Background:

Mental health issues are increasing in higher education and finding ways for students to get help when needed is important.

Objective:

We tested if the tone of a short syllabus and the presence of a special statement addressing mental health would increase intentions to approach instructors for help.

Method:

We used a 2 (Tone: warm vs. cold) × 2(Statement: present vs. absent) experimental design. Participants (N = 257) read one of four, two-page syllabi, and rated intentions to reach out for help and the instructor.

Results:

We found a main effect for tone on three Reach Out statements and ratings of the instructor. Presence of the statement influenced likelihood to reach out for help with personal problems.

Conclusions:

Both the tone of a short syllabus and the presence of statements normalizing reaching out for help can influence student intentions to contact instructors for help.

Teaching Implications:

Writing a warm toned syllabus and addressing stress and mental health with a university statement may increase student’s intentions to ask for help.

中文翻译：

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教学大纲语气，不仅是心理健康方面的陈述，还会影响寻求帮助的意愿

背景：

高等教育中的心理健康问题正在增加，因此在必要时寻找学生寻求帮助的方法很重要。

客观的：

我们测试了简短的教学大纲的语气以及针对心理健康的特殊声明是否会增加向教员寻求帮助的意愿。

方法：

我们使用2（色调：温暖vs.寒冷）×2（陈述：当前vs.不存在）的实验设计。参加者（N = 257）阅读了四页，两页的教学大纲中的一种，并给出了意图帮助和指导老师的意图。

结果：

我们发现语气对三个“伸出手”陈述和指导者的评价有主要影响。陈述的存在影响了寻求解决个人问题的可能性。

结论：

简短的教学大纲的语气和规范性地寻求帮助的陈述都会影响学生与教员联系以寻求帮助的意图。

教学意义：

编写暖色调的课程提纲，用大学陈述解决压力和心理健康问题，可能会增加学生寻求帮助的意愿。