“It's very important to my professors…at least most of them”: How messages from engineering faculty and staff influence student beliefs around seeking help for their mental health

Natalie Ban; Lordina Odeibea Mensah; Matthew Whitwer; Lucy Elizabeth Hargis; Courtney Janaye Wright; Joseph H Hammer; Sarah A. Wilson

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Conference: 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Publication Date: June 25, 2023
Start Date: June 25, 2023
End Date: June 28, 2023
Conference Session: Student Mental Health and Communities of Care
Tagged Division: Liberal Education/Engineering & Society Division (LEES)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--42323
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/42323
Download Count: 149

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Lucy Hargis is a senior psychology major at the University of Kentucky. She is a research assistant in the P20 Motivation and Learning Lab, which conducts research related to the psychological aspects of teaching and learning.

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Courtney Janaye Wright University of Kentucky

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Courtney Wright is a Counseling Psychology PhD student. She has a BA in Applied Psychology and Human Development and MA in Mental Health Counseling from Boston College. Courtney is the Graduate Research Assistant for Dr. Sarah Wilson's NSF funded research team.

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Joseph H Hammer

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Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology

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Sarah A. Wilson University of Kentucky

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Dr. Sarah Wilson is an Assistant Professor in Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Kentucky. She is the director of the Wilson Research Group, where she works to understand and improve mental health in engineering. In this way, she defines mental health as not just the absence of mental illness but a mental state in which engineers can effectively cope with stress, realize their potential, and contribute to society. She is particularly interested in developing and implementing interventions to improve mental health related help seeking in undergraduate engineering students. Sarah graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rowan University and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts. She began her academic career as teaching faculty in Chemical Engineering at the University of Kentucky. As an educator, Sarah works to integrate non-cognitive skills such as creativity, social and emotional intelligence, and communication into her courses. Her experience as a teaching faculty member led her to the development of her research in student mental health, resulting in her transition from teaching faculty to assistant professor with research in engineering education in 2021. She has also co-developed and implemented a workshop on supporting undergraduate student mental health, which has been offered to engineering faculty nationally.

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Abstract

Studies have shown that distressed engineering undergraduates are less likely to seek help for a mental health concern when compared to their non-engineering peers. To understand more about the factors that influence mental health related help seeking in undergraduate engineering students, a qualitative study was conducted based on the integrated behavioral model (IBM). Through this study, 33 students were asked about their beliefs related to seeking help for a mental health concern, as guided by the IBM. The current study aims to characterize the messages that students receive (either explicitly or implicitly) from engineering faculty and staff that might influence their thoughts around help seeking. After qualitative analysis, three common themes were identified: 1) Supportive explicit and implicit messages around help seeking are often tied to an individual, 2) College level initiatives in support of mental health are viewed positively if appropriately communicated, and 3) Students perceive lack of flexibility and empathy from faculty as not being supportive of student mental health. The results of the study provide guidance for how engineering faculty and staff can use explicit and implicit messaging to create an environment that is supportive of mental health and professional help seeking.

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Ban, N., & Mensah, L. O., & Whitwer, M., & Hargis, L. E., & Wright, C. J., & Hammer, J. H., & Wilson, S. A. (2023, June), “It's very important to my professors…at least most of them”: How messages from engineering faculty and staff influence student beliefs around seeking help for their mental health Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--42323