The Critical Link Between Mental Health and Student Success

Estela M. Rivero (left) and M. Dolores Cimini (right) are co-editors of a new book that blends decades of research on college students’ behavioral health.

ALBANY, N.Y. (Sept. 20, 2018) — A new book edited by UAlbany’s M. Dolores Cimini and Estela M. Rivero blends decades of research on college students’ behavioral health and offers guidance for evidence-based prevention strategies on college campuses nationwide.

Cimini, the director of the Center for Behavioral Health Promotion and Applied Research, and Rivero, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, released Promoting Behavioral Health and Reducing Risk Among College Students: A Comprehensive Approach. The book is designed to translate research on mental health, substance misuse and abuse, and interpersonal and intimate partner violence on college campuses into practical applications for campus mental health providers.

Cimini and Rivero, both licensed psychologists, say the book is intended to reach both practitioners and researchers involved in providing prevention, early intervention and treatment services for college students. They made the decision to write the book based on evidence of what they said is the “critical link” between college student behavioral health with student persistence, retention and college completion.

The book, published by Routledge, is already receiving high praise from others in the field, with Chris Brownson of the University of Texas at Austin commenting that the book “should be required reading in our field.”

Brownson added, "A comprehensive and current accounting of the behavioral health vulnerabilities and associated prevention-related interventions for college and university students is long overdue. This book provides practical information for preventionists wanting to apply their skills to college student mental health or for mental health and student affairs professionals who need to expand their skills to include public health approaches in higher education.”

The book can be purchased in paperback, hardback or electronically here.

For more news, subscribe to UAlbany's RSS headline feeds