Editorial: Mental health and social inclusion

Citation

Prescott, J. (2024), "Editorial: Mental health and social inclusion", Mental Health and Social Inclusion, Vol. 28 No. 4, pp. 281-282. https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-06-2024-140

In the fourth issue of 2024, we have a selection of papers, four of which have a focus on young people and education. Mental health in the higher education (HE) sector is gaining increasing focus. From my knowledge of the UK HE sector, universities are increasinglywanting to provide effective mental health and well-being support. Two of the papers have afocus on workforce issues related to mental health.

The papers have an international feel with research conducted in a number of countries including India, Ukraine, Vietnam, Kuwait, the Middle East and the UK so readers have an insight of current interventions and research in the area of mental health from a global perspective and with international samples.

The first paper by Paul McGivern looks at the benefits of promoting mental health and well-being for students in higher education. The paper draws on literature to illustrate the potential of student response systems in supporting student mental health, with real-time information being available to educators. The author argues that student response systems have a broader impact beyond their use as educational tools suggesting their impact on the support of students on a pastoral level as well as on employability for students in HE. This is an interesting paper for those interested in student mental health and well-being and the promotion of mental health and well-being among university students.

Anjali Malik and Neeta Sinha focus their study on nursing students by exploring the relationship between character strengths and well-being. Through a sample of 150 nursing students from colleges in India, the study found kindness was a key strength for nursing students. Other strengths included honesty, creativity, spirituality and teamwork. A number of strengths were positively associated with life satisfaction and positive emotion. These strengths included gratitude, social intelligence and self-regulation to name a few, mentioned in the study. The study provides the reader with the implications of this research, positing that by fostering these strengths, this will have a beneficial impact on nursing students’ well-being. The authors argue that by developing the strengths looked at in the paper, it will allow nurses to better understand patient needs as well as provide students with the tools they need to help them cope with their role as nurses. This is an important study for nursing students and nursing educators.

Aleisha Fitzgerald, Tom Moberg, Phelim Quinlisk and Chloe Costello provide the reader with an insight into recovery education for young people. This paper provides the reader with a comprehensive literature review of the area, considering both the factors that contribute to the successful implementation of recovery colleges as well as the barriers. The review of the literature found 15 relevant papers from which the authors draw their findings and recommendations. Within the paper, the authors draw on the differences between adults and young people within the educational environment and their impact on positive educational outcomes. This paper will be an important read for those interested in the area of recovery colleges in terms of successful development and implementation.

The next paper also has a university student focus, whereby the authors Nhan Nguyen, An Dang, Tai Ngo, Hieu Tran and Dung Tran consider social network usage and life satisfaction for Vietnamese university students. The paper considers self-esteem as a mediating factor between passive social network usage and life satisfaction in a sample of just over 300 students. From this cross-sectional study, the authors found that self-esteem did indeed mediate the relationship, while also finding that gender had a moderating relationship, with a stronger effect on females. This paper will be of interest to all those working in the HE sector in terms of highlighting to students the passive use of social networking and its potential impact on life satisfaction, suggesting students self-evaluate their usage and its impact on them.

The next paper discusses a psychological hotline launched by the National Psychological Association of Ukraine. This is an important paper by Valeriia Palii and colleagues about the current war in Ukraine and how countries beyond Ukraine can support people’s mental health during this time of crisis. The hotline operates in 21 countries and has the potential to provide international collaboration to support well-being. The paper provides the reader with insights into the training and support of the hotline’s staff during the crisis. It also reflects on the work the hotline staff is dealing with from the period between June 2022 and April 2023. The hotline is an important support for the people of Ukraine, given the limited capacity for state mental health services, and it advocates the importance of having alternatives to face-to-face support for people’s mental health.

In a systematic review, Daryl Mahon considers employee burnout through an evaluation of the role of servant leadership as a mediator in preventing and mitigating against in organizations. From the literature search, the article includes an evaluation of 17 papers with a sample size of over 10,000 participants. Interestingly, the review found that most of the studies were conducted in the health-care sector, followed by the banking sector. The review also found that the majority of the studies were cross-sectional, limiting the causality of the findings. The use of servant leadership theory is explored to reduce employee burnout, suggesting that organizations adopt this theory to support practices to support its employees.

Next within this issue is another paper with a workforce focus. Authors Sahar Daghagh Yazd, Mehmet Akif Karaman, Salma Fathi, Areej Alsarraf, Shaikhah Alajmi, Sahab Rutabian and Manya Aladwani look at the mental health of 400 industrial workers in Kuwait, exploring the factors that may impact their mental health. The factors they explore in the paper include working conditions, lifestyle choices and demographic characteristics. Findings revealed employees who smoked, had a lower education level, worked night shifts and worked longer hours were more likely to experience mental health issues. Employees with children, those who had contact with a mental health professional, and those living with others had improved mental health. Yearly income had no significant relationship with the mental health of the employees in the study.

The final paper by Abd Hasan and colleagues evaluates a self-stigma reduction program for people with schizophrenia spectrum disorder in the Middle East. Findings from this randomized control trial suggest that the people within the intervention group did indeed experience a greater reduction in the level of self-stigma, which was also found in a six-month follow-up.

I hope you enjoy the selections included in this issue.

Dr Julie Prescott

Editor