Bear Carebook: Development of a Student Mental Health & Wellbeing Assessment (2021)

Ram L. Chugh North Country Research & Public Service Award-2nd Place

Recent research has demonstrated that college students experience high stress and distress, often contributing to their early withdrawal from college (e.g., Pascarella et al., 2004). There are, however, a notable lack of tools for identifying at-risk students. My study aimed to develop an assessment measuring current physical/mental health, social support, stress, and coping. The survey also includes a series of psychological risk and resiliency items (e.g., rumination, Traynor et al., 2003; self-compassion, Neff, 2003) selected from well-established existent scales. The survey is therefore grounded in an extensive body of empirically-validated theory. A further strength is that it simultaneously achieves two objectives: 1) it identifies current at-risk students; and 2) provides information about extant strengths and difficulties, offering targets for follow-up intervention. I will discuss my findings and their potential application in college settings.  

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• Student(s): Rachel Grohbrugge
• Project Mentor(s): Claire Starrs
• L&RF 2021 Presentation-Rachel Grohbrugge