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An Exploratory Study of Students with Depression in Undergraduate Research Experiences

• Katelyn M. Cooper
• Logan E. Gin
• M. Elizabeth Barnes
• Sara E. Brownell

*Address correspondence to: Katelyn M. Cooper ( E-mail Address: [email protected] ).

Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, 32816

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Biology Education Research Lab, Research for Inclusive STEM Education Center, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281

Depression is a top mental health concern among undergraduates and has been shown to disproportionately affect individuals who are underserved and underrepresented in science. As we aim to create a more inclusive scientific community, we argue that we need to examine the relationship between depression and scientific research. While studies have identified aspects of research that affect graduate student depression, we know of no studies that have explored the relationship between depression and undergraduate research. In this study, we sought to understand how undergraduates’ symptoms of depression affect their research experiences and how research affects undergraduates’ feelings of depression. We interviewed 35 undergraduate researchers majoring in the life sciences from 12 research-intensive public universities across the United States who identify with having depression. Using inductive and deductive coding, we identified that students’ depression affected their motivation and productivity, creativity and risk-taking, engagement and concentration, and self-perception and socializing in undergraduate research experiences. We found that students’ social connections, experiencing failure in research, getting help, receiving feedback, and the demands of research affected students’ depression. Based on this work, we articulate an initial set of evidence-based recommendations for research mentors to consider in promoting an inclusive research experience for students with depression.

INTRODUCTION

Depression is described as a common and serious mood disorder that results in persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, as well as a loss of interest in activities that one once enjoyed ( American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013 ). Additional symptoms of depression include weight changes, difficulty sleeping, loss of energy, difficulty thinking or concentrating, feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt, and suicidality ( APA, 2013 ). While depression results from a complex interaction of psychological, social, and biological factors ( World Health Organization, 2018 ), studies have shown that increased stress caused by college can be a significant contributor to student depression ( Dyson and Renk, 2006 ).

Depression is one of the top undergraduate mental health concerns, and the rate of depression among undergraduates continues to rise ( Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2017 ). While we cannot discern whether these increasing rates of depression are due to increased awareness or increased incidence, it is clear that is a serious problem on college campuses. The percent of U.S. college students who self-reported a diagnosis with depression was recently estimated to be about 25% ( American College Health Association, 2019 ). However, higher rates have been reported, with one study estimating that up to 84% of undergraduates experience some level of depression ( Garlow et al. , 2008 ). Depression rates are typically higher among university students compared with the general population, despite being a more socially privileged group ( Ibrahim et al. , 2013 ). Prior studies have found that depression is negatively correlated with overall undergraduate academic performance ( Hysenbegasi et al. , 2005 ; Deroma et al. , 2009 ; American College Health Association, 2019 ). Specifically, diagnosed depression is associated with half a letter grade decrease in students’ grade point average ( Hysenbegasi et al. , 2005 ), and 21.6% of undergraduates reported that depression negatively affected their academic performance within the last year ( American College Health Association, 2019 ). Provided with a list of academic factors that may be affected by depression, students reported that depression contributed to lower exam grades, lower course grades, and not completing or dropping a course.

Students in the natural sciences may be particularly at risk for depression, given that such majors are noted to be particularly stressful due to their competitive nature and course work that is often perceived to “weed students out”( Everson et al. , 1993 ; Strenta et al. , 1994 ; American College Health Association, 2019 ; Seymour and Hunter, 2019 ). Science course instruction has also been described to be boring, repetitive, difficult, and math-intensive; these factors can create an environment that can trigger depression ( Seymour and Hewitt, 1997 ; Osborne and Collins, 2001 ; Armbruster et al ., 2009 ; Ceci and Williams, 2010 ). What also distinguishes science degree programs from other degree programs is that, increasingly, undergraduate research experiences are being proposed as an essential element of a science degree ( American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2011 ; President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, 2012 ; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine [NASEM], 2017 ). However, there is some evidence that undergraduate research experiences can add to the stress of college for some students ( Cooper et al. , 2019c ). Students can garner multiple benefits from undergraduate research, including enhanced abilities to think critically ( Ishiyama, 2002 ; Bauer and Bennett, 2003 ; Brownell et al. , 2015 ), improved student learning ( Rauckhorst et al. , 2001 ; Brownell et al. , 2015 ), and increased student persistence in undergraduate science degree programs ( Jones et al. , 2010 ; Hernandez et al. , 2018 ). Notably, undergraduate research experiences are increasingly becoming a prerequisite for entry into medical and graduate programs in science, particularly elite programs ( Cooper et al. , 2019d ). Although some research experiences are embedded into formal lab courses as course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs; Auchincloss et al. , 2014 ; Brownell and Kloser, 2015 ), the majority likely entail working with faculty in their research labs. These undergraduate research experiences in faculty labs are often added on top of a student’s normal course work, so they essentially become an extracurricular activity that they have to juggle with course work, working, and/or personal obligations ( Cooper et al. , 2019c ). While the majority of the literature surrounding undergraduate research highlights undergraduate research as a positive experience ( NASEM, 2017 ), studies have demonstrated that undergraduate research experiences can be academically and emotionally challenging for students ( Mabrouk and Peters, 2000 ; Seymour et al. , 2004 ; Cooper et al. , 2019c ; Limeri et al. , 2019 ). In fact, 50% of students sampled nationally from public R1 institutions consider leaving their undergraduate research experience prematurely, and about half of those students, or 25% of all students, ultimately leave their undergraduate research experience ( Cooper et al. , 2019c ). Notably, 33.8% of these individuals cited a negative lab environment and 33.3% cited negative relationships with their mentors as factors that influenced their decision about whether to leave ( Cooper et al. , 2019c ). Therefore, students’ depression may be exacerbated in challenging undergraduate research experiences, because studies have shown that depression is positively correlated with student stress ( Hish et al. , 2019 ).

