The impact of mental health problems in the community college student population : Maladie mentale dans la population estudiantine des collèges de l'Ontario

The prevalence of mental illness in young adults is also significant, with 19.8% of people between the ages of 15 and 24 reporting symptoms of substance abuse and mood and anxiety disorders (Canada, 2006). [...] Pape and Galipeault (2002) define a mental health problem as “a disruption in the interactions between the individual, group and the environment.” Mental health problems may result from stressful situations or changes in life circumstances and may eventually lead to a diagnosis of mental disorder if, for example, the stress associated with the problem remains for a sustained period of time and/or [...] The college counsellors and disability office staff at the schools involved in the study were given a survey designed to tabulate the prevalence of mental illnesses, mental health problems and academic challenges among part-time and full-time students who accessed these support service offices during the academic year 2009/10. [...] Materials A copy of the survey, letter of information, and considerations for completing the survey (i.e., detailed explanation of anonymous student identification and procedures for returning surveys) are provided in Appendix A. Instrumentation The survey utilized in this research was based on the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment (ACHA, 2008) and the Boston U [...] Sections B. and C of the survey required college service providers to consult the provided list of symptoms of mental health 7 – The Impact of Mental Health Problems in the Community College Student Population problems, as well as the list of academic challenges, and to indicate which, if any, students had commented on directly, or affirmed, as being a main issue during the counselling session.