{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,21]],"date-time":"2026-03-21T04:28:33Z","timestamp":1774067313560,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,12]],"date-time":"2024-08-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1723420800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosmentalhealth.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLOS Ment Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Post-secondary students experience abnormally high levels of stress compared to the general population, and parents pursuing post-secondary education have additional demands that challenge their mental health. Understanding the mental health of parent versus non-parent students is imperative to support students in their academic pursuits. The purpose of this mixed-methods, cross-sectional paper was two-fold: (1) to investigate the mental health (flourishing\/languishing) of parents pursuing post-secondary education in Ontario, Canada with children\/youth aged 0\u201318 years compared to non-parent post-secondary students; and (2) to explore parents\u2019 and non-parents\u2019 lived experiences of mental health (flourishing\/languishing) while pursuing post-secondary education. A total of 374 students (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 86 parents; <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 288 non-parents) completed an online survey that included demographics and the previously validated Mental Health Continuum-Short Form. A subset of participants (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 10 parents; <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 10 non-parents) participated in one of six focus groups (3 parent focus groups; 3 non-parent focus groups). Results from the independent sample t-tests indicated no significant differences between the overall mental health scores. Thematic analysis revealed 4 themes for student-parents: (1) factors that challenge mental health; (2) realities of being a student-parent; (3) social connectivity among family and friends; and (4) mental health fluctuations. A total of 6 non-parent specific themes were found: (1) social connectivity among peers; (2) factors that challenge mental health; (3) the bidirectional relationship between school and mental health status; (4) prioritizing academic roles; (5) finding purpose through academic pursuits; and (6) admiration for student-parents. Findings from the current study highlight the dichotomy in student-parent versus non-parent academic identities and are important for university personnel to understand to provide tailored supports.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmen.0000021","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,12]],"date-time":"2024-08-12T17:27:09Z","timestamp":1723483629000},"page":"e0000021","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pmen.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["The mental health of parent versus non-parent post-secondary students"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"1","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1363-8778","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Katie J.","family":"Shillington","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Julia","family":"Yates","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tara","family":"Mantler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jennifer D.","family":"Irwin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,12]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"pmen.0000021.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-021-10622-1","article-title":"Cross-sectional trend analysis of the NCHA II survey data on Canadian post-secondary student mental health and wellbeing from 2013 to 2019.","volume":"21","author":"B Linden","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"issue":"6","key":"pmen.0000021.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1753","DOI":"10.1080\/07448481.2021.1947303","article-title":"Stressors among young Australian university students: A qualitative study.","volume":"71","author":"B Logan","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Am Coll Health"},{"issue":"3","key":"pmen.0000021.ref003","first-page":"168","article-title":"Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of mental disorders in the World Health Organization\u2019s World Mental Health Survey Initiative.","volume":"6","author":"RC Kessler","year":"2007","journal-title":"World J Psychiatry"},{"issue":"1","key":"pmen.0000021.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"281","DOI":"10.1038\/s41380-021-01161-7","article-title":"Age at onset of mental disorders worldwide: Large-scale meta-analysis of 192 epidemiological studies","volume":"27","author":"M Solmi","year":"2022","journal-title":"Mol Psychiatry"},{"key":"pmen.0000021.ref005","author":"American College Health Association","year":"2023","journal-title":"Spring 2023: Reference group executive summary."},{"issue":"3","key":"pmen.0000021.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1192\/bjo.2020.24","article-title":"Predictors of mental health and academic outcomes in first-year university students: Identifying prevention and early-intervention targets.","volume":"6","author":"A Duffy","year":"2020","journal-title":"BJPsych Open."},{"issue":"3","key":"pmen.0000021.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"898","DOI":"10.1080\/07448481.2020.1781134","article-title":"Minding many minds: An assessment of mental health and resilience among undergraduate and graduate students; 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