Mental health and mental well-being of Black students at UK universities: a review and thematic synthesis

Nkasi Stoll; Yannick Yalipende; Nicola C Byrom; Stephani L Hatch; Heidi Lempp

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050720

Mental health and mental well-being of Black students at UK universities: a review and thematic synthesis

BMJ Open. 2022 Feb 28;12(2):e050720. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050720.

Authors

Nkasi Stoll¹, Yannick Yalipende², Nicola C Byrom³, Stephani L Hatch^{4

5}, Heidi Lempp⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College London Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK nkasi.1.stoll@kcl.ac.uk.
² Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK.
³ Department of Psychology, King's College London Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK.
⁴ Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College London Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, London, UK.
⁵ ESRC Centre for Society and Mental Health, King's College London, London, UK.
⁶ Department of Inflammation Biology, King's College London Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, London, UK.

Abstract

Background: There is a knowledge gap about the experiences that affect the mental health of Black university students in the UK. Current research is focused on understanding the continuation, attainment and progression gap between Black students and non-Black students. It is essential to know more about the interactions between personal and institutional factors on the mental health of Black students to explain the inequalities in their experiences and outcomes across the university lifecycle. The current study set out to thematically synthesise articles that explore the experiences that affect the mental health and mental well-being of Black university students in the UK.

Methods: This study is a qualitative thematic synthesis of a literature review. We developed search strategies for four online databases (PubMed, Social Science Premium Collection via ProQuest, Open Access Theses and Dissertations, and Open Grey) covering January 2010 to July 2020. This search was combined with a manual search of reference lists and related citations. All articles in English addressing mental health and mental well-being experiences among Black university students studying at a UK university were included. Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Checklist was used to assess bias. A thematic synthesis was conducted using Braun and Clarke (2006)'s six-step guide to develop descriptive themes and analytical constructs.

Results: Twelve articles were included. Several themes were identified as affecting the mental health of Black university students in the UK: academic pressure, learning environment, Black gendered experience, isolation and alienation, culture shock, racism and support.

Discussion: This review provides an appraisal of the factors affecting the mental health and mental well-being of Black students at UK universities, which need to be addressed by higher education policy-makers and key decision-makers. Further research is needed about the mental health experiences of Black university students in relation to Black identities, suicidality, mental health language, the physical environment, and racism and other institutional factors.

Keywords: epidemiology; mental health; psychiatry; public health; qualitative research; social medicine.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Black People
Humans
Mental Health*
Students*
United Kingdom
Universities

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding