Mental health disorders surge among college students returning to campus, survey finds
The coronavirus pandemic has brought an onslaught of challenges for college students: virtual learning, financial responsibilities in the face of unemployment and an unwavering worry over possible infection.
Now, a new report on thousands of university students across nine public research institutions in the U.S. shows how those challenges manifest internally, with more than a third revealing they have been experiencing significant mental health problems.
The majority of students reporting anxiety and depression were low-income, individuals of color, part of the LGBTQ+ community and those caring for loved ones, according to the new survey co-led by the University of California, Berkeley, Center for the Study of Higher Education and the University of Minnesota.
Students who said they did not adapt well to remote learning also experienced higher levels of anxiety and depression compared to other subgroups, the report said. The findings come as universities across the nation reverse fall learning plans and send their students home as COVID-19 cases surge on campuses.
“As the pandemic continues, universities need to be prepared for a surge of student requests for mental health services in the fall and beyond,” Igor Chirikov, a senior researcher at the CSHE and director of the Student Experience in the Research University Consortium, said in a news release. “Current plans to continue education with remote or hybrid instruction won’t be effective without adequate resources for mental health support programs.”
The researchers had 30,725 undergraduate students and 15,346 graduate and professional students from nine different institutions answer a survey on their mental health from May to July.
Due to member agreements with the SERU Consortium, “the individual identity of the participating institutions is never disclosed in research,” Krista Soria, SERU assistant director of research and strategic partnerships, told McClatchy News in an email.
In all, 35% of undergraduates and 32% of graduate and professional students screened positive for major depressive disorder, the survey showed — that’s about 10,750 students and 4,910 students, respectively.
Meanwhile, 39% of all student participants, or about 17,960 students, screened positive for anxiety disorder. For both undergrads and graduate students, those who major in the arts, humanities, communication and design reported more mental health challenges than those in other fields of study.
The researchers wondered if the “widespread social unrest” over George Floyd’s death by police in Minnesota played a role in the students’ mental health, but they said the events “didn’t cause a shift in the depression and anxiety rates measured” in late May when protests began.
“That leaves the COVID-19 pandemic as the strongest likely cause of the surge in mental health issues,” Chirikov said.
And compared to a similar study on college students last year, the number of students screening positive for anxiety disorder rose by 50%, according to the report.
The prevalence of major depressive disorder also doubled among graduate and professional students from 2019 to 2020, while generalized anxiety disorder jumped 1.5 times higher.
The researchers suggest universities “expand counseling and therapeutic services, [offer] extensive communication about mental health and available services and increase faculty and staff awareness of mental health challenges among students.”
This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 1:37 PM with the headline "Mental health disorders surge among college students returning to campus, survey finds."
