Poster #160 - Unmet Mental Health Needs and Academic Inequities: The Covid-19 Impact on Marginalized College Students

• In Event: Saturday Poster Luncheon

Abstract

Background
Improving student retention and academic success is a key objective for higher education, especially for first-generation, low-income, and marginalized students who face greater risks of academic disruption—risks often compounded by unmet mental health needs. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many students experienced psychological distress without receiving treatment, which intensified during and after the pandemic. This study investigates the association between unmet mental health needs, academic achievement, and expected college retention, examining variation by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and citizenship across three pandemic periods: pre-, peri-, and post-pandemic. Findings offer insights to inform more equitable institutional mental health services and academic support strategies.

Methods
Data is from the Healthy Minds Survey (2017–2024), a repeated cross-sectional dataset from over 600 colleges and universities in the U.S., including 633,425 total observations. The final sample included 618,943 students, accounting for only those with self-reported mental health diagnoses. Survey waves were grouped into three COVID-19 periods: pre-pandemic (N=218,514), peri-pandemic (N=165,633), and post-pandemic (N=249,278). We examine changes in unmet mental health across the covid periods and whether this change was associated with academic outcomes (grades and expected retention), using chi-square tests and multi variate analysis, stratifying by demographic groups.

Results
Across the whole sample almost 33% reported having an unmet need for mental health services. Overall, unmet need declined across all groups from 2017 to 2024. However, disparities between White students and marginalized groups grew over time. For instance, Pacific Islander students consistently had the highest unmet need, at 38 % pre-pandemic compared to 29% for White students (p<.001). Surprisingly, the disparity narrowed during the pandemic but increased post-pandemic by 10 percentage points, (p<.001). Similar gaps were observed for Native American and international students, while low-income students experienced fluctuating disparities.

In terms of retention, 20% of students with unmet needs pre-pandemic were unsure about staying in college, increasing to 26% during the pandemic and returning to 20% post-pandemic (p<0.001). Notably, during Covid-19, the gap in uncertainty between students with and without unmet needs widened from 2 to 5 percentage points (p<.001). Academic performance also differed sharply. Pre-pandemic, 34% of students without unmet needs reported earning mostly A’s, compared to just 19% of those with unmet needs (p<.001). During the peri-pandemic period: only 8% of students with unmet needs earned mostly A’s, versus 20% of those without (p<.001). At the lower end of performance (mostly D’s or below), a 4-point gap pre-pandemic grew to 8 points during the pandemic (p<.001), with students with unmet needs obtaining increasingly lower grades.

Conclusions
While unmet mental health needs declined from 2017 to 2024, their impact on GPA and college retention remained significant. Unmet needs were linked to lower academic performance and greater uncertainty about continuing college, especially during the peri-pandemic period. Marginalized groups—racial and ethnic minorities, international, and low-income students—were disproportionately affected, and their outcomes have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. These findings highlight the need for targeted, culturally responsive mental health and academic support services to promote equity, particularly in times of crisis.

 

Author

• Marzuka Ahmad Radia, University at Albany
  Presenting Author