YOLO

About

University students are at a heightened risk for a variety of mental and physical health problems, including depression, anxiety, stress, academic and relationship problems, reduced quality of life, decreased well-being, and poor physical health. Prevalence estimates suggest between 12% and 46% of university students will experience mental health difficulties within any given year. Anecdotal evidence from counsellors at American tertiary institutions suggests that this public health problem is worsening with many long-term implications. The YOLO Program is a 4‐week web‐based intervention for university students consisting of four 30–45 minute modules, each targeting one or two of the six ACT core processes. Program content ranges between 5–15 minutes duration for each module. Modules are designed to be completed in sequential order, however previous exercises can be repeated, but participants cannot progress forward until completion of the previous module. The Program content consists of animated presentations, video clips, audio files, and written exercises. No face‐to‐face contact with a counsellor or health professional is required. Developed and evaluated by researchers from The University of Queensland's (UQ) School of Psychology, analysis of a randomised control trial of 1,162 participants showed significant improvements from pre‐ to post‐intervention compared with waitlist control on all primary outcomes and ACT processes. All YOLO intervention gains were maintained at follow‐up.