The Jed Foundation and the American Psychiatric Foundation's

TRANSITION YEAR PROJECT

The transition from high school to college is a critical juncture for all teenagers. For the majority, college represents a new stage of independence, exploration, growth and opportunity. For students who are dealing with pre-existing or newly-emerging mental health problems, it can be a difficult and dangerous time. The Jed Foundation and the American Psychiatric Foundation are launching a new initiative to help ensure the smooth, safe and healthy transition of teenagers from high school to college, laying the groundwork for healthy and productive college years and beyond.

RESEARCH

In addition to an extensive literature review, a comprehensive survey of parents with college-age children will be undertaken to better understand: their comfort level in discussing mental health issues with their children and their perception of how comfortable their children would be in discussing these issues with them; the level of stigma that exists regarding mental illness; their awareness of when and where to seek help for their children; and their awareness of the signs and symptoms of depression and other mental health problems. The results of the literature review and survey, as well as input from an expert advisory board, will drive the development of resources and outreach efforts.

RESOURCES

The ultimate goal of this program is to create guides for both parents and students that will be available online and in print. The Parents Resource Guide will cover: issues of mental health and well-being that should be considered when selecting a college; warning signs for mental health problems; suggestions for learning more about a college’s mental health services; actions to take when concerns regarding mental health arise; and how to build their children’s resiliency and decision-making skills.

The Student Resource Guide will cover typically challenging transition issues such as adjusting to college; stress management; friend and roommate issues; academic performance; sleep; alcohol and other drug issues; and sexual behavior. Maintaining treatment for existing mental health issues, signs and symptoms of the most common mental illnesses, and actions to take when concerned about themselves or their peers will also be addressed.

These guides will be different from the materials currently available because of their specific focus on mental health and the transition to college life. These topics are rarely addressed together in a comprehensive manner. While individual colleges address some of these topics during freshman orientation, parent and student exposure to this information will depend on their choice of school. Developing these materials fills an important need for access to such information on a national level to better equip parents and students for success during the transition to college.

 

AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

Select research findings and the free guides for students and parents will be the cornerstones of a media and marketing campaign to raise awareness around the issues and encourage utilization of the resources.

The research phase of the campaign will be completed this summer with the guides slated for distribution by the end of 2007.

TO RECEIVE UPDATES ABOUT THE TRANSITION YEAR PROJECT, PLEASE EMAIL SHARI STRAUSS AT transitionyear@ulifeline.org.