The Nurture-U Wellbeing Survey

Our Nurture-U survey ran from 2021-2025

We now have longitudinal data to learn how students are feeling, what services they find helpful, and how this may vary.

Over 14000 students responded to a baseline survey. Over 4000 students provided data over multiple time points.

The information we collected will help us understand what difficulties and problems students are having.

It will help us guide and improve services and resources so they work for all students. It will be open access so other researchers can use it.

Check out our Outputs page for the latest journal articles, as well as the following summaries:

Summary of findings to date

While our analysis is still in progress, we would like to share our preliminary findings with you:

Members of marginalized or minoritized groups (e.g., women, gender-diverse individuals, and those who identify homosexual or bisexual, as well as those reporting disabilities) experienced poorer mental health at the beginning of the academic year.
Students with a history of poor family mental health or adverse childhood experiences exhibited worse mental health at the start of the academic year.
A prior history of mental health issues and previous self-harm were indicators of worsening mental health throughout the academic year.
Greater social support (having someone to talk to) at the year's start was linked to improvements in anxiety, depression, wellbeing, and loneliness over the course of the academic year.
Students appreciated their personal/academic tutor, viewing them as accessible and capable of making significant improvements.
Modifiable lifestyle factors, such as sleep and exercise, were strongly correlated with well-being, anxiety, and depression
Perceived stress at the beginning of the academic year was a predictor of increased depression, anxiety, loneliness, and decreased well-being throughout the year.
Neurodivergent and physically disabled students reported poorer mental health and higher levels of loneliness.eliness had a more pronounced effect on depression symptoms for neurodiverse students compared to their neurotypical peers.