Lab THRIVE, an initiative by Syracuse University, is progressing in its research on student mental health. Established in 2023, the lab aims to explore factors affecting college students’ adjustment to campus life, focusing on risk and protective elements influencing psychological well-being.
The interdisciplinary team employs various methods to study mental health trends among students and develop strategies for improving support systems. Within a year, they have published academic papers and launched studies on resilience, belonging, help-seeking behaviors, and mental health outcomes.
The lab is co-led by Yanhong Liu from the School of Education; Qingyi Yu from the Barnes Center at The Arch; and Michiko Ueda-Ballmer from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. “It started when Dr. Yu invited me to join the Barnes Center’s research committee,” said Liu. The committee was formed in 2022 to focus on data related to student wellness.
The lab’s pilot study used two years of data to examine wellness activities like physical exercise and pet therapy as predictors of reducing depressive symptoms among students. Another study looked into international students’ help-seeking behaviors.
Yu noted that their projects aim “to offer a holistic view of the integrated health and wellness of Syracuse University students.” These findings assist in strategic planning for university initiatives. “All our studies provide data-driven support for strategic planning within the University’s health and wellness initiatives,” said Yu.
Sarah Litt, a doctoral student involved with Lab THRIVE, described her work as rare within counseling programs: “Opportunities for research like this are rare in counseling programs.” Her contributions include a study highlighting differences in help-seeking behavior among international students based on gender identity and sexual minority status.
Lab THRIVE collaborates with various campus entities such as the Barnes Center at The Arch and TRIO Student Support Services to recruit participants for focus groups starting fall 2025. These will explore how students experience campus life.
Ueda-Ballmer emphasized understanding barriers to help-seeking: “We want to understand not just the barriers to help-seeking but also what promotes a sense of belonging.”
Liu expressed optimism about expanding research capacity: “We hope to publish more studies and attract more doctoral students to the lab.” Additionally, Yu mentioned exploring collaborations with other fields: “We are actively seeking partnerships with researchers from other fields.”
Litt hopes Lab THRIVE continues growing as a model for interdisciplinary research: “There’s so much crossover between psychology, counseling, sociology and public health.”
