A new report found that one-third of college students reported emotional distress brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
The report, titled “Constant Stress Has Become the New Normal: Stress and Anxiety Inequalities Among U.S. College Students in the Time of COVID-19,” analyzed how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health of college students across the nation.
Over 700 students from 374 colleges across the United States participated in the research, which began in April. A majority of the sample size also engaged in a follow-up survey in July.
The data was broken down based on sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, gender and income.
“There was that hashtag going around that we are all in this together,” said Dr. Lindsay Till Hoyt, an assistant professor of psychology at Fordham University and co-author of this report. “In some ways we are, this is a global phenomenon. But the experiences are a lot more nuanced than that. Students are going to be experiencing different levels of stress and anxiety because of the pandemic. And that is what we are finding.”
For example, women alongside transgender and gender diverse students, experienced higher stress and anxiety levels compared to men, according to the report.
As colleges and universities shutdown in March, students returned home. In some cases, students were given additional caretaker and other household responsibilities such as assisting their siblings with their virtual school assignments.
