“Could Be Even Worse in College”: Social Factors, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptoms Among Black Men on a College Campus

Discussions with men offered insight into their perspectives and personal experience s related to mental health issues and perceived risk factors. Themes suggest that the college transition, academic workload, perceived financial distress, and their desire and need to conform to ideals of masculinity were significant risk factors and stressors. Men offered descriptions of specific s ymptoms and health behaviors associated with such stress, including social isolation, anger, irritability, and changes in their own personal behaviors. Key findings paint a picture of college mental health experiences for some Black male college students. Moving forward, more research is needed to e xpand on this study’s findings and improve mental health risk among this underserved population. Future directions are discussed alongside the results presented in this paper.
Source: Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research