The DOI matches its Crossref record; 47 of the 55 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Supporting mental health and wellbeing of university and college students: A systematic review of review-level evidence of interventions
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Aims: The review of reviews had three aims: (i) to synthesize the available evidence on interventions to improve college and university students’ mental health and wellbeing; (ii) to identify the effectiveness of interventions, and (iii) to highlight gaps in the evidence base for future study. Methods: Electronic database searches were conducted to identify reviews in English from high-income OECD countries published between 1999 and 2020. All review-level empirical studies involving post-secondary students attending colleges of further education or universities that examined interventions to improve general mental health and wellbeing were included. Articles were critically appraised using an amended version of the AMSTAR 2 tool. Evidence from the included reviews were narratively synthesized and organised by intervention types. Results: Twenty-seven reviews met the review of reviews inclusion criteria. The quality of the included reviews varied considerably. Intervention types identified included: mindfulness-based interventions, psychological interventions, psychoeducation interventions, recreation programmes, relaxation interventions, setting-based interventions, and stress management/reduction interventions. There was evidence that mindfulness-based interventions, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and interventions delivered via technology were effective when compared to a passive control. Some evidence suggested that the effects of CBT-related interventions are sustained over time. Psychoeducation interventions do not appear to be as effective as other forms of intervention, with its effects not enduring over time. Conclusions: The review of reviews located a sizeable body of evidence on specific interventions such as mindfulness and cognitive-behavioural interventions. The evidence suggests that these interventions can effectively reduce common mental health difficulties in the higher education student body. Gaps and limitations in the reviews and the underlying body of evidence have been identified. These include a notable gap in the existing body of review-level evidence on setting-based interventions, acceptance and commitment training, and interventions for students attending colleges in UK settings.
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“CBT-related interventions were also found to deliver sustained effects over time; 344”
From The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on youth mental health (2024) · cites this paper as [344]
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“Regarding higher education, a 2022 systematic review on mental health interventions in university and college settings found evidence for the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and interventions delivered via technology, whereas psychoeducation appeared to be less effective.”
From The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on youth mental health (2024) · cites this paper as [344]
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“extreme prolonged psychological distress has been linked to an increased tendency to turn to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism, an increased risk of cardiovascular illness, and higher rates of suicide”
From A Scoping Review of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Higher Education (2024) · cites this paper as Worsley et al., 2022
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Sorted by citations
The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on youth mental health
McGorry, P. D., Mei, C., Dalal, N., Alvarez-Jimenez, M., Blakemore, S.-J., Browne, V., Dooley, B., Hickie, I. B., Jones, P. B., McDaid, D., et al. (2024) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(24)00163-9 · Cited by 663
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“For example, in 2017, 94% of universities in the UK reported an increase in demand for counselling services compared to the prior five years (Thorley 2017; Worsley, Pennington, and Corcoran 2022).”
Public Health Approaches to Promoting University Students’ Mental Health: A Global Perspective
Bantjes, J. R., Hunt, X., & Stein, D. J. (2022) · Current Psychiatry Reports · doi:10.1007/s11920-022-01387-4 · Cited by 95
Yu-peng, L., & Yu, Z. (2024) · Behaviour and Information Technology · doi:10.1080/0144929x.2024.2332458 · Cited by 66
“…contexts and educational psychology must have widely referenced publications in computer science, human – computer interaction studies, psychology, cognitive studies, management, public health, medical treatment, and diverse related subjects (e.g. Worsley, Pennington, and Corcoran 2022).”
de Fine Licht, K. (2024) · Philosophy & Technology · doi:10.1007/s13347-024-00799-9 · Cited by 40
“This is why universities invest significant efforts and resources into student health and wellness (see, e.g., Leshner & Scherer, 2021) and why so many researchers focus on it (see, e.g., Worsley et al. 2022).”
Metadata
- Authors
- Worsley, J. D., Pennington, A., & Corcoran, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Worsley, Joanne Deborah
- Venue
- PLOS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2022-07-29
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- e0266725
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9337666
- OpenAlex
- W4288703165
- Cited by
- 205
- References
- 55
- Citations by year
- 2026: 64 · 2025: 61 · 2024: 42 · 2023: 33 · 2022: 5
- FWCI
- 7.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and partners
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Keywords
- student mental health, student well-being, university students, mental health interventions, mindfulness-based interventions, cognitive behavioral therapy, psychoeducation, relaxation intervention, stress management, technology-based interventions, intervention effectiveness, evidence gaps, acceptance and commitment training
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Mental Health, Students, Universities, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness
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