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. 2023;2(1):2220358.
doi: 10.1080/28324765.2023.2220358. Epub 2023 Jun 28.

Mental health among first-generation college students: Findings from the national Healthy Minds Study, 2018-2021

Sarah Ketchen Lipson  1 , Yareliz Diaz  1 , Jayne Davis  2 , Daniel Eisenberg  3
Affiliations

Mental health among first-generation college students: Findings from the national Healthy Minds Study, 2018-2021

Sarah Ketchen Lipson et al. Cogent Ment Health. 2023.

Abstract

A mounting body of evidence reveals that college mental health outcomes are worsening over time. That said, little is known about the mental health needs of the nearly eight million first-generation students in U.S. postsecondary education. The present study uses population-level data from the national Healthy Minds Study to compare prevalence of mental health symptoms and use of services for first-generation and continuing-generation students from 2018-2021. The sample includes 192,202 students at 277 campuses, with 17.3% being first-generation. Findings reveal a high prevalence of mental health symptoms among both first-generation and continuing-generation students. Controlling for symptoms, FG students had significantly lower rates of mental health service use. Just 32.8% of first-generation students with symptoms received therapy in the past year, relative to 42.8% among continuing-generation students, and this disparity widened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings have important implications for the design and implementation of higher education policies, mental health delivery systems, college persistence and retention initiatives, and public health efforts in school settings.

Keywords: college student populations; first-generation students; mental health; mental health treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interest statement: The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Barriers to mental health treatment among students with symptoms.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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