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Using a mixed-methods case study approach, the research evaluated the fall break’s impact on student mental health. Surveys showed students overwhelmingly liked the break and perceived reduced school-related stress, while focus groups highlighted how students understand stress and use coping strategies, informing practical policy guidance.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/stress-testing-the-university-fall-break-policy-understanding-the-impact-on-student-mental-health/596959/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/stress-testing-the-university-fall-break-policy-understanding-the-impact-on-student-mental-health/596959.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Danger Angel","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":29},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why did Canadian universities introduce a fall break?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Many universities implemented a fall break believing it could alleviate students’ stress and anxiety and support mental health.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What did the surveys and focus groups show about the fall break?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Surveys indicated students overwhelmingly liked the break and felt it reduced school-related stress, while focus groups provided deeper insights into stress understanding and coping among university students.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How does the research help post-secondary institutions evaluate the policy?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"It offers practical policy suggestions to determine whether a fall break week can effectively address students’ stress and anxiety.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},596959,1792889292,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":29,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962090769052,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","Stress Testing the University Fall Break Policy: Understanding the Impact on Student Mental  \nHealth  \nKelly A. Pilato Brock University  \nMiya Narushima Brock University  \nMadelyn P. Law Brock University  \nJohn A. Hay Brock University  \nShannon A. Moore Brock University  \nAbstract  \nAttempting to support student mental health, many Canadian universities have implemented a fall break with the assumption it would be helpful in alleviating students’ stress and anxiety. However, there is no baseline data regarding stress level or mental illness burden of students to understand its effectiveness. Using case study methodology with mixed methods, this research sought to appraise, given a lack of baseline data, the impact of a fall break on student mental health. While the surveys revealed that students overwhelmingly liked the break and perceived it to reduce their school related stress, the focus groups revealed key insights into understanding stress and coping among university students about how students like to de-stress that have practical implications for any policy aimed at promoting students’ mental wellness. This research offers practical policy suggestions to help post-secondary institutions determine whether a fall break week can be effective in addressing students’ stress and anxiety.  \nKeywords: fall break, mental health, stress, policy evaluation, higher education  \nRésumé  \nPour soutenir la santé mentale des étudiants, des universités canadiennes ont instauré un congé d’automne visant à atténuer le stress et l’anxiété . Toutefois, il n’existe aucune donnée sur le niveau de stress ou le fardeau de la maladie mentale chez les étudiants. Avec la méthodologie d’une étude de cas et une combinaison d’approches, cette étude visait à évaluer les effets du congé sur la santé mentale des étudiants. D’après les enquêtes, le congé est apprécié de la majorité des étudiants, qui considèrent qu’il permet de réduire le stress lié aux études. Les groupes de discussion ont révélé des éléments clés sur le stress et sa gestion chez les étudiants, qui ont des incidences pratiques sur toute politique sur le mieux-être mental des étudiants. L’étude offre des suggestions de politiques pour aider les établissements postsecondaires à déterminer l’efficacité d’une semaine de congé dans la réduction du stress et de l’anxiété des étudiants.  \nMots-clés : congé d’automne, santé mentale, stress, évaluation des politiques, enseignement supérieur  \nIntroduction  \nIt appears that the prevalence, severity, and persistence of mental health issues is increasing across NorthAmerican post-secondary campuses with university and college students now viewed as a high-risk population (Linden &  \nStuart, 2020; Porter, 2019) . Students increasingly report greater levels of stress and anxiety (Xiao et al., 2017) and cases of resulting suicides are well publicized. As mental illness often develops between the ages of 15 and 24 (Eisenberg et al., 2007), post-secondary students are a particular at-risk group. With 2.1 million part-and full-time  \nCanadian Journal of Higher Education | Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur 52:1 (2022)   \npost-secondary students in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2019), their mental health is a significant concern.  \nThere is a well-established relationship between academic performance and health (Matingwina, 2018)—the better your health, the better your academic performance. It is reasonable to argue then that reducing stress should lead to improved mental health with better post-secondary academic outcomes as a result. While it seems that there has been a rise in the number of students seeking mental health treatment (Council of Ontario Universities, 2021; Oswalt et al. , 2020), there are still a large number of students in need of support but who do not seek treatment and are left untreated with no real explanation as to why (Corscadden et al. , 2019; Seehuus et al. , 2019) . There is evidence that suggests that socio-economic dispari","cbCainJbqgeCFJ3Y","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCainJbqgeCFJ3Y","pdf",186396,13,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Background on student mental health and stress\n## Relationship between academic performance and health\n## Barriers to treatment and policy limitations\n## Pandemic-related intensification of the crisis","[{\"question\":\"Why did Canadian universities introduce a fall break?\",\"answer\":\"Many universities implemented a fall break believing it could alleviate students’ stress and anxiety and support mental health.\"},{\"question\":\"What did the surveys and focus groups show about the fall break?\",\"answer\":\"Surveys indicated students overwhelmingly liked the break and felt it reduced school-related stress, while focus groups provided deeper insights into stress understanding and coping among university students.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the research help post-secondary institutions evaluate the policy?\",\"answer\":\"It offers practical policy suggestions to determine whether a fall break week can effectively address students’ stress and anxiety.\"}]","Stress Testing the University Fall Break Policy: Understanding the Impact on Student Mental Health | PDF",1792084088,33]