Breaking Down the Silos: Understanding the Disconnect Between Research on Mental Health and the Experiences and Outcomes of Diverse Students

• In Event: Forging a Research Agenda on the Role of Mental Health in Advancing Racial Equity

Abstract

The first presentation will focus on setting the context for the discussion by presenting national data on mental health and racial disparities. Mental health concerns have become increasingly centered in mainstream media and public discourse over the last few years. Today, few experts would deny that mental health challenges have become a pressing concern across the United States. Mental health issues are believed to be associated with violent crime, the mass shooting epidemic, and increased suicide rates plaguing the nation, to name just a few detrimental consequences (Lamberti, 2016). With signs in widespread coverage of mental health issues in mainstream media widespread coverage of mental health issues in mainstream media, government organizations encouraging the investment of substantially more resources into efforts to address mental health concerns, and President Biden making mental health a central focus of his bipartisan unity agenda (Adedoyin, 2022; Krislov, 2022; White House, 2022), it is difficult to ignore the reality that mental health challenges are at the forefront of many people’s minds, and for good reason.
Research and data on mental health challenges in the U.S. paints a somewhat bleak picture. This evidence shows that mental health problems are widespread, and this is also true among college students specifically as well. For example, the National Healthy Minds Study analyzed data from over 350,000 college students across the nation and noted that over 60% of college students reported experiencing one or more mental health challenges in 2021 (Lipson et al., 2022). This study also revealed the reality that the mental health crisis in higher education has progressively gotten worse over the last decade. For example, between 2013-2021, college students exhibited a 135% increase in positive screens for depression and 110% increase in positive screens for anxiety during this time period (Lipson et al., 2022).
The prevalence of mental health issues is not uniform across groups, and evidence suggests that additional systemic challenges contribute to increased prevalence of mental health problems among historically underserved and marginalized populations. For example, the frequency of experienced mental health challenges among community college students, who are disproportionately under-resourced, is higher than those enrolled at four-year institutions (Broton et al., 2022; Lipson et al., 2022; McSpadden, 2022). In addition, as we discuss in greater detail in the following sections, heightened systemic problems contribute to racially minoritized and other underserved students exhibiting higher rates of mental health issues than their peers (Barry et al., 2017; Billings et al., 2021; Budge et al., 2020; Dong et al., 2020; Dunbar et al., 2017; Koo et al., 2021; Leath et al., 2021; McSpadden, 2022; Shalka & Leal, 2022; Tausen et al., 2020; Timmerman & Volpe, 2021). Unfortunately, students from historically underserved and marginalized communities are also less likely to utilize mental health services on campus than their peers (NHMS, 2021). It is therefore important to consider how social and education systems might disproportionately impact the mental health of these populations.

Author

• Samuel D. Museus, University of California - San Diego