The Rise of Physical and Mental Issues in College Campuses
Anderson, D. S. (Ed.). (2015). Wellness Issues for Higher Education: A Guide for Student Affairs and Higher Education Professionals. NY: Routledge.
David S. Anderson is a professor in health and social care at the Radford University of the United States. One of the outstanding articles written by this author is “Wellness Issues for Higher Education,” a book that explains wellness issues that a significant number of students must face while in colleges or university settings. With the rise of both physical and mental issues within college campuses, there is a need to understand the cause behind these concerns.
There are five dimensions of general wellness that Anderson tries to give a clear insight into, namely: Social, physical, spiritual, intellectual, and emotional dimensions. By understanding how to work on these five dimensions, overall academic success, as well as stable mental being, is guaranteed in students. There are also specific kinds of strategies that the book explains that will enhance mental and physical wellness upon being adhered to appropriately.
Burrows, T. L., Whatnall, M.C., Patterson, A. J., & Hutchesson, M. J. (2017). Associations between dietary intake and academic achievement in college students: A systematic review. Healthcare (Basel), 5(4), article 60. DOI: 10.3390/healthcare5040060
Diet has proven to have a significant impact on the academic achievements of students. Tracy Burrows is a senior lecturer in dietetics and one of the prominent researchers within nutrition and its effects on students’ academic performance. By teaming up with other individual researchers, Burrows and her team evaluated the relationship between the type of dietary intake and the academic achievements of university students. A variety of previous studies were also included in the conducting of this research.
From the findings, there is a significant positive connection between diet and academic achievements. Students who have regular meal consumption are likely to have good physical stature and also perform excellently in class, according to this research. The article is thereby essential for use in the context of this discussion since it explains different dietary methods and how they influence the physical health and academic performance of students.
Calestine, J., Bopp, M., Bopp, C. (2017). College Students Work Habits are related to Physical Activity and Fitness. International Journal of Exercise Science, 10(7), 1009-17.
Jesse Celestine is a renowned author who has written a vast number of articles regarding physical fitness. In this study that she conducts with researchers such as Melissa Bopp, Christopher Bopp, and Zack Papalia, their major objective is to discover how physicality and fitness are related to the work habits of college students. Physical activity ensures that muscular endurance, body composition, and flexibility are achieved. From the findings within this research, it is evident that physical activity negatively affects academic performance since most college students with higher GPAs were engaged in less vigorous activities. Engaging in physical activities affected study time and caused deterioration in academic performance. Conversely, lack of exercise also leads to poor physical health, which may also affect college performances.
LeBlanc, N. J. & Marques, L. (2019). Anxiety in college: What we know and how to cope. Harvard Health Blog. Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/anxiety-in-college-what-we-know-and-how-to-cope-2019052816729
LeBlanc is an author and a doctoral candidate in the field of clinical psychology at Harvard University. Luana Marques is a clinical psychology professor at Harvard Medical School and also deals with the management of emotional disorders. From their article based on other credible researchers, more than 60% of college students across the United States had recurring situations of anxiety, whereas 23% of this category visited mental health professional officers for treatment against anxiety. Anxiety is thereby one of the fundamental concerns that promote mental issues for most college students, leading to a niche in the level of academic performance. Many college students in the 21st century appeared to be more stressed and anxious than before. Panic attacks and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders have contributed to the rise of mental health issues for students across universities and campuses.
Lipari, R. N. & Jean-Fancois, B. (2016). A day in the life of college students aged 18 to 22: Substance use facts. SAMHSA. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/report_2361/ShortReport-2361.html
Rachel Lipari is a senior scientist under the United States department of health, whereas Beda Jean is a health scientist administrator NIMHD. College provides a transition for young people for adulthood. Thus, some of the young people may drift into drug and substance abuse. This has become a rampant issue for many colleges across the US since the health issues of these young people arise from drug abuse. Drug abuse creates a negative state of health and affects normal brain functionality, thus tampering with mental health. According to the statistical data of the article, over nine million students in full-time college engaged in substance abuse between 2011 and 2014. The free time that many students have after classes while in college drift them to indulge in drugs, which poses a corresponding effect to their health both physically and mentally.
Pedrelli, P., Nyer, M., Yeung, A., Zulauf, C., & Wilens, T. (2015). College Students: mental health problems and treatment consideration. Academic Psychiatry, 39(5), 503-511. DOI: 10.1007/s40596-014-0205-9
Managing academic pressure is quite stressful for college students since they must deal with stressful school tasks. Some may also be separated from their families to attend colleges far from home, which adds to the academic pressure they have in school. Professor Paola Pedrelli of Harvard Medical School, along with other scholars, explains the commonness of mental health issues among students in colleges that affects their academic performance. Dependency on parents for the unstable financial support and maturity stages towards adulthood adds up to the pressure that students have in dealing with their academics, hence promoting mental disorders. From the findings and recommendations of the scholarly journal, there is a need for counseling and specialized services in colleges to handle the mental issues of students.
