Nontraditional post-baccalaureate students: How to better provide support for perceived mental health needs

Abstract

Objective: Mental health is noted as a central indicator of academic success. This study explored the perceived mental health needs of nontraditional post-baccalaureate students and what may increase their abilities to meet these needs. Participants: Participants (n = 79) were students at a mid-sized Midwestern university enrolled in identified nontraditional programs targeting students who previously obtained a bachelor’s degree and nontraditional graduate students. Method: Participants completed an online survey assessing perceived mental health needs, service utilization, and potential barriers to service utilization. Surveys were analyzed using descriptive analysis, coding qualitative data, and two-tailed correlations. Results: Results demonstrated nontraditional post-baccalaureate students perceive themselves as having mental health needs due to stress and time constraints. Participants’ responses reflected 5 areas that may help increase mental health service utilization. Conclusions: Results indicate nontraditional post-baccalaureate students have perceived unmet mental health needs. Ways to help meet these needs are discussed.

Keywords:

• Mental health needs
• nontraditional
• post-baccalaureate

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the students who took the time to participate in this study.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America and received approval from the The IRB of the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.