“You have to be okay with okay”: experiences of flourishing among university students transitioning directly from high school

ABSTRACT

Mental health is central to overall wellbeing and, for students attending university, mental health is critical for learning and academic success. A wealth of research has focused on young people who experience psychosocial declines during academic and developmental transitions, but little is known about how young people flourish in this transition. The first to explore the experiences of flourishing among first-year Canadian university students making the transition directly from high school, this study sought to develop an understanding of: 1) the factors that promote flourishing amidst this academic and developmental transition, and 2) how first-year students define and experience flourishing. An interpretive phenomenological approach underpinned by Gadamerian hermeneutic philosophy was used to explore experiences of flourishing, using semi-structured interviews, in a sample of nine full-time, first-year university students, ages 18–20 years. What it meant to flourish amidst this developmental and academic transition and how participants defined flourishing offer new understandings of the concept associated with: 1) personal/individual aspects of flourishing, 2) contextual nature of flourishing, 3) temporality of flourishing, 4) dialectic aspects of flourishing. Implications for practice, policy, and research in light of these new understandings are discussed.

KEY WORDS:

• Flourishing
• university
• students
• transition
• qualitative
• Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics

Ethical considerations

This study was approved by Dalhousie University Research Ethics Board and the Research Ethics Board (of the site of study).

Disclosure statement

The authors have no financial and/or business interests that may be affected by the research

reported in the enclosed paper. We disclosed those interests fully to Taylor & Francis. The funding received for this study was not granted by the institution in which the study was conducted.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Dalhousie University Nursing Research and Development Fund; School of Nursing, Dalhousie University [37291];

Notes on contributors

Christina Volstad

Christina Volstad, the lead researcher, is a mental health nurse clinician with Carewest Innovative Healthcare in Calgary, Alberta. She completed a Master of Nursing at Dalhousie University, centred on mental health promotion and wellbeing across populations and settings. She has 25 years of nursing experience in the psychiatric/mental health nursing specialty in adult and adolescent populations in a variety of clinical, leadership, teaching and research roles.

Jean Hughes

Dr. Jean Hughes is the lead researcher’s thesis supervisor and full professor in the School of Nursing, Dalhousie University. Her research and publications concentrate on marginalized populations with a focus in mental health. She integrates diverse research designs  along with a range of disciplines and sectors to enable a holistic exploration of phenomena with particular attention on mental health promotion.

Sonya L. Jakubec

Dr. Sonya L. Jakubec is a Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Mount Royal University, Calgary, Alberta where she teaches and researches in the areas of community mental health and wellbeing across the lifespan as well as research literacy for health and community practice. Her current program of work concentrates on social determinants of mental health, particularly the influence of physical, social and policy environments on palliative, end of life and grief care.

Sonya Flessati

Dr. Sonya Flessati is a member of the lead researcher’s committee and is an Associate Professor at MRU where she works as a Registered Psychologist in Student Counselling Services. Sonya works as a counsellor with a diverse population of young adults at MRU. Her interest in helping MRU students flourish is rooted in positive psychology concepts and strength-based approaches. Her expertise lies in her understanding of the emerging adult population, the concept of flourishing and promotion of mental well-being and resilience of students in the post-secondary context.

Lois Jackson

Dr. Lois A. Jackson is a professor of Health Promotion in the School of Health and Human Performance, Faculty of Health, Dalhousie University (Canada). Dr. Jackson's program of research centres on the health and well-being of marginalized populations with a particular focus on access to health services. She has conducted research with diverse populations including youth living in rural places, and has expertise in various qualitative methods as well as community-based research.

Ruth Martin-Misener

Dr. Ruth Martin-Misener NP, PhD, FAAN is Director and Full Professor in the School of Nursing and Assistant Dean, Research in the Faculty of Health at Dalhousie University. She is also the Co-Director of the Canadian Association of Advanced Practice Nursing at McMaster University and an Affiliate Scientist with Nova Scotia Health as well as the Maritime Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research Support Unit. Dr. Martin-Misener’s research evaluates the implementation and outcomes of inter professional team-based models of care and nurse practitioner and other advanced and specialized nursing roles in primary health care and long-term care.