The results of the SMaRT Project were presented at a well attended dissemination event on Thursday 15th March 2018 . Major results are shown in the SMaRT Brochure and the full report can downloaded here.
The Student Mental Health and Resilience in Transition (SMaRT) initiative was set up in 2016 by the Lifespan, Health and WellBeing team from the Department of Psychology, with the primary objective to understand and tackle the alarming rise in mental health problems within University students. The SMaRT initiative hopes to inform the development of prevention and care strategies for students based on comprehensive scientific evidence.
SMaRT received a Warwick Research Development Fund – Strategic Award to conduct a feasibility study to determine whether a Warwick-wide longitudinal study of student mental health and wellbeing was possible.
The feasibility study involved working with students and a variety of stakeholders to ensure high acceptability of a long-term study on student mental health which would follow students as they transition through University and beyond. Between the months of January and August, 2017, a 15-minute online survey aiming to capture the various factors. SMaRT was set up to study was administered to over 600 Warwick undergraduate students. In the same period, we also conducted focus group discussions with students, student representatives, tutors, and members of the wellbeing services. Together, we were able to grasp a comprehensive picture of student mental health at Warwick, and identify the potential mechanisms that contribute to poor mental health as well as maintain good mental wellbeing.
We found that factors such as students’ prior experience with mental health issues, lifestyle and social relationships are related to their current mental health. We have also identified factors that may build resilience for students at university.
We have also put together a comprehensive report detailing the study background, methods, analyses and interpretation of results as well as key recommendations.
