Mental Health on Campus: An Exploration of Faculty's Receptivity to Adjusting Their Practices in Response to this Increasing Challenge

Abstract

The number of students attending institutions of higher education with mental health concerns continues to grow. Recently, there has been increasing pressure for faculty to take a more active role in supporting students’ mental wellness. Doing so represents an adjustment to the traditional role that faculty have had and their professional identity. Currently, there is little research that explores faculty response to this changing need. This study provides one of the first in-depth examinations of the resistance or receptivity of faculty to adjusting their practices to better meet the mental health needs of today’s students. It was hypothesized that a faculty member’s response to change would be influenced by how strongly they identified with various social identities, specifically their organization, profession, and generation. Using hierarchical multiple regression as well as a moderation analysis, it was determined that a faculty member’s strength of these social identities did not influence their response to this change. It was identified, however, that faculty who self-categorized as researchers were more receptive to changing their practice than those who self-categorized as teachers as were those who self-categorized as females and members of the younger generation. To better understand response to specific recommendations, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted. From this, two factors emerged, identified as individualized support and generalized support. Further analysis was conducted using a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), helping to identify the specific recommendations that faculty were most likely to implement. Overall, this research found that faculty are receptive to changing their practices to better meet the mental health needs of their students; however, barriers exist that make this difficult. Through conducting a content analysis on open-ended responses, seven themes emerged that provide exciting opportunities for practical implications and future research.