Draw up a research proposal using the template attached below. The methods will be similar to those seen in the Paper attached.
BIO833: Research Project B00673048 Project Title: Investigation of genetic and environmental risk factors for co-morbid depression and anxiety disorders. Supervisor(s): Margaret McLafferty & Elaine Murray Project Location: Remote Working Is ethics approval in place: Yes Background (8 marks): Research Question & Project Aims (4 marks): This project aims to assess whether or not their are particular risk factors & genes that correlate with both anxiety & depression. Project Aims: Proposed Methods (4 marks): Environmental variables Chosen: Childhood Trauma, Age, Gender, Urban/rural settings Will be using saliva samples to assess which genes are correlated with co-morbid anxiety & depression For genetic factors: SNIP data will be analysed from saliva samples to compare prevalence using Chi Squared. For environmental factors: A logistic regression will be run using SPSS statistical software package Limiting Factors (2 marks): Relevant References: Mental health, behavioural problems and treatment seeking among students commencing university in Northern Ireland RESEARCH ARTICLE Mental health, behavioural problems and treatment seeking among students commencing university in Northern Ireland Margaret McLafferty1, Coral R. Lapsley2, Edel Ennis1, Cherie Armour3, Sam Murphy1, Brendan P. Bunting1, Anthony J. Bjourson2, Elaine K. Murray2, Siobhan M. O’Neill1* 1 School of Psychology, Ulster University, Magee Campus, Derry/Londonderry, United Kingdom, 2 Northern Ireland Centre for Stratified Medicine, Biomedical Sciences Research Institute Ulster University, C-TRIC, Altnagelvin Hospital, Derry/Londonderry, United Kingdom, 3 School of Psychology, Ulster University, Coleraine Campus, Coleraine, United Kingdom * sm.oneill@ulster.ac.uk Abstract Mental health and behavioural problems are common among students commencing univer- sity. University life can be stressful and problems often exacerbate during their course of study, while others develop disorders for the first time. The WHO World Mental Health Sur- veys International College Student Project aims to conduct longitudinal research to examine and monitor student mental health and wellbeing. The Ulster University Student Wellbeing study, which commenced in September 2015 in Northern Ireland (NI), was conducted as part of this initiative (wave 1, n = 739), using the WMH-CIDI to examine psychopathology. Baseline prevalence rates of lifetime and 12-month mental health and substance disorders, ADHD and suicidality were high, with more than half of new undergraduate students report- ing any lifetime disorder. Co-morbidity was common with 19.1% of students experiencing three or more disorders. Logistic regression models revealed that females, those over 21, non-heterosexual students, and those from a lower SES background were more likely to have a range of mental health and behavioural problems. Overall, 10% of new entry stu- dents received treatment for emotional problems in the previous year. However, 22.3% of students with problems said they would not seek help. The study provides important infor- mation for universities, policy makers and practice, on mental health and wellbeing in young people generally but particularly for students commencing university. The findings will assist in the development and implementation of protection and prevention strategies in the univer- sity setting and beyond. Introduction Many mental health problems emerge before the age of 18 with the period from 18 to 25 being a particularly susceptible developmental time in a person’s life [1]. For many young adults, this may coincide with their time at university. Starting university is a key life transition, which can be extremely stressful for some people. For a number of students, pre-existing mental health PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188785 December 13, 2017 1 / 14 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 OPENACCESS Citation: McLafferty M, Lapsley CR, Ennis E, Armour C, Murphy S, Bunting BP, et al. (2017) Mental health, behavioural problems and treatment seeking among students commencing university in Northern Ireland. PLoS ONE 12(12): e0188785. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188785 Editor: Daimei Sasayama, Shinshu University School of Medicine, JAPAN Received: April 25, 2017 Accepted: November 12, 2017 Published: December 13, 2017 Copyright: © 2017 McLafferty et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: Data access restrictions apply for ethical reasons as data contain sensitive participant information. Restrictions are imposed by Ulster University Research Ethics Committee. Data are available from the Ulster University Institutional Data Access / Ethics Committee for researchers who meet the criteria for access to confidential data (contact:n. curry@ulster.ac.uk). Funding: This work was financed by a grant awarded to A. J. Bjourson under the European https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188785 http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0188785&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-12-13 http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0188785&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-12-13 http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0188785&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-12-13 http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0188785&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-12-13 http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0188785&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-12-13 http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0188785&domain=pdf&date_stamp=2017-12-13 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188785 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ mailto:n.curry@ulster.ac.uk mailto:n.curry@ulster.ac.uk problems may be aggravated during this transition. These problems may persist or indeed worsen during their course of study and can have an impact on academic performance [2–4]. For others, however, the stress of university life and adapting to a new social environment can trigger psychopathology [5,6]. Recent research has revealed a high and increasing prevalence of psychopathology among students in higher education [7]. Indeed, the issue is becoming a growing concern globally [8– 10]. For example, in 2014, a large-scale study reported that 32.6% of American students said that they were so depressed they found it difficult to function, 54% reported overwhelming anxiety and 8.1% had seriously considered suicide [11]. In 2015, depression rates had increased to 36.1%, anxiety to 58.6%, and seriously considering suicide rose to 10.3% [7]. In relation to clinical estimates, the Healthy Minds study of over 14,000 American college students reported that 17.3% met the criteria for depression, 7% for generalised anxiety disorders, 4.1% for panic disorders, 6.3% for suicide ideation and 15.3% for self-harm [12]. High prevalence rates of mental health problems and suicidality have also been found among university students in the UK. For example, when compared to their pre-entry levels, undergraduate students reported increased levels of anxiety during their first year [6,13], and poorer psychological wellbeing throughout their time at university [6]. Another study [14] reported that nearly a quarter of first year students had clinical levels of psychological distress. Furthermore, it has suggested that the increases in psychological problems may be related to widening participation in UK universities, with 17.3% of students having mental health prob- lems, similar to rates found in the general population [15]. In addition to adapting to university life, many students are also adapting to their transition into adulthood. It has been suggested that the first few months at university are particularly challenging and stressful due to numerous psychosocial adjustments [16]. Some students may be living away from their family and friends for the first time. Others may be coming directly from schools, which were very structured, and they may find it difficult to adapt to a less struc- tured academic setting [17]. Many older students often have the added responsibility of caring for family or work commitments, which can lead to added stress. A large-scale study conducted in an Australian university reported that females, those aged 25–34, students with a low income and non-heterosexual students had the highest rates of mental health problems [18]. Additional studies corroborate that females have significantly higher rates of mental health problems [12,19,20]. Students who struggle financially also have significantly higher rates of mental health problems [5,21] than those who do not report finan- cial concerns. Indeed, research has revealed that deprivation has a very negative impact on mental health in NI [22]. Furthermore, high rates of mental illnesses are especially common in those who identify as bi-sexual or homosexual [23]. Moreover, while mental health problems are highly prevalent and persistent, research has shown that many students who meet the criteria for a disorder do not receive treatment [2]. For example, a study found that only 36% of students in the US who had a mental health prob- lem received treatment in the previous 12 months [24]. The uptake of treatment was even lower in a recent cross-national study which examined findings from 21 countries, with only 16.4% of students receiving treatment for their mental health problems in the previous year [4]. Significant gender differences in help seeking have also been found, with 11% of female stu- dents looking for help in comparison to 6% of males [25]. A global survey found that while males made up 43.8% of the student body, they only comprised of 33.9% of clients who pre- sented to college counselling centres [26], suggesting that males tend not to seek help for men- tal health problems. While females generally have higher rates of mood and anxiety disorders [26] this only partially accounts for the gender difference found in help seeking. Mental health and treatment seeking problems among students in Northern Ireland PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188785 December 13, 2017 2 / 14 Union Regional Development Fund (ERDF) EU Sustainable Competitiveness Programme for N. Ireland & the Northern Ireland Public Health Agency (HSC R&D). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188785 While some studies [15,27] reported comparable rates of mental health disorders between the general population and university students, other studies have found significantly higher prevalence rates among students [21,28]. For instance, a study conducted in an Australian uni- versity reported elevated prevalence rates in the student population when compared with the general population, with a quarter of students experiencing very high levels of psychological problems [29]. The first onset of suicidal thoughts and behaviours have also been found to be higher among college students in comparison to the general population [3]. However, cross-national research carried out by the WHO World Mental Health Survey Initiative revealed that 20.3% of students had a 12-month mental health disorder in compari- son to 21.4% of non-students in the population. Conversely, the highest level of 12-month mental health problems was found in those who had commenced university but failed to grad- uate, with 25% of those who dropped out reporting psychological problems [4]. Additionally, those with mental health problems may be less likely to get a place in university, which may partially account for the slightly higher rate of psychopathology found in some studies for non-students [4]. Studies corroborate that mental health problems can impact severely on a student’s life [30]. Indeed, mental health problems considerably disrupt learning ability [10], with psychopathol- ogy, particularly anxiety and depression, being associated with lower grades [31]. In addition, students who had lifetime suicide plans and attempts when entering