Mental Health of College Students
January 2023
Mental Health of College Students
The mental health of students is a significant concern on college campuses, with one in three college students meeting criteria for a significant mental health problem (as cited in Lipson et al., 2018). This burden is greater for community college students, with more than half screening positive for mental health conditions and only 30% seeking treatment (Lipson et al., 2021). Symptoms of depression and substance use are independent predictors of college retention difficulties, a fact that highlights the importance of mental health screening and treatment in this population.
The first section of this Editor’s Choice collection focuses on the prevalence and impact of mental illness in college students. The second section explores college mental health in specific populations, describing disparities in receiving care for students from racial-ethnic minority backgrounds, and includes an example of a potential solution: culturally informed programs. The final section highlights approaches to increase mental health service utilization among college students, including establishing a formal network of campus mental health clinics, improving support for mental health issues on campus, and leveraging digital interventions.
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TREATMENT NEEDS
Mental Health Conditions Among Community College Students: A National Study of Prevalence and Use of Treatment Services
Sarah Ketchen Lipson, Ph.D., Ed.M., Megan V. Phillips, M.A., Nathan Winquist, M.S., Daniel Eisenberg, Ph.D., Emily G. Lattie, Ph.D.
2021; Volume 72, Issue 10, pp. 1126-1133
Increased Rates of Mental Health Service Utilization by U.S. College Students: 10-Year Population-Level Trends (2007–2017)
Sarah Ketchen Lipson, Ph.D., Ed.M., Emily G. Lattie, Ph.D., Daniel Eisenberg, Ph.D.
2018; Volume 70, Issue 1, pp. 60-63
Discontinuous College Enrollment: Associations With Substance Use and Mental Health
Amelia M. Arria, Ph.D., Kimberly M. Caldeira, M.S., Kathryn B. Vincent, M.A., Emily R. Winick, B.A., Rebecca A. Baron, B.A., and Kevin E. O'Grady, Ph.D.
2013; Volume 64, Issue 2, pp. 165-172
Help Seeking and Mental Health Service Utilization Among College Students With a History of Suicide Ideation
Amelia M. Arria, Ph.D., Emily R. Winick, B.A., Laura M. Garnier-Dykstra, M.A., Kathryn B. Vincent, M.A., Kimberly M. Caldeira, M.S., Holly C. Wilcox, Ph.D., and Kevin E. O'Grady, Ph.D.
2011; Volume 62, Issue 12, pp. 1510-1513
Factors Affecting Mental Health Service Utilization Among California Public College and University Students
Lisa Sontag-Padilla, Ph.D., Michelle W. Woodbridge, Ph.D., Joshua Mendelsohn, Ph.D., Elizabeth J. D'Amico, Ph.D., Karen Chan Osilla, Ph.D., Lisa H. Jaycox, Ph.D., Nicole K. Eberhart, Ph.D., Audrey M. Burnam, Ph.D., Bradley D. Stein, M.D., Ph.D.
2016; Volume 67, Issue 8, pp. 890-987
SPECIFIC POPULATIONS
Psychiatric Symptoms and Diagnoses Among U.S. College Students: A Comparison by Race and Ethnicity
Justin A. Chen, M.D., M.P.H., Courtney Stevens, Ph.D., Sylvia H. M. Wong, Ed.M., Cindy H. Liu, Ph.D.
2019; Volume 70, Issue 6, pp. 442-449
Cultural and Developmental Principles for Asian American Women’s Mental Health: Lessons From AWARE on College Campuses
Hyeouk “Chris” Hahm, Ph.D., L.C.S.W., Cindy H. Liu, Ph.D., Martha C. Tompson, Ph.D.
2020; Volume 71, Issue 11, pp. 1199-1202
Mental Health Treatment Seeking Among Veteran and Civilian Community College Students
John C. Fortney, Ph.D., Geoffrey M. Curran, Ph.D., Justin B. Hunt, M.D., M.S., Liya Lu, M.S., Daniel Eisenberg, Ph.D., Marcia Valenstein, M.D., M.S.
2017; Volume 68, Issue 8, pp. 851-855
TREATMENT LANDSCAPE
Treat and Teach Our Students Well: College Mental Health and Collaborative Campus Communities
Nancy S. Downs, M.D., Tracy Alderman, Ph.D., Katharina Schneiber, M.D., Neal R. Swerdlow, M.D., Ph.D.
2016; Volume 67, Issue 9, pp. 957-963
Unmet Mental Health Treatment Need and Attitudes Toward Online Mental Health Services Among Community College Students
Michael S. Dunbar, Ph.D., Lisa Sontag-Padilla, Ph.D., Courtney A. Kase, M.P.H., Rachana Seelam, M.P.H., Bradley D. Stein, M.D., Ph.D.
2018; Volume 69, Issue 5, pp. 597-600
Smartphone Apps for College Mental Health: A Concern for Privacy and Quality of Current Offerings
Jennifer Melcher, B.A., and John Torous, M.D., M.B.I.
2020; Volume 71, Issue 11, pp. 1114-1119
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