Promoting belonging to reduce risk of depression in students: Opinion

In a recent Psychology Today article, Renee Engelin discusses how promoting belonging among postsecondary students can help protect them against depression. Engelin discusses the findings of a recent study that examined the link between belonging and depression among students. Students’ depression levels were found to increase throughout the academic term while their sense of belonging generally decreased. These two feelings kept a consistent link with one another, even when accounting for other variables such as academic fit, loneliness, or number of social interactions. Engelin outlines interventions that institutions have used to address students’ sense of belonging directly, including having upper-year students share their struggles with transitioning to college and communicating that the ease (or lack thereof) of transition to postsecondary is not reflective of whether a student belongs. Psychology Today Note: Archived stories may contain dead links or be missing source links.