A mixed-methods evaluation of a psychosocial intervention to reduce mental health stigma among university students

Faced with personal and study-related stressors, students in higher education experience elevated levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms while often showing low help-seeking behavior. Although interventions have shown promise in enhancing student well-being, their potential to address stigma, which is closely linked to help-seeking, remains largely unexplored. The present study evaluates The Inquiring Mind (TIM), a Canadian anti-stigma program for post-secondary education, adapted for the German university context, assessing its potential to reduce stigma, increase mental health literacy and encourage continuum beliefs, the understanding of mental health and illness as existing on a spectrum rather than as fixed categories.

A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was applied, using a quasi-experimental online survey (pre-, post- and follow-up assessment), and a subsequent focus group with program participants. A total of 58 students participated. The mixed-methods approach was selected to gain a better understanding of the program's impact and the effectiveness of specific components.

Findings revealed significant reductions in stigma in the intervention group at post-test and a significant increase in continuum beliefs at follow-up. While quantitative results showed no improvements in mental health literacy, qualitative analyses revealed greater awareness of mental health issues and self-stigmatizing processes, as well as improvements in the normality aspect of continuum beliefs.

Findings support the applicability of TIM in a new cultural context, contributing to research on the emerging concept of continuum beliefs and to the understanding of how interventions can influence post-secondary students' stigma. This systematic evaluation of an early, campus-based prevention program offers relevant insights for developing prevention strategies addressing students' post-pandemic mental health needs across diverse cultural and geographic settings.