The coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected the mental health of college students nationwide, according to recent studies. To better serve its own students, Penn State recently funded a five-year extension of a study with researchers at the University to gain further insight into its students’ mental health status and needs.
“We’re partnering with Student Affairs, University Health Services, the Piazza Center and other stakeholders to understand the mental health of our students over time,” said Stephanie Lanza, professor of biobehavioral health and director of the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, who is leading the study.
This study is an extension of Lanza’s College Experiences and Relationships (CORE) project, a partnership she established with the University in 2019 to assess students’ well-being, physical health, mental health and substance use behaviors.
“The CORE research project is a valuable source of data that informs Student Affairs staff in our delivery of programming and services to support the well-being of students,” said Linda LaSalle, director of Health Promotion and Wellness in Student Affairs.
This project is funded by Penn State’s Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, the Social Science Research Institute, and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.
“For a number of years, Penn State's administration has demonstrated a commitment not only to providing mental health services — for example, by expanding the number of staff at CAPS [Counseling and Psychological Services] — but also to studying mental health, as evidenced by their financial support of the CORE project,” said Jeffrey Hayes, Penn State professor of education and psychology, who is an expert in collegiate mental health and has served as a consultant for the project team.
Beginning this fall, Lanza’s team will send annual surveys to randomly selected first- through fourth-year Penn State students at University Park and several Commonwealth Campuses. The students will be surveyed through the year following their graduation. This year’s survey will include questions about health-related behaviors, substance use, food and housing insecurity, discrimination, and feelings of belonging.
Previous findings from the CORE project recently published in the journal PLOS ONE found a significant increase in the percentage of Penn State students reporting elevated levels of depression symptoms — from 44.1% of students surveyed in November 2019 to 61.2% of students surveyed in May 2020.
“This absolutely reflects a nationwide trend. We shouldn’t underestimate the impact that current events are having on the mental health of students,” Lanza said.
There are many wellness and mental health resources available for Penn State students. Brett Scofield, associate director with CAPS, shared this message for students: “The important thing to know is that Penn State cares, we are here for you, and we are equipped to support and empower you.”
An ongoing commitment to studying student health and well-being
“The CORE data has helped us identify areas of need for students, and we anticipate that future data from this project will continue to provide insight about critical health and wellness issues challenging the academic success of students,” LaSalle said.
Hayes said one of the valuable aspects of this data is that it is longitudinal. “Other data sets on college student mental health, such as the Healthy Minds study, tend to provide snapshots of a cohort with no indication of how a student's mental health changes over time,” said Hayes.
Since 2019, Lanza’s team has signed up thousands of Penn State students who have agreed to be contacted about possible participation in future studies.
“The benefit of being at a research university like Penn State is that researchers can request to contact those students and enroll them in additional studies such as mindfulness interventions or in-depth studies of sleep health or physical activity,” Lanza said. “We’re hoping that this project will become a platform for many researchers to build upon.”
“Students suffered during the pandemic, and recovery is a gradual process,” Lanza added. “At no point should we forget their mental health and well-being. Attending to their needs is critical.”