Dr Sarah Hennelly

There has been an increase in the number of UK university students disclosing mental health conditions in recent years. This paper describes the evaluation of the Mind Tutor app, an artificial intelligence based wellbeing app specifically designed for first year undergraduate students, which included a chatbot function that guided students to relevant wellbeing content. The content of the app was developed based on data about mental health and wellbeing issues reported by students and focussed on anxiety, low mood, academic study, transition to university and relationships. Two randomised controlled evaluation studies were conducted with N = 177 and N = 240 first year undergraduate students from two UK universities (the second due to delays in development work and difficulties with recruitment in the first trial). The Mind Tutor had no significant impact on student wellbeing. The study suffered from poor recruitment and retention rates. However, further research is warranted to understand factors that may increase engagement and acceptability of app based tools to increase student wellbeing.

Background: Meta-analyses suggest that dance has potential to decrease psychological distress, increase trait mindfulness, and enhance quality of life. Conscious dance can be defined as unchoreographed, intentionally nonevaluative mindful movement commonly practiced in a group setting for purposes of authentic self-expression, self-discovery, interpersonal connectedness, and personal healing or growth.

Objective:  To assess perceived effects of conscious dance practice (e.g., Ecstatic Dance, 5Rhythms) and examine associations between frequency/ duration of practice and psychological well-being among participants.

Methods: Self-identifying adult conscious dancers completed a survey (N=1003; mean age=47 years; 52% from the U.S; 78% White; 73% female).

Results: Conscious dancers with ³5 years of practice had significantly higher trait mindfulness and life satisfaction compared to newer practitioners. More frequent practice (³ once per week) was associated with higher trait mindfulness. A strong majority of participants endorsed experiences consistent with mindfulness (i.e., feeling “more present in my body”; 99% of the sample) and psychological flow (“I felt like I was ‘in the zone’ or ‘in the flow’ of things”; 93% of the sample) during conscious dance. Among participants endorsing any of five stress-related health conditions, the majority reported therapeutic effects (i.e., that conscious dance “helped them cope” with the condition). Therapeutic effects were most consistently reported by individuals with depression or anxiety (96% endorsement), followed by those with a trauma history (95%), chronic pain (89%), and history of substance abuse or addiction (88%). For all conditions except addiction, therapeutic effects were associated with greater experiences of psychological flow during dance, and the magnitude of these effects was large (Cohen’s ds range: 1.0-2.3).

Conclusion: Individuals who engage in conscious dance report that these practices help them to cope with stress-related health conditions. Participants reporting longer duration or greater frequency of practice scored higher on measures of psychological well-being. The feasibility and efficacy of conscious dance for improving well-being among individuals naïve to these approaches will be important to determine in future research.

This study applied the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) to understand barriers and facilitators to bystander behaviours in UK students.  The BCW includes detailed examination of the capabilities, opportunities and motivations involved in behaviours. Two surveys (n=515; n=201) and a focus group study (n = 12) were undertaken.  Capability to intervene may be influenced by confidence and beliefs about physical ability and safety. Students appeared to have the physical opportunity to intervene, but social opportunity might be influenced by cultural norms. Motivations might be influenced by beliefs as well as inherent stereotypes about perpetrators and victims.  Behaviour change techniques (BCTs) such as instruction on how to perform the behaviour, reattribution and creating a valued self-identity should be applied to overcome these barriers. A logic model to theorise the change processes underlying bystander behaviours in this population offers a new perspective on what needs to be addressed in interventions.

Background and purpose. Women's health behaviours during pregnancy can affect their children's lifetime outcomes. Inactivity, poor diet, alcohol, and smoking during pregnancy are linked to maternal stress and distress. Mindfulness-based interventions can improve health behaviours and mental health. The purpose of the study was to develop and evaluate the feasibility of a mindfulness-based maternal behaviour change intervention. Materials and methods. The eight-week ‘Mind the Bump’ intervention integrated mindfulness training with behaviour change techniques. It aimed to improve mindfulness, mental health, and adherence to UK maternal health behaviour guidance. Acceptability, practicability, effectiveness/cost-effectiveness, affordability, safety/side-effects, and equity were evaluated from baseline to post-course and follow-up. Results. Mindfulness, positive affect, and wellbeing improved. Stress, negative affect, depression, anxiety, and adherence to guidance did not improve. The intervention was practicable and safe, but the other implementability criteria were not satisfied. Conclusion. The intervention was not fully feasible; recommendations to address its limitations are discussed.

Purpose: Half of British university students experience assault and harassment behaviours; few report them. Bystander intervention training has been recommended as a means of reducing these behaviours, but there is little evidence about their potential effectiveness in UK contexts. This study sought to understand UK students’ attitudes towards reporting and intervening in sexual assault, harassment, and hate crimes. Design: A mixed methods cross sectional survey (N=201; 75.6% women) was conducted in one British university. Open text data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: Students considered harassment and assault unacceptable, and were confident to intervene in and likely to report incidents. However, fear of backlash was a barrier to intervening and reporting, and they felt that victims should decide whether to report incidents. Students perceived perpetrators as being ignorant about what constitutes consent, harassment, and assault. They identified a need for university community education about this and how to report incidents and support peers. Research limitations/implications: This cross sectional survey was conducted at one UK University. The data might not reflect other students’ attitudes, and may be subject to response bias. 
Practical implications: University community bystander training should be acceptable, report and support systems might be utilised by students. This may have potential to reduce prevalence and increase reporting. 
Originality: This is the first study to investigate UK student attitudes to prosocial bystander behaviours.

Background

Mindfulness-based approaches for adults are effective at enhancing mental health, but few controlled trials have evaluated their effectiveness among young people.

Aims

To assess the acceptability and efficacy of a schools-based universal mindfulness intervention to enhance mental health and well-being.

Method

A total of 522 young people aged 12-16 in 12 secondary schools either participated in the Mindfulness in Schools Programme (intervention) or took part in the usual school curriculum (control).

Results

Rates of acceptability were high. Relative to the controls, and after adjusting for baseline imbalances, children who participated in the intervention reported fewer depressive symptoms post-treatment (P = 0.004) and at follow-up (P = 0.005) and lower stress (P = 0.05) and greater well-being (P = 0.05) at follow-up. The degree to which students in the intervention group practised the mindfulness skills was associated with better well-being (P<0.001) and less stress (P = 0.03) at 3-month follow-up.

Conclusions

The findings provide promising evidence of the programme’s acceptability and efficacy.