Abstract
This meta-analysis explores the effects of resilience interventions on mental health indicators. Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidality have risen in undergraduate student populations, so an intervention is essential to combat such conditions.
To systematically select studies for inclusion, we executed an initial scoping review to determine viability and feasibility of this project. After scoping, our team applied predetermined search strings to 9 electronic databases and after removing 2 duplicates, our initial pool contained 90 peer-reviewed reports. Of the 90 screened abstracts, 59 were excluded based upon predetermined exclusion criteria. The 31 remaining studies were evaluated via full-text review and 23 were excluded; 8 full text articles were included as a result.
Across included studies, all of which utilized an experimental or quasi-experimental design, there were 1079 undergraduate participants. Data extraction was conducted by all members of the lab team and included data regarding characteristics of the study design, intervention focus and length, sample size, and indicators of mean differences between groups related to outcomes of interest (e.g., mood states). A summary effect size was calculated with a random-effects model. There was a mean difference in post-intervention levels of self-reported mood states (i.e., anxiety, depression) between intervention and control conditions (Hedges’s g = -.323 [95% C.I. –0.532, –0.254; p < .001].
Because the rates of depression and anxiety have risen in undergraduate student populations, resilience interventions are crucial in promoting wellbeing and reducing suicidality. Therefore, I propose the implementation of an intervention at Northwestern College.
Included in
Resilience Interventions in Undergraduate Populations: A Meta-Analytic Study on their Effect on Self-Reported Mood States
This meta-analysis explores the effects of resilience interventions on mental health indicators. Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidality have risen in undergraduate student populations, so an intervention is essential to combat such conditions.
To systematically select studies for inclusion, we executed an initial scoping review to determine viability and feasibility of this project. After scoping, our team applied predetermined search strings to 9 electronic databases and after removing 2 duplicates, our initial pool contained 90 peer-reviewed reports. Of the 90 screened abstracts, 59 were excluded based upon predetermined exclusion criteria. The 31 remaining studies were evaluated via full-text review and 23 were excluded; 8 full text articles were included as a result.
Across included studies, all of which utilized an experimental or quasi-experimental design, there were 1079 undergraduate participants. Data extraction was conducted by all members of the lab team and included data regarding characteristics of the study design, intervention focus and length, sample size, and indicators of mean differences between groups related to outcomes of interest (e.g., mood states). A summary effect size was calculated with a random-effects model. There was a mean difference in post-intervention levels of self-reported mood states (i.e., anxiety, depression) between intervention and control conditions (Hedges’s g = -.323 [95% C.I. –0.532, –0.254; p < .001].
Because the rates of depression and anxiety have risen in undergraduate student populations, resilience interventions are crucial in promoting wellbeing and reducing suicidality. Therefore, I propose the implementation of an intervention at Northwestern College.