College and COVID-19: The Pandemic's reverberations on adolescents and emerging adults on campus

Emerging Adult Mental Health Resource Access, Use, and Sufficiency During COVID-19

“…While disparities in mental health status and resource use among marginalized populations have been welldocumented for some time (Flores & Tomany-Korman, 2008), contemporary literature has identified that Black youth encounter more pandemic-induced hazards to their mental health (Banks, 2022). Further, recent studies of university students have associated COVID-related stressors and mental health risk factors, including negative health behaviors, loneliness, and suicidality (Lee et al, 2020;Velez, 2023). Lambe and colleagues (2023) found that psychologically distressed EAs who already possessed personality risk factors for internalizing symptoms had exacerbated risk of using alcohol to cope during this crisis.…”

“…Despite the aberrant increases in depression, anxiety, and traumatic stress symptoms during the pandemic (e.g., Bountress et al, 2022;Hawes et al, 2022;Maly et al, 2022;Velez, 2023), EAs access to treatment and support services was diminished as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a survey conducted in June and July 2021, 48% of young adults reported experiencing significant anxiety and depression symptoms during the pandemic (Adams et al, 2022).…”

Re-Assessment and Extension: An Ongoing Evaluation of The System for Adult Growth and Emergence-Foundations, a Modified DBT Program to Aid Emerging Adults With Emotion Regulation and Transition

“…Unfortunately, EAs today face a unique landscape compared to earlier cohorts that further increases this vulnerability. While all developmental cohorts were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to other cohorts, EAs may have experienced the most significant impacts (Hussong et al, 2023;Tasso et al, 2021;Vahratian et al, 2021;Varma et al, 2021;Velez, 2023). For EAs who were already experiencing pre-pandemic psychiatric disruptions, the pandemic resulted in significant disruptions in functioning, social identity, mood, and effective coping, with significant increases in loneliness, disrupted developmental milestones, and limited social supports (Horigian et al, 2021;van den Berg et al, 2021).…”