Riba, E. & Cusumano, D. (2019). Depression among College Students. Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Retrieved from https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/depression-among-college-students
Erica Riba is a clinical social worker who was previously heading a therapy department at Eastern Michigan University. Diana Cusumano is an author and a mental health officer at the JED Foundation. As JED Foundation’s campus advisors, the two authors express the nature of depression that college students face today. Depression affects general student activity, from how they interact with their peers to academics. An unfavorable mental health change results in a deterioration in physical health due to fatigue from lack of sleep or too much sleep. Poor appetite is also a common issue that is experienced during depression leading to poor body condition. Depression is, therefore, prevalent in colleges and universities. Thus, the authors of this article chose to discuss this concern to help students manage depression.
Saleh, D., Camart, N. & Romo, L. (2017). Predictors of Stress in College Students. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, article 19. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00019
Saleh is a senior lecturer at Tishreen University in Syria, heading the unit of Counseling Psychology. Nathalie and Lucia Romo of Paris Nanterre University are lecturers who contributed to the successful authoring of this article. The study in this article aims to evaluate the level of vulnerability to stress among French college students. 73% of the student population was suffering from psychological stress. From the survey conducted within the French colleges, it became easier to understand stress-vulnerability factors in students and their self-esteem and optimism.
Skidmore, C. R., Kaufman, E. A., Crowell, S. E. (2016). Substance Use among College Students. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 25(4), 735-53. DOI: 10.1016/j.chc.2016.06.004
The transition towards adulthood is associated with an increased risk of substance abuse for many students in college. Substance abuse has promoted increased mental issues and high rates of injuries from indulging in malicious activities for young people. Skidmore, Claufman, and Crowell are researchers who have put efforts to investigate substance use among college students. Many students have also failed to reach the appropriate treatment due to a lack of supportive programs that would engage them to keep them active, thus preventing them from drifting towards substance abuse. According to the journal, such treatment barriers should be eradicated as clinicians and university administrators seek methods to initiate transformative programs for students.
Wang, T. W., Tynan, M. A., Hallett, C., Walpert, L., Hopkins, M., Konter, D., & King, B. A. (2018). Smoke-free and tobacco-free policies in colleges and universities-United States and territories, 2017. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 67(24), 686-689. DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6724a4
Dr. Teresa Wang is an author and a lecturer at Monash University. She conducted this research with a panel of fellow researchers from credible institutions related to college students. One of the significant agendas within their research is smoke-free and tobacco-free policies in various colleges in the United States in 2017. Due to the increased number of deaths in the US, the need to create serious emphasis on tobacco-free policies across universities and colleges arose. The impact that this research brought to universities and colleges is that by the end of 2017, smoke-free and tobacco-free policies in the learning institutions increased by twice their numbers. Smoking indoors and outdoor areas around the school premises was discouraged, with severe punishment upon breaching these policies. This action was taken to prevent the use of tobacco due to the number of deaths it has caused in America since 2000.
References
Anderson, D. S. (Ed.). (2015). Wellness Issues for Higher Education: A Guide for Student Affairs and Higher Education Professionals. NY: Routledge.
Burrows, T. L., Whatnall, M.C., Patterson, A. J., & Hutchesson, M. J. (2017). Associations between dietary intake and academic achievement in college students: A systematic review. Healthcare (Basel), 5(4), article 60. DOI: 10.3390/healthcare5040060
Calestine, J., Bopp, M., Bopp, C. (2017). College Students Work Habits are related to Physical Activity and Fitness. International Journal of Exercise Science, 10(7), 1009-17.
LeBlanc, N. J. & Marques, L. (2019). Anxiety in college: What we know and how to cope. Harvard Health Blog. Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/anxiety-in-college-what-we-know-and-how-to-cope-2019052816729
Lipari, R. N. & Jean-Fancois, B. (2016). A day in the life of college students aged 18 to 22: Substance use facts. SAMHSA. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/report_2361/ShortReport-2361.html
Pedrelli, P., Nyer, M., Yeung, A., Zulauf, C., & Wilens, T. (2015). College Students: mental health problems and treatment consideration. Academic Psychiatry, 39(5), 503-511. DOI: 10.1007/s40596-014-0205-9
Riba, E. & Cusumano, D. (2019). Depression among College Students. Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Retrieved from https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/depression-among-college-students
Saleh, D., Camart, N. & Romo, L. (2017). Predictors of Stress in College Students. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, article 19. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00019
Skidmore, C. R., Kaufman, E. A., Crowell, S. E. (2016). Substance Use among College Students. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 25(4), 735-53. DOI: 10.1016/j.chc.2016.06.004
Wang, T. W., Tynan, M. A., Hallett, C., Walpert, L., Hopkins, M., Konter, D., & King, B. A. (2018). Smoke-free and tobacco-free policies in colleges and universities-United States and territories, 2017. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 67(24), 686-689. DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6724a4
