Abstract
Background
Ongoing concern for the unique mental health challenges faced by university students has been magnified by the disruption of the global COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020.
Aims
This study aimed to investigate changes in mental health and wellbeing outcomes for UK university students since the pandemic began, and to examine whether more vulnerable groups were disproportionately impacted.
Methods
Students at a UK university responded to anonymous online cross-sectional surveys in 2019 (N = 2637), 2020 (N = 3693), and 2021 (N = 2772). Students completed measures of depression, anxiety and subjective wellbeing (SWB). Multivariable logistic regression models investigated associations of survey year and sociodemographic characteristics with mental health and SWB.
Results
Compared to 2019, fewer students showed high levels of depression and anxiety symptoms in 2020. However, there was evidence of worsened levels of anxiety and SWB in 2021 compared to 2019. Interaction effects indicated that students from a Black, Asian or minority ethnicity background and students previously diagnosed with a mental health difficulty showed improved outcomes in 2021 compared to previous years.
Conclusions
There is a need for sector-wide strategies including preventative approaches, appropriate treatment options for students already experiencing difficulties and ongoing monitoring post-pandemic.
Ongoing concern for the unique mental health challenges faced by university students has been magnified by the disruption of the global COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020.
Aims
This study aimed to investigate changes in mental health and wellbeing outcomes for UK university students since the pandemic began, and to examine whether more vulnerable groups were disproportionately impacted.
Methods
Students at a UK university responded to anonymous online cross-sectional surveys in 2019 (N = 2637), 2020 (N = 3693), and 2021 (N = 2772). Students completed measures of depression, anxiety and subjective wellbeing (SWB). Multivariable logistic regression models investigated associations of survey year and sociodemographic characteristics with mental health and SWB.
Results
Compared to 2019, fewer students showed high levels of depression and anxiety symptoms in 2020. However, there was evidence of worsened levels of anxiety and SWB in 2021 compared to 2019. Interaction effects indicated that students from a Black, Asian or minority ethnicity background and students previously diagnosed with a mental health difficulty showed improved outcomes in 2021 compared to previous years.
Conclusions
There is a need for sector-wide strategies including preventative approaches, appropriate treatment options for students already experiencing difficulties and ongoing monitoring post-pandemic.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 597-604 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Mental Health |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 3 Jul 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute, University of Bristol. DG is supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol. We thank the survey's Governance Group for supporting the development of this research, through collaboration between university staff and students. We also thank the thousands of students who have taken part in this research since it began in 2017.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Research Groups and Themes
- SASH
Keywords
- Mental health
- university students
- COVID-19
- Wellbeing
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Pandemic
Access to Document
- Full-text PDF (final published version)
This is the final published version of the article (version of record). It first appeared online via Taylor and Francis Group at https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2022.2091766. Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher.