How Have U.S. College Students’ Self-Reported Mental and Physical Health Shifted During the Pandemic?: A 3-Year Repeated Cross-Sectional Examination

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although the COVID-19 pandemic has caused tremendous disruptions in many college students’ lives and increased rates of internalizing symptoms and perceived stress, multi-year trends in student mental health are still being uncovered. Moreover, very few longitudinal studies investigate changes in psychosocial stressors identified by students in their own words. The present study addressed these needs in the literature using self-report data collected from three cohorts of college students (total N = 1,042) recruited across three academic years (2020–2023). A mixed-methods approach was used to explore links between self-report quantitative data regarding mental health symptoms (e.g. depression, anxiety, somatization) and qualitative write-in data regarding psychosocial challenges experienced during the pandemic. Elevated mental health symptoms and lower-than-normative levels of perceived physical health persisted across all three years, with anxiety and somatization being most elevated in the final year. Through write-in data, students identified a wide range of challenges, including regarding mental health, finances, and remote learning, with many being linked to mental health symptoms. In the latter years, they reported emerging difficulties with face-to-face activities and lowered confidence in one’s skills. Findings indicate a strong, continuing need for targeted and universal intervention, with special attention to anxiety-related symptoms associated with late-to-post-pandemic stressors.