College students report depression, anxiety, and stress , with approximately one in three undergraduate students revealing levels of depression high enough to impede function, as well as nearly one in 10 students indicating that they were high-risk for suicidal attempts in the previous year . Despite these data, the importance-and treatment-of mental health issues, particularly for college-aged young adults, are not widely recognized by policy makers, health-care providers, and the general public . Indeed, research on coping strategies and resilience show promise (for example, see [10,11]), but are often ignored for this age group, considered to be in the prime of their lives, yet also not quite mature enough to be suffering from “real” problems associated with adulthood . The following literature review provides a glimpse into research on the interpersonal mental illness experiences of college students, particularly the impact of perceived and/or diagnosed mental illness on their social and romantic relationships.
Within the young adult population, college students experience mental health problems at alarming rates, with recent surveys finding that over half of students reporting overwhelming anxiety, and over 1/3 reporting depression in the past year . Indeed, the literature suggests that a wide range of emotional problems, beyond depression, are significantly associated with lower academic functioning . Students of color face additional mental illness risks due to perceived discrimination, especially at primarily White institutions (PWIs), tied to race-related stressors and unease during their college experience [17,18].
Additional outcomes include increased physical and sexual health risks, juvenile delinquency, underemployment, substance abuse, unhealthy weight gain, and premature mortality [12,15,16]
Among college students of all racial/ethnic backgrounds, there is an especially high prevalence of alcohol use disorders [19,20]. Continue reading „1.1. Mental Illness Trends in College Students“