Literature

This page includes links to some resources that we used to guide and inform our conversation around well-being at Bates.

College Student Well-Being

Moeller, R.W., & Seehuus, M. (2019). Loneliness as a mediator for college students’ social skills and experiences of depression and anxietyJournal of Adolescence, 73. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.03.006

Moeller, R.W., Seehuus, M., & Peisch, V. (2020). Emotional intelligence, belongingness, and mental health in college studentsFrontiers in Psychology, 11(93). doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00093

Both publications below show the impacts of belonging, social-emotional skills, and loneliness on college student mental health. When individuals are able to attend to all areas of their well-being, there are measurable impacts on mental health symptoms.

Definitions of Wellness & Well-Being

Muldoon, C. (2022, August, 23). Wellness vs. well-being: What’s the difference?. WebMD.

Stara, J., & Charvat, M. (2013). Wellness: Its origins, theories and current applications in the United States. Acta Salus Vitae, 1(2), p. 80-91.

Both of these articles provide background information on how the terms “wellness” and “well-being” are often used, the distinctions between them, and their history.

Desmond Tutu, Ubuntu and the Possibility of Hope

Buckingham, W. (2022, January 13). Desmond Tutu, ubuntu and the possibility of hope. Looking for wisdom.

This article provides an overview of the African philosophy of “Ubuntu,” as described by Desmond Tutu. The philosophy supports the importance of “belonging,” “a delicate network of relationships,” and “interdependence” as a contrast to Euro-centric centering on the individual that can come at the expense of a communal centering.

Dimensions of Wellness

Hettler, B., Weston, C., Carini, J., & Amundson, J. (1980). Wellness Promotion on a University CampusFamily and Community Health3(1), 77–95.

Dr. Bill Hettler, co-founder of the National Wellness Institute, writes about the implementation of an early iteration of the Dimensions of Wellness framework, utilizing six dimensions, on a college campus.

Stoewen, D. (2017). Dimensions of wellness: Change your habits, change your life. The Canadian Veterinary Journal, 58(8), p. 861-862. PMID: 28761196; PMCID: PMC5508938.

This article offers strategies for integrating the dimensions of wellness into your daily life, utilizing self-awareness, self-regulation, and habit building.

The Relationship Between Race and Wellness Has Never Been More Pressing

Solly, M. (2021, August 23). The relationship between race and wellness has never been more pressing. Smithsonian Magazine.

This article cites Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka’s public conversations about their mental health as an opportunity to explore the relationship between race and wellness. It also provides information about The Smithsonian’s Reckoning With Our Racial Past initiative, centered on “six thematic pillars: race and wellness; race and wealth; race and place; race, policy and ethics; race beyond the U.S.; and race, arts and aesthetics.”