of standardization and codevelopment by students. HEARTSMAP-U was adapted to address these issues.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate the suitability of HEARTSMAP-U as a self-screening tool for psychosocial issues among postsecondary students by evaluating its validity evidence and clinical utility.

METHODS

A prospective cohort study was conducted with University of British Columbia Vancouver students to evaluate HEARTSMAP-U's predictive validity and convergent validity. Participating students completed baseline and 3-month follow-up assessments via HEARTSMAP-U and a clinician-administered interview.

RESULTS

In a diverse student sample (n=100), HEARTSMAP-U demonstrated high sensitivity (95%-100%) in identifying any psychiatric concerns that were flagged by a research clinician, with lower specificity (21%-25%). Strong convergent validity (r=0.54-0.68) was demonstrated when relevant domains and sections of HEARTSMAP-U were compared with those of other conceptually similar instruments.

CONCLUSIONS

This preliminary evaluation suggests that HEARTSMAP-U may be suitable for screening in the postsecondary educational setting. However, a larger-scale evaluation is necessary to confirm and expand on these findings.

Psychological distress and mental health literacy in university students

PURPOSE

This study aimed to assess university students' levels of psychological distress and mental health literacy.

DESIGN AND METHODS

This descriptive and cross-sectional study using self-assessment instruments with 417 volunteer university students was conducted in the fall semester of the 2019-2020 academic year.

FINDINGS

More than half of the participants had diagnosable psychological distress in terms of mental illness. The participants had a low level of mental health literacy, females and people with a mental illness had higher mental health literacy scores.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

The results indicated that the scales could be used to develop interventions to assist Turkish students' transition to healthy adulthood. Determining individuals' psychological distress allows early detection of mental problems.