Historically, university student mental health has been measured mostly using measures of negative mood states. In addition to being a deficit and narrow approach to understanding student health and wellbeing, these measures have been found to have problems with reliability (initial elevation bias and test-retest reliability) and therefore validity, limiting the conclusions that can be drawn from results. The following measures were developed to contribute to biopsychosocial strengths-based assessments of the domains of health and wellbeing.
The Coping Index is 20-item measure of healthy and unhealthy coping strategies. Download the Coping Index here.
The Coping Self-Efficacy Index is a 5-item measure of how confident people are coping when things aren’t going well. Download the Coping-Self-Efficacy-Index here.
The University Stress Scale is a 21-item measure of both the domains and extent of a student’s stress. It has good psychometric properties and is useful in clinical practice and research with university students. Download the University Stress Scale.
The University Connectedness Scale is an 18-item measure of how connected a student feels to their university. It has two subscales, belonging and support. The measure has good psychometric properties and is useful in clinical practice and research with university students. Download the University-Connectedness-Scale here.
The Sense of Belonging Scale measures how well people feel part of their community
The Healthy Identity Scale measure the extent to which people accept and appreciate who they are.
The Return on Investment (ROI) calculator for mental illness (depression symptoms) program/services, is customizable to your institution. It is free to download and use. Background information about the calculator is available here.