Author: Abby    Bellefleur

Major: Psychology

Graduation Year: 2017

Thesis Advisor: Liliana Herakova

Description of Publication: Statistics estimate that 1 in 5 American adults struggle with mental health challenges, but only about one-third of college students who experience mental health challenges seek help (National Alliance on Mental Illness, n.d.). With increases in the severity and prevalence of mental illness among college students (Daddona, 2011; Hefner & Eisenberg, 2009), it is important to understand what attitudes about mental illness are present among college students and what shapes those attitudes. From a cultivation analysis perspective (Morgan, Signorielli, & Shanahan, 2009), this study explores the relationship between college students’ television viewing habits and their attitudes toward mental illness, building on prior research suggesting that heavy television viewers hold more negative views of mental illness and the individuals experiencing them (Diefenbach & West, 2009), and that television portrayals of mental illness are stigmatizing and misleading (Klin & Lemish, 2008; Parrott & Parrott, 2015). The present study also looks at the possible associations between college students’ personal experiences with and interpersonal communication about mental health challenges and attitudes toward mental illness. Data were collected using an online survey distributed to undergraduate students at the University of Maine. The survey included questions about television viewing habits, experiences and communication about mental health challenges, attitudes toward mental illness, and students’ knowledge of campus support services. It was found that the relationship between interpersonal communication about mental illness and attitudes toward mental health was statistically significant among the sample. This finding has implications for mental health support services and peer-to-peer programs on college campuses

Location of Publication:

• fogler
• reynolds

URL to Thesis: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/291/