Comparing the Mental Health of Healthcare Students: Mental Health Shame and Self-compassion in Counselling, Occupational Therapy, Nursing and Social Work Students.
Yasuhiro Kotera, Jessica E Jackson, Ann Kirkman, Ann-Marie Edwards, Rory Colman, Ann Underhill, Jessica G Jackson, Denise Baker, Akihiko Ozaki
Author Information
Yasuhiro Kotera: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2TU Nottinghamshire UK. ORCID
Jessica E Jackson: College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, UK. ORCID
Ann Kirkman: College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, UK. ORCID
Ann-Marie Edwards: College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, UK. ORCID
Rory Colman: College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, UK. ORCID
Ann Underhill: College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, UK. ORCID
Jessica G Jackson: College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, UK. ORCID
Denise Baker: College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, UK. ORCID
Akihiko Ozaki: Medical Governance Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan. ORCID
Poor mental health of healthcare students is a cause for concern in many universities. Though previous research has identified mental health shame and self-compassion as critical in this student group, how these variables differ across different healthcare disciplines remains to be evaluated. Healthcare students ( = 344; counselling, occupational therapy, social work and nursing) completed measures regarding these variables. MANOVA and regression analyses were performed. (1) Counselling and nursing students were more depressed than occupational therapy students; (2) nursing students were more anxious than occupational therapy and social work students; (3) occupational therapy students had more positive attitudes towards mental health than the others; and (4) nursing students worried about their own reputation associated with their family more than counselling students. Self-compassion was the strongest predictor of mental health in all groups; however, the effect sizes varied: largest in nursing and smallest in social work students. Findings will help inform effective interventions for students in each healthcare discipline.
