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Aspirations, ability, and support: consumers' perceptions of attending college
1Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403, USA. cstein@bgnet.bgsu.edu
Community Mental Health Journal
|December 13, 2005
Summary
Adults with serious mental illness aspire to attend college, expressing optimism about support and acceptance. Personal loss significantly impacts their college aspirations and perceived capacity more than other factors.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Higher Education Studies
Background:
- Serious mental illness (SMI) presents unique challenges for individuals pursuing higher education.
- Understanding the factors influencing college aspirations among adults with SMI is crucial for developing supportive interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine college aspirations, perceived capacity, and social support among adults with SMI.
- To investigate the influence of personal loss, age, prior college experience, and hospitalization history on these perceptions.
Main Methods:
- Survey research involving 80 adults with SMI.
- Analysis of aspirations, plans for college, social support perceptions, and perceived capacity.
- Examination of demographic and clinical variables (age, prior college, hospitalization history, personal loss).
Main Results:
- Participants generally had strong college aspirations and positive self-assessments of intellectual capacity, with mixed views on emotional capacity.
- High optimism was reported regarding acceptance from faculty/students and support from family/friends.
- Perceived personal loss significantly predicted aspirations and capacity, independent of age, prior experience, and hospitalization history.
Conclusions:
- Adults with SMI possess significant college aspirations and positive outlooks on social integration.
- Perceived personal loss is a key factor influencing educational pursuits in this population.
- Interventions should address the impact of personal loss to foster college success for individuals with SMI.
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