JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Research shows that emerging adults face numerous stressors as they transition from adolescence to adulthood. This paper investigates emerging adults’ lived experiences of maintaining mental wellbeing during major life events and challenges associated with this transitional period. As we continue to design health technology to support students’ mental health needs, it is imperative to understand the fundamental needs and issues particular to this phase of their life to better engage and lower the barriers to seeking help.

Objective:

Our study first aims to understand how emerging adults currently seek and receive support to maintain their mental wellbeing while going through frequent life events during their emerging adulthood. We then provide design requirements for how social and technical systems should support their mental wellbeing maintenance practice.

Methods:

Semi-structured interviews with 19 students, including graduate and undergraduate students, were conducted at a large university in the Midwest in the U.S.

Results:

Our study findings identify three key needs: students (1) need to receive help that aligns with the perceived severity of the problem caused by a life event; (2) have to continuously rebuild relationships with support-givers due to frequent life events; and (3) negotiate tensions between the need to disclose and the stigma associated with disclosure. The study also identifies three key factors related to maintaining mental wellbeing: time, audience, and disclosure.

Conclusions:

Based on our empirical findings, we discuss how and when help should be delivered through technology to better address emerging adults’ needs for maintaining their mental wellbeing, and we argue for reconceptualizing seeking/receiving help as a co-learning process.