Program evaluation of a student-led peer support service at a Canadian university
Open accessAbstract
Background: University students often experience numerous financial, social and emotional stressors that can affect their mental health. The Peer Support Centre (PSC) is a pilot project that was established to provide peer support to students in these stressful conditions. We wanted to investigate whether peer support is a viable form of support that would benefit university students. The objective of this study is to determine whether the organization was indeed providing a beneficial service to students and if it was fulfilling the needs of the students that visited the service. Methods: After a support session, students and peer support providers completed an anonymous questionnaire regarding their self-reported mental wellbeing using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) metrics, and Outcome Rating Scale (ORS). They were also asked about their experience with previous professional mental health services as well as their experience at the PSC. With the data collected from 1043 students and 797 volunteers from September 2016–March 2020, a program evaluation was conducted for quality improvement purposes. Results: The PSC is used by students of different sexes, genders, and ethnicities. Students reported having a low ORS score, moderate anxiety as per the GAD-7 and moderate depression according to the PHQ-9. They find it easy to use and rely on it as an alternative form of support when they approach barriers that prevent them from accessing professional services. Lastly, the peer support providers feel very validated in their role and overall quite prepared and helpful when helping their fellow peers. Conclusions: The establishment of a student service that provides peer support would be beneficial to the members of a university/college campus.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
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?
Peer support can increase support service accessibility.
“Students find peer support easy to use, and recent research suggests it can increase support service accessibility.16”
From A systematic review of peer support interventions for student mental health and well-being in higher education (2024) · cites this paper as [16]
Students find peer support easy to use.
“Students find peer support easy to use, and recent research suggests it can increase support service accessibility.16”
From A systematic review of peer support interventions for student mental health and well-being in higher education (2024) · cites this paper as [16]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
The PHQ-9: Validity of a brief depression severity measure
Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. W. (2001) · Journal of General Internal Medicine · doi:10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x · Cited by 44,910 · see citing works
Meyer, I. H. (2003) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674 · Cited by 14,736 · see citing works
Löwe, B., Decker, O., Müller, S., Brähler, E., Schellberg, D., Herzog, W., & Herzberg, P. Y. (2008) · Medical Care · doi:10.1097/mlr.0b013e318160d093 · Cited by 4,527 · see citing works
Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B. W., & Löwe, B. (2010) · General Hospital Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2010.03.006 · Cited by 4,057 · see citing works
The prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, and stress in a sample of college students
Beiter, R., Nash, R., McCrady, M., Rhoades, D., Linscomb, M., Clarahan, M., & Sammut, S. (2015) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2014.10.054 · Cited by 2,030 · see citing works
Mental health problems and help-seeking behavior among college students
Hunt, J., & Eisenberg, D. (2010) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.08.008 · Cited by 1,949 · see citing works
Mental disorders among college students in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys
Auerbach, R. P., Alonso, J., Axinn, W. G., Cuijpers, P., Ebert, D. D., Green, J. G., Hwang, I., Kessler, R. C., Liu, H., Mortier, P., et al. (2016) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291716001665 · Cited by 1,587 · see citing works
Burnout and Suicidal Ideation among U.S. Medical Students
Dyrbye, L. N., Thomas, M. R., Massie, F. S., Power, D. V., Eacker, A., Harper, W., Durning, S., Moutier, C., Szydlo, D. W., Novotny, P. J., et al. (2008) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-149-5-200809020-00008 · Cited by 1,532 · see citing works
Help-Seeking and Access to Mental Health Care in a University Student Population
Eisenberg, D., Golberstein, E., & Gollust, S. E. (2007) · Medical Care · doi:10.1097/mlr.0b013e31803bb4c1 · Cited by 1,131 · see citing works
Peer Support/Peer Provided Services Underlying Processes, Benefits, and Critical Ingredients.
Solomon, P. (2004) · Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal · doi:10.2975/27.2004.392.401 · Cited by 1,060 · see citing works
Social support and mental health among college students.
