Studying at university while experiencing mental ill-health: a grounded theory study

Background: Participating in, and succeeding at, postsecondary education, impacts career opportunities, earning potential, life choices and social inclusion. Many people with mental ill-health aspire to study, but many find... [ view full abstract ]

Background: Participating in, and succeeding at, postsecondary education, impacts career opportunities, earning potential, life choices and social inclusion. Many people with mental ill-health aspire to study, but many find studying at university challenging, resulting in high attrition rates and lost opportunities.
Method: This grounded theory study used a participatory framework to understand from students themselves, about their experiences of studying at university students while experiencing mental ill-health. Data were gathered through 21 in-depth interviews with 15 current students, and twelve reference group meetings involving six people with lived experience of mental ill-health and the three investigators. Rigorous comparative analysis of data revealed a theoretical understanding of this issue.
Results: Being a student while living with mental ill-health requires actively managing feeling different in order to be a ‘regular’ student. Participants managed feeling different in three main ways: hanging in with difference, wrestling with difference, and reconciling difference. When they could not manage their sense of difference they dropped out of study. Managing their sense of difference was active, effortful and time consuming for all participants.
Conclusion: A critical social framing of the issue highlights the role of structures and supports in confirming difference or creating space for difference. This reframing positions students as agentic, resourceful and resilient in managing often invisible, oppressive and discriminatory forces.
Sharing these findings with students may allow them to understand their experiences differently. Constructing issues as social, rather than as located within individuals, provides occupational therapists with alternative ways to understand and act on issues.