Abstract
High rates of mental health challenges among college students are well-documented and have increased dramatically during the last ten years. Research has demonstrated a significant relationship between healthy lifestyle habits and mental health, with young adulthood being a critical developmental period for establishing lifestyle habits that are likely to continue throughout adulthood. Deploying prevention programs that help college students develop healthy lifestyle habits may mitigate mental health risk amongst this population and generate positive effects in later life. This study investigated the effects of a brief, six-week, solution-focused wellness promotion intervention among first year college students. Different weekly wellness domains (e.g. emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social, physical) and Solution-Focused Coaching (SFC) techniques were integrated into sessions to aid participants in identifying meaningful healthy lifestyle habits for each wellness domain. Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (RM-ANOVA) demonstrated significant between group differences over time for healthy lifestyle (HPLP-II), F(1,121) = 13.19, p<.01; anxiety (GAD-7), F(1, 121) = 98.13, p<.01; depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), F(1, 121) – 88.56, p<.01, and well-being (WHO-5), F(1, 121) = 65.04, p<.01. Results for stress (p = .15), and resilience (p = .17) were not significant. This intervention approach demonstrated a significant relationship between healthy lifestyle habits and mental health. Utilizing a holistic approach, individuals can enhance multi-dimensional wellness (e.g. social, physical, emotional) through minor, intentional lifestyle changes, thereby mitigating mental health challenges.
Presenters
James BeaucheminAssociate Professor, School of Social Work, Boise State University, Idaho, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
Health Promotion and Education
KEYWORDS
Wellness, Lifestyle, College Student, Solution-Focused
