Peer-to-Peer Mental Health Support on Community College Campuses: Examining the Factorial Invariance of the Mental Distress Response Scale

Abstract

ABSTRACT The number of community college students reporting mental health disorders increased from approximately 40% to 49% between 2014 and 2016. Peer-to-peer mental health support, for example, recognize and refer, initiatives have utility for promoting college student mental health on four-year universities. The potential efficacy of peer-to-peer mental health support, however, has not been extended to the community college student population. The primary aim of the present study was to test the psychometric properties of the Mental Distress Response Scale (MDRS) with a national random sample, stratified by age, gender, generational status, and ethnicity, of community college students. The MDRS is a screening tool for appraising responses to encountering a peer in mental distress. A multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis supported the factorial invariance of the MDRS across a number of demographic characteristics associated with college student mental health. The researcher also identified demographic differences in community college students’ MDRS scores. Findings contribute to the community college knowledge base by providing support for the utility of the MDRS for enhancing interventions geared towards promoting peer-to-peer mental health support. Implications for how the MDRS can be used to promote the cultural sensitivity of peer-to-peer mental health support on community college campuses are discussed.