Mental health of undergraduates one year after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from the national college health assessment III.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the mental health of undergraduates before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown to their mental health one year later. PARTICIPANTS: Data from the American College Health Association (ACHA)'s National College Health Assessment III (ACHA-NCHAIII) were used, averaging a sample size of 54,844 undergraduate students and 106 schools nationwide per time point of assessment in the study. METHODS: Secondary analyses of the ACHA-NCHAIII compared undergraduates' scores on five measures of mental health measures (loneliness, psychological distress, suicidality, flourishing, and resilience) from Spring 2020 to Spring 2021. RESULTS: Undergraduates' responses showed an increase in loneliness, psychological distress, and suicidality as well as a decrease in flourishing and resilience. CONCLUSIONS: The worsening of undergraduates' mental health calls for greater action by schools to alleviate students' distress and improve their wellbeing.