StaR_MHI

Mental health in higher education settings is a highly relevant topic. In recent years, a substantial deterioration of the mental well-being of students has been observed in Germany, particularly with regard to depressive and anxiety symptoms as well as general distress. In view of the global polycrisis and societal challenges, this trend continues even after the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided. There is a clear need for action to reduce risk factors for unfavorable mental health outcomes after stressor exposure among students and to promote protective factors. The comprehensive and methodologically high-quality synthesis of current research data (evidence) on risk and protective factors of mental health among students is necessary to identify factors that are specifically relevant to students. The findings of this evidence synthesis will inform the design of student-specific interventions at individual, societal and organizational levels.

In a participatory approach, stakeholders such as students, university staff and psychosocial counselors will be involved. Comprehensive searches in resiMETA, a living database of trajectory-based resilience research, will be conducted to identify relevant longitudinal research of the impact of individual, social or organizational factors on mental health after stress exposure in students. The evidence will be evaluated and integrated using a validated rating scheme which has been developed by members of the project team (Schäfer et al., 2024).

As a subproject of the collaborative project Students at Risk for Mental Health Issues (StaR_MHI), work package 1.2 aims to generate an initial overview of the prevalence of mental disorders among university students, the frequency of associated healthcare services utilization, and the involved service providers, based on care-related data from the Research Data Centre (FDZ Gesundheit) at the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM).

In addition, developments in these indicators over time will be observed and contextualized, for example with regard to health policy and broader societal developments. The analyses will also allow for the identification of potential differences based on sociodemographic characteristics and other health- or treatment-related factors, such as prescribed medication and the presence of comorbid diagnoses, with the aim of identifying vulnerable groups.

Furthermore, comparisons with panel studies and other results of StaR_MHI work packages may help to identify unmet healthcare needs in large populations. The analyses can also determine which healthcare system institutions students engage with, thereby highlighting potential points of intervention for secondary prevention.

The monitoring subproject aims to identify resilience and risk factors associated with depression among students on a quantitative basis. From a sociological perspective, it is grounded in the interactionist perspective on social support, which emphasizes the importance of social interactions and the influence of social relationships on mental health. This framework examines how individual experiences and social factors interact in shaping the risk of depression. Based on this, the study develops research questions concerning the configuration of social relationships within students’ environments in relation to the severity of depression, the influence of differentiating factors such as migration background and the socio-economic status of the family of origin, and the intersectionalities arising in this context. The cross-sectional analyses will also include comparisons with apprentices in order to examine the specific stress conditions associated with higher education. The analyses draw on data from the integrated survey “Growing Up in Germany” (AID:A), conducted by the German Youth Institute (DJI) in 2023, which provides representative results for Germany and allows for comparisons over time with 2019.

Starting university is an important transitional phase that can involve many new demands, changes, and stresses. At the same time, this phase offers an opportunity to identify early on factors that contribute to students’ mental and physical health or indicate an increased risk of stress-related illnesses. In our study, we are investigating how mental health, sleep, and neurophysiological stress markers develop over the course of the first two semesters of study. To this end, we are following 200 students from the first weeks of their studies across three measurement points. Recruitment and data collection take place at the Berlin, Jena, and Halle sites. In addition to clinical interviews and questionnaires on risk and resilience factors, we measure real-life physiological parameters such as heart rate variability and sleep quality. These measurements are conducted independently at home using smartwatches and mobile EEG technology. The EEG data is analyzed at the Dortmund site. The aim of the study is to better understand which psychological, neurophysiological, and lifestyle-related factors are associated with well-being, stress, and health over the course of the study. In the long term, the results are intended to help identify students at increased risk for stress-related illnesses at an early stage and to develop evidence-based approaches for prevention and student health management.

Als Teilprojekt des Verbundprojektes Students at Risk for Mental Health Issues (StaR_MHI) untersucht AP 2.4 Resilienz- und Risikofaktoren, die sich auf das Wohlbefinden von Studierenden auswirken können. Unter den Resilienzfaktoren psychischer Gesundheit nehmen Charakterstärken (d.s. moralisch positiv bewertete Eigenschaften wie Kreativität, Neugier, Urteilsvermögen, Liebe zum Lernen und Weitsicht) eine besondere Rolle ein, aber auch einzelne Merkmale, wie Verspieltheit. Integriert in die Baseline-Erhebung aus AP2.1 werden in Teilstichproben Resilienz- und Risikofaktoren erfasst, um deren Beziehungen zur psychischen Gesundheit im Längsschnitt zu prüfen. In einer Teilstichprobe werden dazu auch Erhebungen mit der deutschsprachigen Fassung des MMPI-3 eingesetzt.