Hefner, J., & Eisenberg, D. (2009) · American Journal of Orthopsychiatry · doi:10.1037/a0016918 · Cited by 810 · see citing works
Peer Support Among Adults With Serious Mental Illness: A Report From the Field
Davidson, L., Chinman, M., Sells, D., & Rowe, M. (2005) · Schizophrenia Bulletin · doi:10.1093/schbul/sbj043 · Cited by 700 · see citing works
Mental Health Service Utilization Among College Students in the United States
Eisenberg, D., Hunt, J., Speer, N., & Zivin, K. (2011) · Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/nmd.0b013e3182175123 · Cited by 633 · see citing works
Stress and Coping Strategies Among Community College Students
Pierceall, E. A., & Keim, M. C. (2007) · Community College Journal of Research and Practice · doi:10.1080/10668920600866579 · Cited by 315 · see citing works
Interventions to Reduce the Consequences of Stress in Physicians: A Review and Meta-Analysis
Regehr, C., Glancy, D., Pitts, A., & LeBlanc, V. R. (2014) · Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/nmd.0000000000000130 · Cited by 310 · see citing works
Ryan, M. L., Shochet, I. M., & Stallman, H. M. (2010) · Advances in Mental Health · doi:10.5172/jamh.9.1.73 · Cited by 252 · see citing works
College of the Overwhelmed: The Campus Mental Health Crisis and What to Do About It (review)
Crady, T. (2005) · Journal of college student development · doi:10.1353/csd.2005.0046 · Cited by 235 · see citing works
Perspectives on perceived stigma and self-stigma in adult male patients with depression
Latalova, K., Kamarádová, D., & Praško, J. (2014) · Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment · doi:10.2147/ndt.s54081 · Cited by 206 · see citing works
Tang, F., Byrne, M., & Qin, P. (2017) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2017.12.005 · Cited by 197 · see citing works
Vaez, M., & Laflamme, L. (2008) · Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal · doi:10.2224/sbp.2008.36.2.183 · Cited by 187 · see citing works
The effects of college counseling services on academic performance and retention
Lee, D., Olson, E. A., Locke, B., Michelson, S. T., & Odes, E. (2009) · Journal of College Student Development · doi:10.1353/csd.0.0071 · Cited by 180 · see citing works
Mental health literacy, stigma, and help-seeking behaviors among male college students
Rafal, G., Gatto, A., & DeBate, R. D. (2018) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2018.1434780 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Toward the Implementation of Mental Health Consumer Provider Services
Chinman, M., Young, A. S., Hassell, J., & Davidson, L. (2006) · The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research · doi:10.1007/s11414-006-9009-3 · Cited by 161 · see citing works
Wit, D. J. D., Karioja, K., Rye, B. J., & Shain, M. (2011) · Psychology in the Schools · doi:10.1002/pits.20576 · Cited by 153 · see citing works
An evaluation of a peer support intervention for student mental health
Byrom, N. (2018) · Journal of Mental Health · doi:10.1080/09638237.2018.1437605 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Bracke, P., Christiaens, W., & Verhaeghe, M. (2008) · Journal of Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2008.00312.x · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Physical health and gender as risk factors for usage of services for mental illness
Matheson, F. I., Smith, K. L. W., Fazli, G. S., Moineddin, R., Dunn, J. R., & Glazier, R. H. (2014) · Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health · doi:10.1136/jech-2014-203844 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
College of the Overwhelmed: The Campus Mental Health Crisis and What to Do About It
(2005) · Annals of Pharmacotherapy · doi:10.1345/aph.1g058 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Bringhurst, D. L., Watson, C. W., Miller, S. D., & Duncan, B. L. (2004) · Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Peer support relationships: an unexplored interpersonal process in mental health
Coatsworth‐Puspoky, R., Forchuk, C., & Ward‐Griffin, C. (2006) · Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2850.2006.00970.x · Cited by 100 · see citing works
College of the Overwhelmed: The Campus Mental Health Crisis and What to Do About It (review)
Helfrich, S. M. (2006) · Journal of college student development · doi:10.1353/csd.2006.0006 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Giamos, D., Lee, A. Y. S., Suleiman, A., Stuart, H. L., & Chen, S. (2017) · Canadian Journal of Higher Education · doi:10.47678/cjhe.v47i3.187957 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Grace, M. K. (2018) · International Journal of Medical Education · doi:10.5116/ijme.5be5.8131 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Ozer, S. (2015) · Scandinavian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/sjop.12258 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
A Multi-Institution Look at College Students Seeking Counseling: Nature and Severity of Concerns
Krumrei-Mancuso, E. J., Newton, F. B., & Kim, E. (2010) · Journal of College Student Psychotherapy · doi:10.1080/87568225.2010.509223 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Under-diagnosis of mood disorders in Canada
Pelletier, L., O'Donnell, S., Dykxhoorn, J., McRae, L., & Patten, S. B. (2017) · Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences · doi:10.1017/s2045796016000329 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
McGarvey, A., Brugha, R., Conroy, R. M., Clarke, E., & Byrne, E. (2015) · BMC Medical Education · doi:10.1186/s12909-015-0394-2 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Gulliver, A., Bennett, K., Bennett, A., Farrer, L. M., Reynolds, J., & Griffiths, K. M. (2015) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/mental.4294 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Men's mental health: Spaces and places that work for men.
