HoPsy

The subproject provides a tested instrument for the standardized survey of students regarding their mental health and relevant resilience factors.

On the basis of the previous project activities, in particular consisting of a literature review and qualitative interviews, the project develops a survey inventory on the determinants of student mental health. This is tested and validated in a nationwide survey. As a result, an item battery on the topic of mental health and related risk and resilience factors will be available for nationwide student surveys in the future.

The HoPsy-OVGU-Narrativ subproject will use qualitative research methods to identify key influencing factors (such as resilience and resources, etc.) and contextual conditions affecting students’ mental health or illness from the perspective of various stakeholders, with the aim of incorporating these findings into the development of a validated survey instrument.

The HoPsy-OVGU-Narrativ subproject aims to identify, through a preliminary literature review, social constructivist assumptions, and the use of qualitative research methods (a baseline study as an exploratory approach using open-ended guided interviews with students, expert surveys, and focus groups) to identify key influencing factors and contextual conditions affecting students’ mental health or illness from the perspectives of various stakeholders, with the aim of incorporating these findings into the development of a survey instrument. The qualitative baseline study will culminate in a comprehensive understanding of mental health in everyday university life and the course of studies, focusing in particular on students’ subjective theories, interpretive patterns, structural relationships, and social positioning. The strands of the three subprojects are systematically interrelated, and the HoPsy-OvGU Narrative subproject will use cognitive interviews following the development of the quantitative survey inventory to ensure that the questionnaire items are understood as intended (clarifying understanding of the question; choice of answer; possession of relevant information, etc.), thereby contributing to the validation of the survey instrument. The aim is thus to achieve a context-sensitive and empirically grounded optimization of the instrument. The empirical research findings are to be utilized for the further development of university governance and support practices. To this end, the analysis results will be processed in the format of “design thinking workshops” with relevant stakeholders from the field of higher education development (university administrations, faculty, committee members, counseling centers, students) and used for the joint development of materials to improve these practices (guidelines, recommendations in various formats).

The HoPsy-MLU subproject investigates the interactions between individual and structural determinants of students’ mental health and mental illness through a scoping review and quantitative research methods, while also planning and  implementing the transfer and dissemination activities aimed at ensuring the sustainable and practice-oriented  communication of project findings to relevant stakeholders.

The HoPsy-MLU subproject aims to systematically synthesize and extend the existing evidence from quantitative research on the relevance of individual and institutional determinants of students’ mental health, as well as their interrelations.

At the outset, a scoping review will be conducted to compile existing quantitative findings on students’ mental health within the higher education context, including associated individual factors.  Subsequently, a secondary data analysis will be carried out to expand the evidence base through exploratory analyses of how individual risk and resilience factors interact with contextual characteristics of higher education institutions in shaping students’ mental health.

The findings of this quantitative analysis will provide a comprehensive picture of the interactions between influences at the micro- and meso-levels, generating novel insights that will inform the development of the survey instrument.

In the final phase of the collaborative project, HoPsy-MLU will focus on planning and implementing the transfer and dissemination activities. These activities will consolidate the results of preceding project phases as well as the outcomes of the design thinking workshops. The transfer activities are aimed at ensuring the sustainable integration of the project findings. Thus, the robust implementation of measures to promote mental health and support mechanisms for students experiencing psychological distress within the multidimensional higher education setting will be supported.

Scientific communication will be carried out through a range of multimedia channels, for which various formats will be developed. These include, e.g., the drafting of guidelines for sustainable quality management, the design of training programs for stakeholders, and the development of a visibility concept via a social media presence.