The relationship of student-to-student confirmation in the classroom to college students’ mental health and well-being

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of student-to-student confirmation on college students’ self-reported mental health and well-being. It was proposed that confirming messages work to reduce indicators of mental illness (i.e., depression, stress, and anxiety), which in turn affect students’ mental health (i.e., psychological well-being). College students (N = 412) completed a survey questionnaire. Results of correlational and mediation analyses indicate that student-to-student confirmation is related to psychological well-being as well as indicators of mental illness (i.e., depression). Self-reported depression symptoms mediated the relationship between all three dimensions of student-to-student confirmation and psychological well-being. This study contributes to the growing conversation of college student mental health and its relation to the teaching-learning process, as well as contributing to the theoretical understanding of confirmation in the college classroom.