Is it ever too late to work on our Social Emotional Learning?
In January, the BBC reported on research that links students’ mental health and drug or alcohol use to their chosen subject. As a former psychology undergraduate, I know that people sometimes comment on how choosing to study psychology is often motivated by students’ own experiences of mental health problems. The study, produced by Ulster University and the Atlantic Technical University, provides evidence to support this idea. More widely, conversations on the UK’s mental health crisis and overwhelmed mental health systems are rife, including our own research into SEL interventions in England, indicating the impact of inequality and disadvantage on university students’ mental health.
The study into pupils’ subject choice finds that among 1,829 undergraduate students:
- Those enrolled in psychology courses had higher rates of panic disorder and social anxiety than others;
- Business students had higher rates of drug abuse, and,
- Law students had higher rates of alcohol misuse.