Ogrodniczuk, J. S., Oliffe, J. L., Kuhl, D. R., & Gross, P. A. (2016) · Europe PMC (PubMed Central) · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Effects of a Peer Helping Training Program on Helping Skills and Self-Growth of Peer Helpers
Aladağ, M., & Tezer, E. (2009) · International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling · doi:10.1007/s10447-009-9082-4 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
McKinney, K. G. (2009) · Journal of College Student Psychotherapy · doi:10.1080/87568220903167232 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Misperceptions Behind Mental Health Policy
Etheredge, J. (2002) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.287.14.1858 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Barbayannis, G., Bandari, M., Zheng, X., Baquerizo, H., Pecor, K. W., & Ming, X. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.886344 · Cited by 773 · see citing works
Scoping review to evaluate the effects of peer support on the mental health of young adults
Richard, J., Rebinsky, R., Suresh, R., Kubic, S., Carter, A., Cunningham, J. E. A., Ker, A., Williams, K., & Sorin, M. (2022) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061336 · Cited by 152 · see citing works
Self-citationUsing Peer Support to Strengthen Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review
Suresh, R., Alam, A., & Karkossa, Z. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.714181 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Self-citationPointon-Haas, J., Waqar, L., Upsher, R., Foster, J., Byrom, N., & Oates, J. (2024) · BJPsych Open · doi:10.1192/bjo.2023.603 · Cited by 135 · see citing works
Hughes, J. L., Camden, A. A., Yangchen, T., Smith, G. P. A., Rodríguez, M. M. D., Rouse, S. V., McDonald, C. P., & Lopez, S. G. (2022) · Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.24839/2325-7342.jn27.4.232 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Atienza-Carbonell, B., Guillén, V., Irigoyen-Otiñano, M., & Balanzá‐Martínez, V. (2022) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2022.05.090 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Mental health problems in first‐generation university students: A scoping review
Smith, D., & McLellan, R. (2023) · Review of Education · doi:10.1002/rev3.3418 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Murphy, R., Huggard, L., Fitzgerald, A., Hennessy, E., & Booth, A. (2023) · Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1002/jcop.23090 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Savio, A. A. D., Velarde, K. G., & Pachas, A. (2021) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09504 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Parmar, J. S., Mistry, S. K., Micheal, S., Dune, T. M., LIM, D. J., Alford, S., & Arora, A. (2025) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci15050602 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Harra, R., & Vargas, I. (2023) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2023.2172580 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Harvey, G., Carter‐Snell, C., & Kanikwu, M. (2023) · Nurse Education Today · doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2023.106018 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Parmar, J. S., Thapa, P., Micheal, S., Dune, T. M., LIM, D. J., Alford, S., Mistry, S. K., & Arora, A. (2025) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci15030273 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Vollmann, M., Scheepers, R. A., Nieboer, A. P., & Hilverda, F. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1056983 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
McKendrick-Calder, L. A., & Choate, J. (2023) · Higher Education Research & Development · doi:10.1080/07294360.2023.2218810 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Fan, Y., Ma, N., Ouyang, A., Zhang, W., He, M., Chen, Y., Liu, J., Li, Z., Yang, J., Ma, L., et al. (2022) · PeerJ · doi:10.7717/peerj.14091 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Cook, J. Α., Jonikas, J. A., Burke-Miller, J. K., Aranda, F., Mullen, M. G., Davis, M., & Sabella, K. A. (2025) · The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research · doi:10.1007/s11414-024-09924-0 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Goselin, G. M., & Rickert, N. P. (2022) · Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.24839/2325-7342.jn27.4.297 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Pointon‐Haas, J., Byrom, N., Foster, J., Hayes, C., & Oates, J. (2023) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci13090962 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Dimitropoulos, G., Cullen, E., Hews‐Girard, J., Patten, S. B., MacPherson, P., Shah, J. L., Friese, K., Wiens, K., Lipton-Bos, B., Vallianatos, H., et al. (2024) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2024.2378291 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Challenges of remote working, perceived peer support, mental health and well-being of WIL students
