About the Project
University can be a stressful time for students, and an increased sense of freedom and independence can be a life affirming experience, and can lead to exciting opportunities, but also, for some students, a significant sense of anxiety and difficulty can emerge. As University lecturers we see an increase in the number of students reporting and seeking support for both learning and mental health difficulties, something that has only increased with the Covid-19 pandemic. Sixty-four students have died by suicide in England and Wales in 2019‒2020 and it is widely recognised that suicides are preventable when universities take a “proactive” rather than “reactive” approach to student concerns and issues.
Students are a diverse population, and so it is important for us to understand, respect, and cater appropriately for that diversity. We have seen that students benefit from engagement with student support services, tutorial arrangements, peers, teaching materials/modules, with some relying more on their own inner resilience. We have also seen that when students develop resilience skills, and build positive routines, for example, good eating and sleep habits, daily exercising, and scheduling fun activities, they are more likely to be effective in their jobs, they are involved in strong relationships, and they are physically and mentally healthy, and satisfied with their lives overall.
This project aims to explore the range of ways that can encourage and promote these healthy approaches to studying at university and will examine ways that work, as well as ways of approaching this that are perhaps less effective within the setting of Ulster University and with our partner Universities in America.
Please note: Applications from those holding or expecting to hold a 2:1 Honours Degree in Psychology are strongly encouraged to apply. Applications for more than one PhD studentship are welcome, however if you apply for more than one PhD project within Psychology, your first application on the system will be deemed your first-choice preference and further applications will be ordered based on the sequential time of submission. If you are successfully shortlisted, you will be interviewed only on your first-choice application and ranked accordingly. Those ranked highest will be offered a PhD studentship. In the situation where you are ranked highly and your first-choice project is already allocated to someone who was ranked higher than you, you may be offered your 2nd or 3rd choice project depending on the availability of this project.
References
Recommended reading:
Brett, C.E., Mathieson, M.L. & Rowley, A.M. (2022) Determinants of wellbeing in university students: The role of residential status, stress, loneliness, resilience, and sense of coherence. Current Psychology [online] doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03125-8
Chandoler, T., Bruner, E. & Marmot, M. (2006) Chronic stress at work and the metabolic syndrome’. British Medical Journal, 332(7540), 521-5.
Kessler R.C., Amminger, G. P., Aguilar‐Gaxiola, S., Alonso, J., Lee, S., & Ustun, T. B. (2007). Age of onset of mental disorders: a review of recent literature. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 20(4), 359–364. doi: 10.1097/YCO.0b013e32816ebc8c
Lazarus, R.S.; Folkman, S. Stress, Appraisal and Coping; Springer: New York, NY, USA, 1984. Lazarus, R.S. Psychological Stress and the Coping Process; McGraw-Hill: New York, NY, USA, 1966. 19.
Lazarus, R.S. Stress and Emotion: A New Synthesis; Free Association Books: London, UK, 1999.
McLafferty, M., Lapsley, C.R., Ennis, E., Armour, C, Murphy, S., Bunting, B.P., Bjourson, A.J., Murray, E.K., & O’Neill, S.M. (2017). Mental health, behavioural problems and treatment seeking among students commencing university in Northern Ireland. PLoS ONE, 12(12), e0188785 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188785.
McFadden, P., Mallett, J. & Leiter, M. (2018) Extending the two-process model of burnout in child protection workers: The role of resilience in mediating burnout via organisational factors of control, values, fairness, reqard, workload and community relationships. Stress Health, 34(1), 72-83.
Ouwehand, C.; de Ridder, D.T.D.; Bensing, J.M. (2008) Individual differences in the use of proactive coping strategies by middle-aged and older adults. Personality and Individual Differences,45(1), 28–33.
Pollard, E. H. C., Martin, A., Takala, H., & Byford, M. (2019). Impact of the student finance system on participation, experience and outcomes of disadvantaged young people: Literature review. Department of Education.
Ptacek, J.T.; Smith, R.E.; Dodge, K.L. Gender differences in coping with stress: When stressor and appraisals do not differ. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 20(4), 421–430. Royal College of Psychiatrists. (2011).
The mental health of students in higher education. London: Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Thorley, C. (2017). Not by degrees. Improving Student Mental Health in the UK’s universities. London: Institute for Public Policy Research. Universities UK (2022) Suicide-safer universities: Sharing information with trusted contacts. Papyrus. Available at: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/sites/default/files/uploads/Reports/uuk-papyrus-suicide-safer-universities-sharing-information.pdf
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