The Mental Health Crisis is upon the Internet Generation

My student Julie and I recently conducted a study on the mental health outcomes associated with being separated from family during the college years (such as by going to college out of state, which is, of course, very common). The findings were complex – and I won’t bore you with nuances here. But I will provide you with one headline that struck me: In our sample of over 200 college students, 59% reported having been diagnosed at some point with some psychological disorder. Note: This is not 59% reporting that they sometimes feel anxious or depressed. This question very explicitly asked if they had been diagnosed with a disorder.