Sixty percent of college students say the pandemic has made it difficult to access mental health care, even as financial stress and the prevalence of depression increased among them, according to a new survey on the impact of COVID-19 on the welfare of the students.
The survey conducted by the Healthy Minds Network for Research on Adolescent and Young Adult Mental Health and the American College Health Association yielded results of 18,764 students on 14 campuses. The researchers say that much of what they found is more confirmatory than surprising, but having the solid data will help universities make decisions about providing mental health and wellness services to students.
Among the results:
- Sixty-six percent of students report that the pandemic has caused them more financial stress, “a known predictor of student metal health,” according to the report on the survey results, and 35.7 percent say they moved into a new life situation. as a result of the pandemic.
- The prevalence of depression among college students has increased since the pandemic caused campus closings this spring compared to fall 2019, while the prevalence of substance abuse decreased (see chart below). A higher proportion of students (30.5 percent compared to 21.9 percent the previous fall) reported that their mental health negatively affected their academic performance on at least six days during the previous four weeks.
- About 15 percent of students report having a probable case of COVID-19, although less than 1 percent of students said the diagnosis was confirmed with a test. Among students who reported having confirmed or probable cases, 5.5 percent describe their symptoms as severe, 35.1 percent as moderate, 55.3 percent as mild, and 4.1 percent said they were asymptomatic.
- Students express high levels of concern about how long the pandemic will last. About a quarter of students, 25.8 percent, say they are “very” or “extremely” concerned about contracting the virus, while 64.4 percent say they are “very” or “extremely” concerned about a person they care about getting COVID- 19)
- Five and a half percent of students reported experiencing discriminatory or hostile behavior based on their race or ethnicity as a result of the pandemic, and 41 percent reported having witnessed discriminatory behavior online or in person.
- The vast majority of students, 84 percent, say that public health agencies are their most reliable source of information about the pandemic. About 60 percent say they have been “very closely” following the recommendations for hygiene practices, and about 70 percent say they have been “very closely” following the recommendations for physical and social distancing.
- Of the 41.8 percent of students who attempted to seek mental health care during the pandemic, 23.3 percent said it had been “much more difficult” to access care, and 36.8 percent said it was “somewhat more difficult.”
- About 69 percent of the students said that their campus administration supported them during the pandemic, and about 78 percent said their teachers supported them.
Mary Hoban, director of research for the American College Health Association, emphasized that the data was collected during a fairly narrow window between March and May, when universities that had not used telehealth before the pandemic had to quickly establish new telehealth systems. . She said college counseling centers also initially struggled with state-level licensing regulations that prohibited providing mental health services through state lines; Many of those regulations have been relaxed during the public health emergency.
Hoban expects the outlook for mental health access and college counseling center capacity to improve in the fall.
“It doesn’t mean that all the challenges have been addressed, but we will have better systems for licensing regulations across states and for establishing a new client, a new patient,” he said. “Those were things that were big challenges in the beginning.”
At the same time, Hoban expressed concern about the possibility of universities reducing spending on mental health services while struggling with broader financial challenges. About 20 percent of institutions that responded to a separate ACHA survey reported having had unexpected staff reductions this summer.
Sarah Ketchen Lipson, co-principal investigator for the Healthy Minds National Study and an assistant professor of law, policy and health management at Boston University, said the results highlight the need to protect budgets for mental health support and ensure that students are aware of the resources available to them, including telehealth resources.
“The challenge before us is what we can do to increase access, increase students’ understanding of the mental health services landscape, which looks very different from how it looked before,” he said.
Lipson said that teachers have a bigger role to play in caring for students’ well-being and referring them to mental health services as needed. With students who have fewer interactions with their peers, athletic coaches, and student life staff, she said teachers have a greater role as guardians. She suggested that teachers should put information about mental health and wellness resources in their study plans and take the time to mention those resources in their first class and at stressful points in the semester, such as during midterms and final exams.
Lipson also highlighted the need for partnerships between on-campus counseling centers and financial aid offices in light of the financial stressors faced by many students.
David M. Arnold, assistant vice president for health, safety and wellness initiatives at NASPA, an association of student affairs administrators, echoed the idea that responsibility for student mental health “is not the sole responsibility of the center counseling and clinical staff. “
“The data from this survey can help inform what questions campuses can ask locally to design service delivery and design to better accommodate students,” Arnold said by email. “The data also helps fill in a picture of the needs of students beyond mental health. When basic needs (physiological, security, protection) are threatened, that threat leads to our mental health. Students’ feelings of economic uncertainty may be the biggest threat that campuses can try to adjust by ensuring continued student employment, internships, and other professional services. The survey also does well to identify that COVID-19-related problems do not exist in isolation from public exposure and response to systemic racial oppression, which is directly material to mental health and social identity. “
