Colleges and universities have increasingly worried in recent decades about college students' well-being, with the COVID-19 pandemic aggravating these concerns. Our study examines changes to undergraduate emotional sentiments and psychological well-being from before to after the onset of the pandemic. In addition, we explore whether certain risk…

Objective: We aimed to explore conversations about mental health difficulties by Reddit users who posted within college subreddits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants: Data were collected from the subreddits of 22 California campuses, representing 113,579 anonymous members. Using the following search terms, we retrieved 577 posts (i.e., 268…

The original Social Emotional Distress Survey--Secondary (SEDS-S) assesses adolescents' past month's experiences of psychological distress. Given the continued need for and use of brief measures of student social-emotional distress, this study examined a five-item version (SEDS-S-Brief) to evaluate its use for surveillance of adolescents' wellness…

Parenting students work hard every day to pursue their goals, often juggling work, classes, and caregiving responsibilities. Public systems and programs can provide critical support, but frequently create additional hurdles for parenting students and their families-- especially those with low incomes. In 2022, the Center for the Study of Social…

Graduating from college is a life-transforming achievement for young people with foster care backgrounds. Not only do the majority of adolescents in foster care aspire to finish college, but holding a degree has been associated with an increased likelihood of being employed and having higher earnings. Still, existing research estimates that fewer…

Literature on problematic absenteeism in children and adolescents is diverse and dispersed across multiple disciplines, as it has long been a multifaceted and vexatious concern for psychologists, educators, and researchers (Kearney & Bates, 2005). Unfortunately, the investigation of problematic absenteeism from such diverse perspectives over…

The number of students in higher education with psychiatric disabilities is rising; about one in three undergraduates identify as having some type of mental health condition (U.S. Dept. of Education, 2014). This qualitative study explores the experiences of 14 college students with one or more psychiatric disabilities (PD), who were receiving…

Former and current foster youth transitioning to adulthood through a four-year university campus require special consideration. Identifying barriers to academic success is critical to the overall success of this unique student population. This study examined the relationship between mental health and academic achievement during the first year at a…

This study explored the role of occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) in school-based practice addressing mental health (MH) needs of all students. A sequential explanatory mixed method design which included two stages. Stage One: 61 OTPs in Southern California completed an online survey. Stage Two: 15 OTPs engaged in either an interview or a…

Mental health continues to be a pressing issue in society as people continue to struggle with social misperceptions about what is mental health or the label of having a mental health diagnosis. These are some of the variables that continue to feed into the stigma associated with mental health that prevents college students from seeking services.…

The percent of students with disabilities enrolled in college is substantially less than students without a disability. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the percent of the general population who hold a Bachelor's level college degree stands at 34.6% compared to only 16.4% of people with a disability (People with a disability less…

Dual-factor models of mental health are increasingly supported but little is known about longitudinal trends in dual-factor mental health. The current study used latent profile analysis (LPA) to empirically identify dual-factor mental health classes at each of Grades 9 through 12 and latent transition analysis (LTA) to examine stability of classes…

Drawing on scholarship focused on the concept of emotional labor, this study investigates the communicative role of college instructors in managing their students' mental health. Interviews with instructors (N = 17) focused on their perceived communicative roles in their students' mental health management, the communicative techniques they use to…

Young children with developmental delays, neurodevelopmental disorders, or other developmentally atypical presentations are increasingly referred to the mental health system of care because of symptoms that include prolonged tantrums, aggression, anxiety, and sensory processing difficulties. Concerning behaviors can be viewed as constitutional…

While COVID-19 is capable of infecting anyone, the level of risk is far from equal. Data show that Black and Latino communities, already suffering from deep-rooted economic and health inequalities, have borne the brunt of the pandemic. Latinas, in particular, have suffered some of the most egregious economic and health disparities over the past…