The mental health information needs of Chinese university students and their use of online resources: a holistic model
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-12-2021-0249 |
| Published date | 10 August 2022 |
| Date | 10 August 2022 |
| Pages | 442-467 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Records management & preservation,Document management,Classification & cataloguing,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Scholarly communications/publishing,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
| Author | Xuguang Li,Xiaoying Luo,Andrew Cox,Yao Zhang,Yingying Lu |
The mental health information
needs of Chinese university
students and their use of online
resources: a holistic model
Xuguang Li
Department of Information Resources Management, Nankai University,
Tianjin, China and
Institute of Information Management, Shandong University of Technology,
Zibo, China
Xiaoying Luo
Library of Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, Shenzhen, China
Andrew Cox
Information School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
Yao Zhang
Department of Information Resources Management, Nankai University,
Tianjin, China, and
Yingying Lu
School of Information Management, Central China Normal University,
Wuhan, China
Abstract
Purpose –This research aims to explore the nature of Chinese students’mental health information needs and
to identify the online resources they use to meet those needs.
Design/methodology/approach –Data was collected from three Chinese research-oriented universities
usingsemi-structured interviews and a survey. Twenty-five university students with varied backgrounds were
selected for semi-structured interviews to explore the triggers and nature of their needs. Then, printed and
online questionnaires were distributed to undergraduate and postgraduate students and 541 valid responses
were processed for descriptive statistical analysis and variance analysis.
Findings –The following findings were incurred. First, the triggers of university students’mental health
information needs mainly are mental health being in the news, personal interest in gaining mental health
knowledge, mental health issues, required formal learning and preparation for mental health counselling.
Second, eleven types of information are used, with an emphasis on employment pressure, study stress and self-
understanding. Third, mental health information needs differ with mental health status and some social-
demographic factors (including gender, urbanor rural origin and educational stage). Fourth, information needs
can be characterized as dynamic; complex and diverse but concentrated on a few types; ambiguous and hard
for participants to define; private; stigmatized; self-dependent and substitutable. Fifth, Internet sources used to
meet such needs are mainly search engines, Question and Answer platforms, public social media platforms.
Finally, a model of mental health information needs was built based on the above findings to map the whole
process from what triggers a need, to the content and characteristics of information need, and online resources
used to meet those needs.
Practical implications –The paper provides suggestions for university mental health services in developing
more tailored knowledge contents via effective delivery methods to meet diverse needs of student groups.
JD
79,2
442
Funding: This work was supported by the National Social Science Fund of China under Grant Number
18BTQ086.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0022-0418.htm
Received 26 December 2021
Revised 14 June 2022
Accepted 21 June 2022
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 79 No. 2, 2023
pp. 442-467
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0022-0418
DOI 10.1108/JD-12-2021-0249
Originality/value –This research is novel in using empirical data to build a holistic model that captures the
context and the nature of mental health information needs of university students.
Keywords University students, Mental health information, Online information resources, Mental well-being,
Information need
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Mental health problems are quite common among university students and they have become
a serious concern in many countries (Kotera et al., 2021;Harrer et al., 2019;Sheldon et al., 2021).
A variety of factors can lead to such experiences including academic pressure, separation
from the student’s family, financial stress and the challenges of facing adult-like
responsibilities with inadequate skills (Pedrelli et al., 2015). Consequently, university
students may be at greater risk of mental health problems such as anxiety disorder,
depression, eating disorders, self-harm and even suicide than same-aged non-students
(Pedrelli et al., 2015). A survey of Chinese youth mental health conducted in 2019 reported that
university students’risk rate of depression is 6.6%, and the severe anxiety rate is 3.9%
(Zhang, 2019). Most of the other evidence we have is from the US. Data from there suggests
that the probability of moderate to severe anxiety in postgraduate student groups was more
than six times that of the general population (Evans et al., 2018). Levecque et al.’s (2017) study
shows that one in two PhD students suffer psychological distress, and 32% of PhD students
are at risk of common psychiatric disorders such as depression. It is not known if these
patterns are reproduced internationally but it does seem that students are facing increased
vulnerability to mental health issues: the global prevalence of depression in university
populations increased by 18.4% from 2005 to 2015 (Lipton et al., 2016).
The need for mental good health should be considered equally as important as physical
health, however, in contrast to the extensive literature on physiological/physical health
information needs, very little is known about mental health information needs according to
Powell and Clarke (2006). Relatively few studies have addressed mental health-related
information needs, and they mainly focus on those of psychiatric patients (e.g. Cleary et al.,
2005;Pollock et al., 2004) or illness-specific information needs (e.g. Pier et al., 2008) or searches
associated with particular mental-disorders (e.g. Ayers et al., 2013). This neglects the majority
of the population who do not have a medically diagnosed condition but have information
needs for ensuring their mental well-being or simply living a better life. Information can
satisfy many different types of mental health needs, including the needs for security,
achievement, self-expression and self-actualization (Wilson, 2006); therefore, mental health
information needs can be triggered not just in the context of having a diagnosed medical
condition or supporting someone who does (Zhao and Zhang, 2017). Thus, the issue of student
access to mental health information is significant even if we set aside the high prevalence of
mental health issues among them.
Universities haveprovided many channels of mental health services and resources which
might positively affect students’mental health, such as self-help books, tele-psychiatry,
telephone counselling, face-to-face delivery of counselling services and interventions for
students with psychiatric disorder (Leach et al., 2007;Hunt and Eisenberg, 2010). However,
research demonstrates that young people usually have low levels of help-seeking behaviour
from formal servicesregarding their mental health (e.g. Rickwoodet al., 2007). For university
studentswho have mild mental issues or havethe information need for supportingmental well-
being rather than medical care or mental illness information, they are more oriented towards
self-reliancevia using the Internet for mentalhealth information ratherthan seek professional
help (Horgan and Sweeney, 2010;Barney et al.,2006). A number of factors inhibit people,
including students, from seeking information from formal professional psychological help
services such as offline counselling centres. These include the desire for privacy, social
Students’
mental health
information
needs
443
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