Yacub, A., Drysdale, M., & Callaghan, S. A. (2024) · Education + Training · doi:10.1108/et-02-2023-0060 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Schwartz, D., Perera, E., Clara, I. P., Linden, B., & Bolton, J. M. (2025) · PLOS mental health. · doi:10.1371/journal.pmen.0000061 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Kurniawati, H. (2021) · Jurnal Konseling dan Pendidikan · doi:10.29210/166600 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Savio, A. A. D., Velarde, K. G., & Pachas, A. (2021) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3969247 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Oduwaye, O., Kiraz, A., & Sorakın, Y. (2024) · Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology · doi:10.35365/ctjpp.24.2.08 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Cavalcante, A. V. C. D. M., & Menezes, A. B. D. C. (2023) · Unifunec Científica Multidisciplinar · doi:10.24980/ucm.v12i14.5985 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Peer Counseling for College Students' Well-Being: A Brief Review
Haiyan, L., & Baki, R. (2024) · Journal of medicine and health science. · doi:10.62517/jmhs.202405125 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Shea, M., & Nguyen, K. K. (2024) · Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion · doi:10.1177/26320770241274468 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Evaluating mental health education in ethnic minority universities in China: a CIPP model approach
Zhang, L., & Wu, W. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1679742 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Peer-Led Models Focussed on Emotional Distress and Suicide Prevention: A Scoping Review
Smith, D. G., Giugni, M., Gulliver, A., Fitzpatrick, S. J., Lamb, H., Ellis, L. A., Oldman, E., Oni, H. T., Allen, C., & Banfield, M. (2026) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph23020273 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Yırtıcı, P. A. (2023) · The Journal of International Educational Sciences · doi:10.29228/inesjournal.71680 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Yang, D., Tu, C. C., Ngamcharoenmongkhon, K., & Meng, S. (2025) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-025-07412-y · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Hendekçi, A., & Koç, F. (2025) · Public Health Nursing · doi:10.1111/phn.13563 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Stargel, B., & Bell, A. C. (2022) · Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.24839/2325-7342.jn27.4.276
Garcia, B., Aleman-Teweles, N., & Dyer-Seymour, J. (2022) · Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.24839/2325-7342.jn27.4.286
Yao, M., Wu, D. C., & Collins, N. L. (2022) · Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.24839/2325-7342.jn27.4.256
Responses to Shame: Influences of Adherence to Masculinity Norms
Stine, Z., Broughton, T., Andrews, G., & Spromberg, C. (2022) · Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.24839/2325-7342.jn27.4.268
Ahmad, M. S., Shukri, N. L. M., Adzlee, N. L. A. P. M., Baharuddin, I. H., Rajali, A., Zulkifeli, N. R. N., & Noorjamal, N. A. (2024) · Education in Medicine Journal · doi:10.21315/eimj2024.16.2.4
Positive Psychology Interventions Among Freshmen in Universities: An Integrative Literature Review
Monda, E. A., Mose, E. K., & Omare, J. M. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-72520-3_10
Effects of humour‐logotherapy tailored to rural college students: A quasi‐experimental study
Do, E., & Cho, S. (2024) · Counselling and Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1002/capr.12865
Wolstenholme, C., & Sen, J. (2025) · Pastoral Care in Education · doi:10.1080/02643944.2025.2495650
Bharti, B., Malhotra, N., Virk, A., Kaur, V., Malhi, P., & Loomba, P. S. (2026) · BMC Medical Education · doi:10.1186/s12909-026-08697-8
Rapid realist review of organisational supports for youth peer support workers
Hews‐Girard, J., Halsall, T., Cullen, E., Bellefeuille, A., Daley, M., Evans, C., Sandoval, V., Dunning, A., Lee, J., Carde, B., et al. (2026) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2025-111837
- Authors
- Suresh, R., Karkossa, Z., Richard, J., & Karia, M.
- Affiliations
- Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (CA)
- McGill University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Suresh, Rahul
- Venue
- International Journal of Mental Health Systems
- Published
- 2021-05-31
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 54-54
- ISSN
- 1752-4458 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8165510
- OpenAlex
- W3113221564
- Cited by
- 45
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 4
- FWCI
- 8.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- International Journal of Mental Health Systems (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- McGill University
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mental Health and Patient Involvement
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
- Keywords
- peer support, university students, student mental health, psychological well-being, depression, anxiety, barriers to mental health care, program evaluation, university mental health services
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
