2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This work-in-progress research addresses that while mental health is a growing concern in engineering education, existing support services often fail to account for the diverse cultural backgrounds of students. This study addresses this gap by leveraging Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) framework to reframe cultural differences as assets. The project explores how six forms of cultural capital (aspirational, familial, social, navigational, resistant, and linguistic) influence engineering students' mental health experiences across their undergraduate studies and into post-graduation transitions to graduate school and the workforce. By examining how CCW shapes coping mechanisms and help-seeking behaviors over time, this work aims to inform the design of more culture-positive support services. This study is guided by three primary research questions: (1) How does resistant capital influence engineering identity to shape students' attitudes toward seeking mental health support? (2) How do cultural values rooted in familial and social capital influence students' willingness to engage with professional mental health services? (3) In what ways do institutional structures currently support or undermine students' CCW in the context of mental health?

Our methodology consists of a secondary thematic analysis of longitudinal interviews previously conducted with engineering students at two institutions with large engineering programs. These interviews explored the connection between engineering identity and help seeking attitudes for mental health issues. A novel codebook aligned with the CCW framework will be created to identify how students utilize their cultural assets when navigating their degree and mental health challenges, with a focus on how these strategies shift over time.

This submission will detail our theoretical framework, analytical approach, and the development of our CCW-based codebook. The anticipated outcomes will provide actionable insights into engineering students’ holistic well-being for educators, administrators, and student support staff, establishing a foundation for developing more culturally responsive and effective mental health support practices in higher education.