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Mental health is a significant component of an individual's health and well-being. The World Health Organization (2011) defines mental health as the "state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his own com- munity." Mental health problems are thus considered to be conditions that compromise these standards.
For many young adults, the university becomes the community in which they hope to flourish both academically and socially, yet at least 20% of U.S. and Canadian university students have experienced a mental health problem, which can greatly affect their likelihood of success or failure in this com- munity (Adlaf, Demers & Gliksman, 2005; Collins & Mowbray, 2005; Eudaly, 2003). Increasing numbers of university students are experiencing mental health problems, and these conditions are escalating in severity (Kitzrow, 2003). This growing problem has prompted an increased research focus on university student mental health; however, a great deal of this research is conducted from the faculty, peer, or institutional perspectives (Backels & Wheeler, 2001; Becker, Martin, Wajeeh, Ward, & Shern, 2002; Owen & Rodolfa, 2009). Furthermore, much of the literature is concerned with the outcomes of counseling (Reynolds & Chris, 2008) or academic support and interventions (Quinn, Wilson, MacIntyre, & Tinklin, 2009). Little research examines the demands and difficulties associated with university life from the perspective of students with mental health problems, even though this perspective can be of great value in determining how to best support these students.
Researchers have found that students with mental health problems receive lower grades and experience higher rates of educational attrition than their peers (Hysenbegasi, Hass, & Rowland, 2005; Kessler, Foster, Saunders, & Stang, 1998). Although a focus on interventions can shed light on potential solutions, the complex interplay of factors that produce negative outcomes for students with mental health problems needs to be more clearly understood. The few studies conducted from the student perspective indicate that, in ad- dition to all the known benefits of education, postsecondary education has important rehabilitative potential for these individuals, providing them with a sense of structure and purpose outside of their illnesses and helping them progress into...