Self-blame was found to be associated with experiencing suicidal thoughts.
Focusing on online learning as the problem means lost opportunities to identify solutions and supports for student well-being, which could then be designed into online, in-person or mixed forms of learning.
(Allison Shelley for EDUimages)
Jess Whitley, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa and Beth Saggers, Queensland University of Technology
Punishing attendance problems fails to address the issues facing students, from family responsibilities to barriers related to racism or inadequate support for disabilities.
If you feel like you are struggling with your mental health, re-connect with a trusted friend, family member or peer.
(The Gender Spectrum Collection)
The transition to a new school year will be an important time for students to focus on strategies for fostering positive mental health and well-being, and recognizing signs that help may be needed.
Schools across the U.S. are dealing with many challenges.
Washington Post via Getty Images
Three years observing in a public school has given one scholar a close-up look at the sweeping challenges in public education.
In this photo from 2016, students pass through a security checkpoint at William Hackett Middle School in Albany, N.Y., with guards, bag inspections and a metal detector.
AP Photo/Mike Groll
Surveillance cameras, metal detectors, door-locking systems and armed guards have not prevented school shootings. A school safety scholar examines other possible approaches.
School counselors like Jacquelyn Indrisano, left, can help students feel welcome and safe at school.
Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
School violence prevention requires professionals – counselors, psychologists and social workers – who know how to create an emotionally safe environment. Those staffers are in very short supply.
Students may self-report distress when given the opportunity.
Anna Kraynova / EyeEm / Getty Images
Waiting for kids to show signs of distress has little value, says a researcher who is pushing schools to take a more proactive approach toward student mental health.
Many Australian children are returning to school after spending the best part of two years learning from home. Such a long break can understandably make many anxious. But there are ways to help.
We investigated the initiatives schools around the world took to help support and maintain the well-being of their students and staff. We pulled out seven things that made a difference.
The choice about whether or not to disclose a mental health condition to colleagues or managers, or to share a personal mental illness story with students, includes a number of complex factors.
(Shutterstock)
The pandemic has introduced a new context for university instructors navigating boundaries and responsibilities around their students’ and their own well-being and mental health.
Our study shows almost one in four university and vocational education students report extremely high levels of distress during the pandemic.
Although some youth are clearly reporting a negative effect on their social, personal and educational lives during the pandemic, the majority are responding to COVID-19 in ways that are developmentally and psychologically normal.
(Canva)
Is there a mental health crisis among young people, or are worry and sadness to be expected? Pathologizing normal, healthy responses to adverse events promotes misunderstanding about mental illness.
Students headed to university are thirsty for socializing and missed milestones, and risky alcohol consumption could be more of a problem than it usually is.
(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Cancelling campus events won’t address the potential harms of binge drinking this fall. Universities must plan additional activities to curb risky alcohol use and promote student wellness.
Managing academic expectations, culture shock, language barriers and financial constraints amid concerns about viral safety are some of the intersecting stressors faced by international students.
(Shutterstock)
International students are a vulnerable population who have faced many stressors in the COVID-19 pandemic. Emotional intelligence can help navigate these.
For generations, queer people have demonstrated their adaptability to navigate life outside the status quo with supportive communities.
(Shutterstock)
Queer people have learned to build and rely on “chosen families.” Finding ways to creatively bolster and expand our networks of care takes on renewed importance in the pandemic.
University students had high rates of mental health issues before the pandemic. The additional stressors of COVID-19 and social isolation will make them even more vulnerable over the winter.
COVID-19 has not influenced a change in some students’ partying behaviors. Here, two young people talk at a bar in Marseille, France, Sept. 12, 2020.
(AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
Both university and government policy-makers need to re-tool their messaging to students about off-campus socializing to shape more positive mental health and COVID-19 outcomes.
Colleges with “green spaces” can contribute to improved mental health for students.
FatCamera/E+ via Getty Images
Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary