National Research Consortium of Counseling Centers in Higher Education
The National Research Consortium of Counseling Centers in Higher Education, housed at the University of Texas Counseling and Mental Health Center, conducts large scale, national research studies on the mental health issues of college students. Participation in the Research Consortium is open to any U.S. institution of higher education, and membership in the Research Consortium changes for each study that is conducted. For more information about the Research Consortium's upcoming activities, e-mail Chris Brownson, the Research Consortium's National Director.
Research Consortium Datasets
The Research Consortium encourages the subsequent analysis of its data about college student mental health issues, pursuant to the goal of expanding the breadth and depth of research related to the unique mental health issues facing college and university students. These data sets have been useful for graduate student dissertations, professionals in the field of college mental health, institutions/foundations who study college mental health, and individual researchers interested in these issues.
When individuals request data for previous Research Consortium studies, they will receive the data set and in some cases the Code Book for the data. For some of our older data sets, we do not have code books available. These data sets contain no identifying information for participants or for institutions who were involved in the research.
Research Consortium Studies
The Research Consortium has completed five different studies since its inception. The most recent study on the nature of suicidal crises in college students, involved over 26,000 participants from 70 U.S. colleges and universities, establishing the largest dataset of indepth college student suicidal behavior. Two past research consortium studies have used a clinical student population, and two other studies have dealt with a non-clinical student population. Follow the links to the right for full descriptions of all of the past Research Consortium studies with relevant reports and publications.
Project 1, Nature and Severity of College Students' Counseling Concerns (1991)
In 1991, The Research Consortium implemented its first study, "Nature and Severity of College Students' Counseling Concerns," which was a survey of students seeking counseling services. The main goal was to establish baseline measures about the severity of students' concerns so that changes or fluctuations over time could be ascertained. In essence, we were attempting to provide data about the variations in types and severity of presenting problems over the next several years. A four-page optical scan booklet. the Counseling Concerns Survey, was constructed with the following sections: a demographics page (including age, classification, major, college/school, ethnicity) with questions about previous counseling and use of prescribed psychiatric medication, a 42-item Presenting Problems List constructed from lists submitted by 12 member centers, the Brief Symptom Inventory, and an 18-item list of Family Experiences involving various family history characteristics. Students seeking services at the counseling centers involved in the consortium were surveyed over the course of 12 months, resulting in data from some 3,000 clients from 32 centers.
Project 2, Mental Health Concerns of Non-Clinical Sample (1994-95)
In 1994-95, The Research Consortium conducted a similar study focused on the mental health concerns of students who had not sought counseling (i.e., a non-clinical sample) so that we could compare them to the clinical sample from Project 1. The same Counseling Concerns Survey was used in this second study so that direct comparisons could be made. Each center recruited a diverse sample from students who had not sought counseling at the time of contact, resulting in some 2,500 participants from 28 campuses.
Project 3, Psychotherapy Process and Outcome Study (1997-98)
Building on the success of these first two projects, The Research Consortium implemented a psychotherapy process/outcome study to investigate the impact of counseling services on the mental health concerns of college students. Students were recruited for the study during the 1997-98 school year when they came to the counseling centers for their initial appointment. The student agreed to participate by filling out a consent form and was then instructed to complete the Counseling Concerns Survey and the Stages of Change Measure before the first session. Before each subsequent individual therapy session, the client filled out the Outcome Questionnaire-45 (OQ-45). An optional, though highly recommended, measure that each center was encouraged to include is the Working Alliance Inventory completed by both the client and the therapist before the start of the fourth session of therapy. Six weeks after the date of termination, the student was mailed the OQ-45 and the Service Satisfaction Scale-30 as follow-up measures. Information about therapist theoretical orientation was obtained using the Coan Theoretical Orientation Survey. Data were obtained on 4,500 clients and 241 therapists across 42 centers.
Project 4, Mental Health Concerns of Non-Clinical Sample (2002)
In order to continue establishing a data base which includes both clinical and non-clinical samples, our fourth project concentrated on recruiting students who had not sought counseling at the time they were surveyed. They were asked to fill out the same Counseling Concerns Survey booklet that was used in Project 3. Such sampling helped to determine differences in mental health concerns experienced by students who seek counseling versus those who do not avail themselves of such services. This fourth sampling allowed us to compare and contrast students' mental health concerns over a 12-year time span (i.e., across the previous three samples). Data were obtained on 1,500 students at 15 colleges and universities.
Project 5, The Nature of Suicidal Crises in College Students (2006)
In order to continue establishing a data base which includes both clinical and non-clinical samples, our fourth project concentrated on recruiting students who had not sought counseling at the time they were surveyed. They were asked to fill out the same Counseling Concerns Survey booklet that was used in Project 3. Such sampling helped to determine differences in mental health concerns experienced by students who seek counseling versus those who do not avail themselves of such services. This fourth sampling allowed us to compare and contrast students' mental health concerns over a 12-year time span (i.e., across the previous three samples). Data were obtained on 1,500 students at 15 colleges and universities.
Project 6, Survey of Distress, Suicidality, and Student Coping (2011)
In an effort to further understand the continuum of suicidal thinking, as established by Research Consortium Project 5: The Nature of Suicidal Crises in College Students (2006), the Research Consortium designed a 79-item survey. The objectives of this survey were a) to confirm findings related to the continuum of suicidal thinking in college students, b) to understand student stressors, attitudes, and coping behaviors related to a recent stressful period, and c) to gain insight into students’ utilization of resources and help-seeking behaviors. Data were obtained on over 26,000 students at 74 United States colleges and universities.
History
The Research Consortium of Counseling and Psychological Services in Higher Education was founded in 1990 under the leadership of David Drum, Ph.D. and Augustine Baron, Psy.D. of the UT Counseling and Mental Health Center. An interim steering committee of 10 university counseling center directors met in Austin in March, 1990 to design the structure of the consortium and the first study to be conducted. Subsequently, an additional 22 centers were recruited for the first study based on regional representation and each director's expressed interest in research endeavors. In the most recent study, 70 colleges and universities participated in the study. To-date, five projects have been completed.
Publications
Highlights of the Research Consortium Outcomes Project: November, 1998 (David J. Drum and Augustine Baron)
Dose-Effect Relationships in Brief Therapy (Matthew Draper, Judy Jennings, Augustine Baron, Ozgur Erdur, and Lavanya Shankar)
History of Parental Problem Drinking and Its Relationship with Help-Seeking College Students Distress Scores (Lavanya Shankar, Augustine Baron, Ozgur Erdur, and Matthew Draper)
Working Alliance & Treatment Outcome in Ethnically Similar and Dissimilar Client - Therapist Pairings (Ozgur Erdur, Stephanie Rude, Augustine Baron, Matthew Draper, and Lavanya Shankar)
The Relationship of Client Stages of Change to Retention, Working Alliance, and Outcome in Short-Term Therapy (Aaron B. Rochlen, Stephanie Rude, and Augustine Baron)
Counseling Utilization by Ethnic Minority Students (Lisa Kearney, Matthew Draper, and Augustine Baron)
Factor Analysis and Concurrent Validity of a University Counseling Center Presenting Problems Checklist (Matthew Draper, Judy Jennings, and Augustine Baron)
A Validation of the Factor Structure of OQ-45 Scores Using Factor Mixture (Seong-Hyeon Kim, S. Natasha Beretvas, and Alissa R. Sherry)
Baldwin, S.A. Wampold, B.E., & Imel, Z.E. (2007). Untangling the alliance-outcome correlation: Exploring the relative importance of therapist and patient variability in the alliance. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 75(6) 842-852
Draper, M.R., Jennings, J., Baron, A., Erdur, O., & Shankar, L. (2002) Time-limited counseling outcome in a nationwide college counseling center sample. Journal of College Counseling, 22.
Erdur, O., Rude, S., & Baron, A (2003). Symptom improvement and length of treatment in ethnically similar and dissimilar client-therapist pairings. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50(1), 52-58.
Erdur-Baker, O, Aberson, C.L., Draper, M.R., & Barrow, J.C. (2006). Nature and Severity of College Students' Psychological Concerns: A Comparison of Clinical and Non-Clinical National Samples. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 37(3), 317-323.
Kearney, L.K., Draper, M.R., & Augustin Baron, A. (2005). Counseling utilization by ethnic minority college students. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 11(3), 272-285.