How Can a Wellness and Resilience Course Support Universal Undergraduate Mental Health? A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

There is a rising demand for mental health services that far exceeds the amount of treatment services available, leaving many college students without adequate mental health support (Eisenberg et al., 2023). Curriculum-based mental health interventions have been identified as a promising approach to addressing this gap (Conley, 2015; Worsley et al., 2022). The Wellness and Resilience for College and Beyond course (WRC; Mazza & Lally, 2017), is an undergraduate course curriculum that teaches evidence-based skills and strategies to improve mental health. Although research has demonstrated promising results regarding the effectiveness of the WRC at a small-scale, the WRC has yet to be examined when delivered at a large universal scale (Chugani et al., 2023). The present study used a convergent mixed-methods design to address this gap and evaluate the impact of the WRC when delivered to a large and diverse sample of undergraduate students. Quantitative analyses examined change in student mental health outcomes after completing the WRC and course format (virtual vs. in-person) and student characteristics as contributing factors. Qualitative findings were used to understand the relationship between the WRC, student identity, and mental health. Qualitative and quantitative findings were merged to better understand the effectiveness, accessibility, and equitability of the WRC when delivered to a large and diverse body of students. Quantitative results showed no significant overall changes in mental health outcomes following the completion of the WRC; however, a near-significant trend suggested increases in subjective wellbeing. Further analyses revealed no significant differences across course format and differential patterns of change across student characteristics and WRC class attendance. Qualitative findings indicated the WRC had a predominantly positive influence on student mental health, participants noting how they leveraged the WRC content and activities to help cultivate resilience and subjective wellbeing. Participants also described some negative perspectives of and experiences with the WRC. Together, the findings suggest the WRC is a promising avenue through which to support student mental health in a systematic, accessible, and equitable way. However, more research is needed to better understand the complex relationship between student identity and experiences, the WRC, and student mental health.