CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 340Student Stress and CopingMental Health Treatment and AccessProblem Solving Skills Development

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 133 of the 135 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

A Meta-analysis of Universal Mental Health Prevention Programs for Higher Education Students

Conley, Colleen S., Durlak, Joseph A., Kirsch, Alexandra C.·2015·Prevention Science
DOI 10.1007/s11121-015-0543-1
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

This meta-analysis investigated the effectiveness of universal mental health prevention programs for higher education students on a range of adjustment outcomes. A systematic literature search identified 103 controlled published and unpublished interventions involving college, graduate, or professional students. As hypothesized, skill-training programs that included a supervised practice component were significantly more effective overall (mean effect size = 0.45, confidence interval (CI) = 0.39 to 0.52) compared to skill-training programs without supervised practice (0.11, CI = -0.01 to 0.22) and psychoeducational (information-only) programs (0.13, CI = 0.06 to 0.21). When comparisons on specific outcomes were possible, skill-training programs including supervised practice were significantly more effective than the other two groups of programs in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and general psychological distress, and in improving social-emotional skills, self-perceptions, and academic behaviors and performance. The magnitude of effects achieved in several outcome areas is comparable to or higher than that reported in other reviews of universal programs, suggesting that skill-training programs for higher education students that incorporate supervised practice now join the ranks of other effective preventive mental health interventions. This review offers several recommendations to improve the experimental rigor of future research.

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1007/s11121-015-0543-1

Cites

133 of 133 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Citations

Cites

Show all 135 references

Research works printed but not linked: 22

  1. *Abbott, S. A. (2009). The effect of an existential educational self-awareness intervention on self-awareness in college students. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (3342495).
  2. Abel, H. S. (2005). The evaluation of a stress management program for graduate students. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (3160629)
  3. Borenstein, M., Hedges, L. V., Higgins, J., & Rothstein, H. (2005). Comprehensive meta-analysis version 2 [computer software]. Englewood: Biostat.
  4. *Brown, S. L. (2001). Teaching preventive mental health skills to functional college students: A comparison of three classroom-based interventions. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (3024905).
  5. Elliott, S. N., Frey, J. R., & Davies, M. (2015). Systems for assessing and improving students’ social skills to achieve academic competence. In J. A. Durlak, C. E. Domitrovich, R. P. Weissberg, & T. P. Gullotta (Eds.), Handbook of social and emotional learning: Research and practice (pp. 301–319). New York: Guilford.
  6. *Fabis, S. J. (2005). Determining the efficacy of resiliency training and conventional stress management instruction in a university student population. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (3194808).
  7. *Fulton, M. A. (1990). The effects of relaxation training and meditation on stress, anxiety, and subjective experience in college students. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (9016622).
  8. Grimm, G. (1996). The efficacy of personal health classes and behavioral contracting in reducing health risks among college students. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (9708010).
  9. *Hirokawa, K., Yagi, A., & Miyata, Y. (2002). An examination of the effects of stress management training for Japanese college students for social work. International Journal of Stress Management, 9(2), 113-123. doi: 10.1023/A:1014906820573 . · DOI
  10. *Lee, C. C. (2009). An experimental evaluation of "culture and coping: Asian American approaches"--A psychoeducation curriculum to enhance Asian American student coping. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (512950).
  11. *McGee, M. A. (1998). Spiritual health and its relation to levels of perceived stress among a sample of university students. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Digital Dissertation Consortium. (9780599100114).
  12. *McWhirter, B.T., Okey, J., Roth, S., & Herlache, L. (1995). Evaluation of a college level stress management course. College Student Journal, 29(2), 227-233.
  13. *Mullins, C. H. (1994). The effects of three stress reduction strategies. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (9434902).
  14. *Nicholson, T., Belcastro, P.A., & Duncan, D.F. (1989). An evaluation of a university stress management program. College Student Journal, 23(1), 76-81.
  15. *Owens, K. B. (1991). An integrative self-enhancement and basic-skill program and its impact on students' global self-esteem, academic self-concept, and academic performance. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (9125563).
  16. *Porter, S., & Johnson, A. (2008). Increasing paramedics students' resiliency to stress: Assessing correlates and the impact of intervention. College Quarterly, 11(3), 1-14.
  17. *Price, C. (1998). The effect of a holistic wellness course on community college students' wellness behaviors. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertation and Theses. (9936291).
  18. Sher, K. J., Wood, P. K., & Gotham, H. J. (1996). The course of psychological distress in college: A prospective high-risk study. Journal of College Student Development, 37, 42–51.
  19. *Tardd, A. C. (1987). The effects of rational self counseling as an independent study course. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia.
  20. *Turner, J. T. (1991). The effect of a biofeedback and stress management course on college student anxiety and academic performance. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Northern Colorado, Colorado.
  21. *Walker, R., & Frazier, A. (1993). The effect of a stress management educational program on the knowledge, attitude, behavior, and stress level of college students. Wellness Perspectives, 10(1), 52-60.
  22. *Walters, J. E. (1991). The effects of a stress management program on anxiety and academic performance with adult males in post-secondary vocational training. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (9129194).

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Items 101–200 of 339

Related

See all

Metadata

Authors
Conley, C. S., Durlak, J. A., & Kirsch, A. C.
Affiliations
Loyola University Chicago (US)
Corresponding author
Conley, Colleen S.
ORCID
Venue
Prevention Science
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2015-03-07
Volume
16
Issue
4
Pages
487-507
ISSN
  • 1389-4986 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-6695
DOI
10.1007/s11121-015-0543-1
OpenAlex
W2064324224
Cited by
340
References
135
Citations by year
2026: 29 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 52 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 75 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 7
FWCI
2.34
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • Prevention Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • University of Chicago
  • Loyola University Chicago
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Problem Solving Skills Development
Keywords
university students, skill development programs, supervised practice, psychoeducational intervention, depression, anxiety, stress, psychological distress, socioemotional skills, academic performance, self-perception
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Mental Disorders, Emotions, Humans, Mental Health, Students, Universities, Young Adult

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review