UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State’s Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH), a national research center housed within Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), has partnered with the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom on an international study.
The study, which began July 1, examines how academic distress and belongingness relate to mental health and academic outcomes in college students.
“We are very excited to begin this collaboration with our close colleagues from the United Kingdom,” said Brett Scofield, the executive director of CCMH. “It is critical for all of us working within higher education to better understand the relationships between academic adjustment, belongingness, mental health and student success.”
The study includes six participating colleges and university counseling centers throughout the United States, including CAPS at Penn State University Park and Penn State Harrisburg.
This initial phase of the project focuses on implementation of the Student Experiences and Academic Adjustment (SEAM-10) measure, a tool developed by the University of Sheffield in partnership with students, counseling centers, CCMH, and the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy to examine links between mental health distress and academic outcomes. The research partners will use it when students enter counseling services at their schools to measure the students' experiences of institutional belongingness and academic adjustment.
"The SEAM-10 is one of several measures used to gather information from students before they receive counseling services," Scofield said. "The collective information we receive from students when they enter counseling services is critical to informing and guiding the treatment process."
Scofield emphasized that connections between academic adjustment, belongingness and mental health are gaining attention in higher education globally.
“Expanding our understanding of the developmental, social and psychological factors that impact student success is critical to the future of higher education,” he said.
Emma Broglia and Michael Barkham, both faculty members at the University of Sheffield, will serve as key collaborators.
"It's incredibly meaningful to establish this transatlantic partnership with the CCMH team, whose work has long influenced our own,” Broglia said.
Barkham echoed Broglia’s remark.
“The quality and ease of this partnership, together with the focus on students’ academic concerns and college experiences, makes this U.K.-U.S. collaboration a potential game changer in supporting and prioritizing student mental health,” Barkham said.
The findings from this collaboration are expected to help institutions strengthen support systems and improve mental health and academic outcomes for students across both countries, Scofield said.
About the Center for Collegiate Mental Health
The Center for Collegiate Mental Health is a national research center and international practice-research network of more than 850 college and university counseling centers. CCMH integrates clinical work, research and technology, collecting data through routine clinical practices to form the largest network of its kind worldwide. To learn more, visit ccmh.psu.edu.