Programs meant to reduce bullying in primary and secondary schools are often ineffective. However, after studying more than 7,000 students in 77 elementary schools in Finland, Jaana Juvonen (department of Psychology) has found one that works very well and greatly benefited the mental health of sixth-graders who experienced the most bullying. This program has also significantly improved their self-esteem and reduced signs of depression.
Read more at UCLA Newsroom
The UCLA Student Affairs office and UCLA Campus and Student Resilience are partnering with the Depression Grand Challenge to provide students with peer-to-peer counseling outside of a clinical setting. UCLA psychologists will train student volunteers in active listening and suicide prevention, among other skills.
Source: Resilience Peer Network to supplement student mental health services Daily Bruin, 19 Jan. 2016
Additional coverage of the Depression Grand Challenge on campus:
All of Us town hall encourages wider discourse on mental health issues UCLA Newsroom, 27 Jan. 2016
African-American students feel less emotionally prepared for college than white students do, and they’re also more likely to keep their worries to themselves, according to the results of a national poll released on Wednesday. Black students also didn’t seek help as often as white students for their mental and emotional problems when experiencing depression, anxiety, or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Read more at The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Jed Foundation has announced their partnership with the Steve Fund to provide colleges and universities with recommended practices for improving support for the mental health and emotional well-being of America’s college students of color. In addition, new data demonstrating the urgency of improving mental health support for students has been released.
Read more at The Jed Foundation
Vickie Mays (department of Psychology, Fielding School of Public Health), Gilbert Gee (Fielding School of Public Health) and Susan Cochran (Fielding School of Public Health) provide research that shows people who become targets of discrimination can suffer effects ranging from low self-esteem to a higher risk for developing stress-related disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Read more at UCLA Newsroom
