Research shows that students experienced more mental health problems during COVID-19, but used fewer support services

Ph.D. in Public Health candidate Elaine Russell and her mentor Kenneth Griffin, professor in the Department of Global and Community Health, at George Mason University’s College of Public Health, collaborated with Tolulope Abidogun, also a Ph.D. in Public Health student, and former Global and Community Health professor Lisa Lindley, now of Lehigh University, to analyze data from the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA III) in an effort to understand how mental health of college students needs have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Psychological Distress, Well-Being, and Mental Health Care Use in the United States: Populations Most at Risk” was published online in Frontiers in public health on October 30, 2024.

“During the pandemic, more American students suffered from mental health issues, but fewer received necessary mental health care,” Russell says.

This study is the first to use a national data set to examine changes in college students’ psychological well-being and their use of mental health services from the pre-COVID-19 period through the peak pandemic.

Russell and the research team found that, consistent with previous research across diverse populations, racial/ethnic, gender, and sexual minority groups were at greater risk for poor mental health during the pandemic. Additional findings showed that students of color, especially female students of color, were less likely to receive mental health services during the pandemic.

“When developing innovative approaches to improve mental health outcomes on college campuses, it is important to be culturally sensitive and understand the diverse needs of the specific student population,” says Russell.

The study used data from before the COVID-19 pandemic (fall 2019 and early spring 2020) and during the pandemic (spring 2021) to examine mental health symptoms and mental health care use among college students. The sample was limited to full-time students between the ages of 18 and 24 attending four-year universities in the United States.

In addition to analyzing the entire sample of college students, the team examined demographic subgroups based on race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

The study used several validated psychological test scales to indicate students’ self-reported levels of psychological distress, loneliness, overall stress, psychological well-being and resilience. Additional survey questions asked about COVID-19-specific stressors, including students’ concerns about themselves or their loved ones contracting COVID-19 and not being able to spend time with the people they care about due to pandemic lockdowns.

Students’ use of mental health services in the 12 months prior to the survey was also assessed.

“These findings are important to better understand subgroups who suffer disproportionately from serious psychological distress but may lack access to necessary care,” the study reports. While issues such as lack of access to mental health care and discrimination within the health care system are undoubtedly factors in students’ reluctance to seek mental health care, the stigma surrounding mental health care is also prohibitive.

“Improvements in mental health care must also address stigma and enable students to access necessary care,” says Russell. Specifying the use of peer health educators and making efforts to normalize mental health care can be effective prevention strategies.

Russell concludes with a call for future research to increase understanding of barriers to mental health service utilization among high-risk college students.