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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Lucy RobinsonORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press.Background Entry to higher education coincides with a period of accelerated psychosocial and brain development. Student need for acceptable and accessible well-being and mental health support is straining university resources. Aims To evaluate the acceptability and impact of a digital mental health literacy course tailored for undergraduates and delivered as an accredited interdisciplinary elective. Method Analyses included pre–post course survey data from enrolled students and longitudinal U-Flourish Well-Being Survey data from a comparison sample of non-course takers over the same period (2021–2024). Linear mixed-effects models examined associations between course participation and 12-week changes in mental health literacy, psychosocial risk factors, well-being and common mental health concerns. Results Pre–post course survey data (N = 2884) supported high acceptability, improvements in resilience (+0.06; 95% CI 0.03–0.08, p < 0.001) and self-compassion (+0.65; 95% CI 0.46–0.84, p < 0.001), and a reduction in brooding (−0.31; 95% CI −0.44 to−0.18, p < 0.001). Taking the course was associated with a reduction in anxiety (β = −0.41; 95% CI −0.55 to −0.27, p < 0.001) and cannabis use (proportional odds ratio 0.82; 95% CI 0.75–0.90, p < 0.001), improvement in sleep quality (β = 0.79; 95% CI 0.61–0.97, p < 0.001) and evidence of a protective effect on well-being (β = 0.24; 95% CI 0.11–0.36, p < 0.001) and depressive symptoms (β = −0.37; 95% CI −0.52 to −0.21, p < 0.001), compared with non-course takers. Effects differed by gender, with women benefitting most, but were comparable across minoritised student subgroups. Conclusions Mental health literacy delivered as an accredited undergraduate interdisciplinary course is highly acceptable and associated with improvement in psychological coping and positive effects on student mental health and well-being. Future research should focus on more diverse student samples, underlying mechanisms and sustained effects.
Author(s): Duffy A, King N, Rivera D, Pankow K, Cunningham S, Tetzlaff E, Kyone K, Dephoure E, Lyon A, Robinson L, Watkins E, Keown-Stoneman C
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: BJPsych Open
Year: 2026
Volume: 12
Issue: 2
Print publication date: 01/03/2026
Online publication date: 16/02/2026
Acceptance date: 15/12/2025
Date deposited: 09/03/2026
ISSN (electronic): 2056-4724
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2025.10960
DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2025.10960
Data Access Statement: The de-identified data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author (A.D.) upon request.
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