Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University.
Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education, Pennsylvania State University.
Psychol Serv. 2017 Nov;14(4):407-415. doi: 10.1037/ser0000130.
The current state of college student mental health is frequently labeled a "crisis," as the demand for services and severity of symptomatology have appeared to increase in recent decades. Nationally representative findings are presented from the Center for Collegiate Mental Health, a practice research network based in the United States, composed of more than 340 university and college counseling centers, in an effort to illuminate trends in symptom severity and patterns in treatment utilization for the campus treatment seeking population. Clinical data collected over 5 academic years (2010-2015) showed small but significantly increasing trends for self-reported distress in generalized anxiety, depression, social anxiety, family distress, and academic distress, with the largest effect sizes observed for generalized anxiety, depression, and social anxiety. On the other hand, a significantly decreasing trend was observed for substance use. No significant changes were observed for eating concerns and hostility. Utilization data over 6 years indicated a gradual yet steady increase in the number of students seeking services (beyond the rate expected with increasing institutional enrollment), as well as increases in the number of appointments scheduled and attended, with great variation between centers. Within the context of changing national trends, we conclude that it is advisable to consider the specific needs of local centers to best accommodate distinct student bodies. (PsycINFO Database Record
目前,大学生心理健康状况常被贴上“危机”的标签,因为近年来服务需求和症状严重程度似乎有所增加。本研究呈现了来自美国的大学生心理健康中心(Center for Collegiate Mental Health)的全国代表性调查结果。该中心是一个实践研究网络,由 340 多个大学和学院的咨询中心组成,旨在阐明校园治疗人群的症状严重程度趋势和治疗利用模式。在 5 个学年(2010-2015 年)收集的临床数据显示,广泛性焦虑、抑郁、社交焦虑、家庭困扰和学业困扰等方面的自我报告困扰呈小但显著增加趋势,其中广泛性焦虑、抑郁和社交焦虑的影响最大。另一方面,药物使用呈显著下降趋势。饮食问题和敌意方面没有观察到显著变化。6 年来的利用数据表明,寻求服务的学生人数(超出了机构入学人数增加的预期速度)逐渐稳步增加,预约和参加的预约次数也有所增加,各中心之间差异很大。在国家趋势变化的背景下,我们认为最好考虑当地中心的具体需求,以最好地满足不同的学生群体。