Thesis
College students' satisfaction with previous use of school-based mental health counseling services
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
May 2026
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00011382
Abstract
The prevalence and severity of mental health (MH) challenges among adolescents and college students are increasing and compounded by many access to care barriers that still exist for those seeking MH services. One model to address access to care issues are school-based mental health counseling services (SBMHCS), which can provide more accessible MH services and resources directly to students, compared to external MH services. Although research efforts have examined the short-term outcomes of SBMHCS for adolescents, as well as college students' view of MH treatment, no studies, to our knowledge, have investigated whether students' previous use of and satisfaction with school-based services predicts future MH service use in college. Utilizing a mixed methods survey, this study investigated satisfaction with previous use of high school SBMHCS and its relationship to current use and/or perception of future use of university SBMHCS among college students (N = 218, M = 19.5 years, 59.6% female). Analyses included a one-sample t-test, chi-square test of independence, point-biserial correlation, and qualitative content analyses. The results indicated that college students were satisfied with their high school SBMHCS. However, neither previous use nor level of satisfaction with high school SBMHCS were significantly related to current use and/or perception of future use of university SBMHCS. Qualitative responses revealed that participants with previous high school SBMHCS use learned helpful techniques derived from evidence-based practices to manage MH challenges, such as breathing and grounding exercises. Participants also reported several benefits of, and barriers to, accessing university SBMHCS. These findings deepen our understanding of satisfaction with high school SBMHCS use and college students' use of school-based MH services. Future research is needed to assess the effects of long-term MH service satisfaction and predictors of SBMHCS use among university college students.
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Details
- Title
- College students' satisfaction with previous use of school-based mental health counseling services
- Creators
- Nicole K. Marie
- Contributors
- Brian P. Daly (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University
- Number of pages
- viii, 53 pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology); College of Arts and Sciences; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991022184575504721