Student mental health profiles and barriers to help seeking: When and why students seek help for a mental health concern

Background: The student mental health landscape in higher education requires preventative strategies that maintain daily functioning as well as early intervention to respond to episodes of mental ill-health. As a community, this requires capturing the needs of students in the general university population as well as those using counselling and psychological wellbeing services. Aims: This cross-sectional study aimed to characterise the mental health profile of students in the general university population and identify barriers to help seeking. Methods: A total of 1,956 students from five UK universities completed an online questionnaire comprising the CCAPS-34 and open-ended questions about their mental health concerns and intentions to seek help. Mental health profiles were explored using mixed factorial ANOVAs and post hoc simple effect analyses. Help-seeking behaviours and intentions were identified using conceptual content analysis. Results: Distinctive mental health profiles emerged across faculties and help-seeking behaviours. Content analysis identified students' help-seeking experiences, intentions, preferences and barriers. Conclusions: Characterising the mental health profile of students outside of support services, as well as their barriers to seeking help, provides a rich understanding for shaping preventative policies and service provision. Doing so will respond to student mental health needs before they require clinical intervention.