After earning his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from Cape Breton University, Matthew Sinclair is now back at CBU, working toward a BA (Honours) in Psychology. This time, his focus goes beyond advancing his academics and career goals. Currently working on his thesis, Matthew is conducting a study on housing insecurity within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) to improve the student experience.
Originally from Sydney, Matthew chose to attend CBU because of the opportunity to study close to home. "I've always planned to pursue a master's to become a counsellor, so I came back to school to upgrade my degree," he says. His plans are evolving as CBU's new Bachelor of Social Work degree has caught his attention, and he's considering it as an alternative path. "Social work would allow me to stay at home, which is important since I have a young daughter and an elderly mother to care for."
Matthew's honours research focuses on student housing and its impact on mental health and academic success. "Housing is such a critical part of student life, but it's often overlooked when we talk about student success," he says. Matthew hopes his research will lead to meaningful improvements in housing support within the CBRM.
The research process has been incredibly rewarding for Matthew, particularly with the support of his professor, Dr. Peter MacIntyre, with whom he took classes before. His thesis supervisors, Dr. Heather Schmidt and Dr. Pablo Santos-Iglesias, have also been key mentors and supporters. "They've all been amazing," he says. "I couldn't have done this without their help and guidance."
Matthew's study builds on a 2022 qualitative interview study involving nine participants. This time, he's aiming for a much larger sample by running a survey open to all CBU students. Students in the Psychology program participating in the study can get extra credits through the Sona system. The survey covers topics like living conditions, rent affordability, academic experience and the overall impact of housing on mental health.
"Our goal from this study is to get a real sense of what pressures students are under and an updated understanding of the challenges they face," Matthew explains. "Ideally, we can pass that information on to maybe inform policy change and develop services to help support students' needs."
Matthew encourages current CBU students who have experienced housing insecurity while attending university to participate in his survey. The survey, hosted in Qualtrics, takes about 10-15 minutes to complete and provides students an opportunity to share their experiences. The results will help Matthew gather more accurate and up-to-date data for his thesis.
Click here to take the survey: https://cbu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bHlLMdmGDFQd4Ro?Q_CHL=qr
