Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Mental health issues among U.S. college students are reaching critical levels. Sociological theories explain how self and identity processes shape mental health, but few studies assess theoretically grounded interventions designed to improve it. Drawing on the affect control theory of self (ACT-Self), we examine whether students’ sustained investment in a positive, powerful, active identity across an academic term is associated with positive changes in their self-sentiments and mental health. Twenty-nine students invested in such an identity as part of a term-length project in a sociology course. We gathered three waves of survey data to track students’ self-sentiments and mental health immediately before (Wave 1) and after (Wave 2) the project and one month later (Wave 3). Students’ self-sentiments drew significantly closer to their goal at Wave 2 and remained closer at Wave 3. Depression, anxiety, and stress decreased across waves but were not significantly lower than baseline until Wave 3. Thriving and flourishing were significantly higher at Wave 2 but did not significantly differ from baseline at Wave 3. Students with self-sentiments closer to their goal reported lower depression and anxiety at Wave 2 and lower depression at Wave 3. Our findings provide preliminary evidence that identity-based interventions may be associated with improvements in some dimensions of college student mental health, depression in particular.
Source: Social Sciences
Institution: Dartmouth College
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,172
Funder: Dartmouth College
OpenAlex ID: W7160874343