Abstract
ObjectivesThe college years are a developmentally crucial period and a peak age for the onset of mental disorders.MethodsThe World Health Organization World Mental Health International College Student (WMH‐ICS) initiative is aimed at developing and implementing a system for improving prevention and early interventions for mental health problems among college students.ResultsThe initiative consists of three core elements. The first element is a web‐based survey to assess the magnitude and nature of emotional problems, the effects of these problems on students' functioning, and barriers to seeking treatment. All first‐year students in participating colleges are invited to participate, and we plan to expand the survey to all students in the future. The second element is an infrastructure to test internet‐based interventions aimed at the prevention and early intervention in mental health problems. Participating colleges can develop and test internet‐based interventions in randomized trials. The first pilot tests on such interventions now been done. The third element is the dissemination and continuous quality improvement monitoring of the evidence‐based interventions developed in WMH‐ICS.ConclusionsBy addressing these three core elements, the WMH‐ICS aims to integrate epidemiological and clinical research to offer scalable and effective evidence‐based interventions for mental health problems at a critical life course stage.
Highlights
The college years are a developmentally crucial period for young people in which they transition from late adolescence to emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2000)
College students with mental disorders are twice as likely as other students to drop out without obtaining a degree (Hartley, 2010; Kessler, Foster, Saunders, & Stang, 1995), and a substantial proportion of the students with mental disorders who do not drop out report a negative impact on academic performance due to their emotional problems (Kernan et al, 2008)
Prevention and early treatment of mental health problems in college students is a key public health priority, because of the impact on the lives of students and public health and on the investment society makes in college students and the importance of college students to the future social capital of society
Summary
The college years are a developmentally crucial period for young people in which they transition from late adolescence to emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2000). These years (typically 17 to 24) are a peak period for the onset of mental disorders (McGorry, Purcell, Goldstone, & Amminger, 2011). Mental health problems are important predictors of dropout from college and academic performance (Auerbach et al, 2016; Bruffaerts et al, 2018). Prevention and early treatment of mental health problems in college students is a key public health priority, because of the impact on the lives of students and public health and on the investment society makes in college students and the importance of college students to the future social capital of society
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