Depression and help-seeking behaviors among college students: Findings from the Healthy Minds Study 2018-2019

Madison E Raposa; Daniel J Smithers; Chad M Coleman; Bernard L Harlow

doi:10.1080/07448481.2023.2299397

Depression and help-seeking behaviors among college students: Findings from the Healthy Minds Study 2018-2019

J Am Coll Health. 2024 Jan 16:1-8. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2023.2299397. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Madison E Raposa^{1

2}, Daniel J Smithers¹, Chad M Coleman¹, Bernard L Harlow¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
² Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

PMID: 38227913
DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2023.2299397

Abstract

Objective: To determine the likelihood of using formal and informal mental health services among college students according to prior history of depression diagnosis and presence of depression symptoms.

Participants: College students from 79 universities in the U.S. and Canada who participated in the Healthy Minds Study, 2018-2019.

Methods: Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals via logistic regression were estimated for the likelihood of using informal and formal mental health services stratified by depression diagnosis and severity of depression symptoms and further stratified by race/ethnicity.

Results: We report increased odds of using formal mental health services with increasing depression severity symptoms and increased odds of using formal mental health services among students without a clinical depression diagnosis. The odds of service utilization varied by race/ethnicity.

Conclusions: The likelihood of seeking mental health services differs depending on the history of formal depression diagnosis, current symptoms, and race/ethnicity among college students.

Keywords: College students; depression; help-seeking; mental health service utilization.