University Connectedness, Relational Depth, Wellbeing, Anxiety, and Academic Achievement in FASS Students

The rising numbers of university students reporting mental health difficulties – and how best to respond to this need - is a known concern in the sector. For example, an Institute for Public Policy Research (2017) report has suggested a fivefold increase in self-declared student mental health issues in 2017 (approx. 15,000) relative to 2006 (approx. 3,000). The Open University is addressing the challenge of student mental health through its new ‘Student and Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.’ However, in order to respond appropriately more research is needed on Open University students’ mental health, and on what contributes to promoting better mental health and wellbeing. 

This project conducted in the School of Psychology and Counselling examines how academic performance in Open University students is related to wellbeing and anxiety and student’s sense of connectedness to the university as well as their self-rated loneliness and the quality of their relationships with individuals in the OU community.   

The core idea that the study is investigating is whether relationships at the university and a more general sense of feeling part of the OU community is associated with better mental health for students and correspondingly better academic success. This is important to look at as many contributors to student’s mental health (like their family situation, health or work) are difficult for a university to influence. However, the university might be able to set up initiatives to boost students’ positive relationships at and with the university. 

The project team approached a randomly selected sample of 2,000 second year students via email; of those, 208 students completed a survey between December 2020 and February 2021. Data analysis is ongoing but preliminary findings suggest that student loneliness (an absence of connectedness) is an important predictor of student mental health and student academic achievement. 

The plan is to disseminate the findings through formal academic publications as well as presentations within the university and through external conferences. If the findings merit it, the research team may seek to replicate and extend the study with a bigger cohort in the next academic year. 

To read the project findings, please see the team's publication: 

Di Malta, G., Bond, J., Conroy, D., Smith, K. & Moller, N. (2022). Distance education students' mental health, connectedness and academic performance during COVID-19: A mixed-methods study. Distance Education, 43:1, 97-118. Impact factor 2.952.