While depression has not been explored in the context of undergraduate research experiences, depression has become a prominent concern surrounding graduate students conducting scientific research. A recent study that examined the “graduate student mental health crisis” ( Flaherty, 2018 ) found that work–life balance and graduate students’ relationships with their research advisors may be contributing to their depression ( Evans et al. , 2018 ). Specifically, this survey of 2279 PhD and master’s students from diverse fields of study, including the biological/physical sciences, showed that 39% of graduate students have experienced moderate to severe depression. Fifty-five percent of the graduate students with depression who were surveyed disagreed with the statement “I have good work life balance,” compared to only 21% of students with depression who agreed. Additionally, the study highlighted that more students with depression disagreed than agreed with the following statements: their advisors provided “real” mentorship, their advisors provided ample support, their advisors positively impacted their emotional or mental well-being, their advisors were assets to their careers, and they felt valued by their mentors. Another recent study identified that depression severity in biomedical doctoral students was significantly associated with graduate program climate, a perceived lack of employment opportunities, and the quality of students’ research training environment ( Nagy et al. , 2019 ). Environmental stress, academic stress, and family and monetary stress have also been shown to be predictive of depression severity in biomedical doctoral students ( Hish et al. , 2019 ). Further, one study found that self-esteem is negatively correlated and stress is positively correlated with graduate student depression; presumably research environments that challenge students’ self-esteem and induce stress are likely contributing to depressive symptoms among graduate students ( Kreger, 1995 ). While these studies have focused on graduate students, and there are certainly notable distinctions between graduate and undergraduate research, the research-related factors that affect graduate student depression, including work–life balance, relationships with mentors, research environment, stress, and self-esteem, may also be relevant to depression among undergraduates conducting research. Importantly, undergraduates in the United States have reported identical levels of depression as graduate students but are often less likely to seek mental health care services ( Wyatt and Oswalt, 2013 ), which is concerning if undergraduate research experiences exacerbate depression.

Based on the literature on the stressors of undergraduate research experiences and the literature identifying some potential causes of graduate student depression, we identified three aspects of undergraduate research that may exacerbate undergraduates’ depression. Mentoring: Mentors can be an integral part of a students’ research experience, bolstering their connections with others in the science community, scholarly productivity, and science identity, as well as providing many other benefits ( Thiry and Laursen, 2011 ; Prunuske et al. , 2013 ; Byars-Winston et al. , 2015 ; Aikens et al. , 2016 , 2017 ; Thompson et al. , 2016 ; Estrada et al. , 2018 ). However, recent literature has highlighted that poor mentoring can negatively affect undergraduate researchers ( Cooper et al. , 2019c ; Limeri et al. , 2019 ). Specifically, one study of 33 undergraduate researchers who had conducted research at 10 institutions identified seven major ways that they experienced negative mentoring, which included absenteeism, abuse of power, interpersonal mismatch, lack of career support, lack of psychosocial support, misaligned expectations, and unequal treatment ( Limeri et al. , 2019 ). We hypothesize negative mentoring experiences may be particularly harmful for students with depression, because support, particularly social support, has been shown to be important for helping individuals with depression cope with difficult circumstances ( Aneshensel and Stone, 1982 ; Grav et al. , 2012 ). Failure: Experiencing failure has been hypothesized to be an important aspect of undergraduate research experiences that may help students develop some the most distinguishing abilities of outstanding scientists, such as coping with failure, navigating challenges, and persevering ( Laursen et al. , 2010 ; Gin et al. , 2018 ; Henry et al. , 2019 ). However, experiencing failure and the stress and fatigue that often accompany it may be particularly tough for students with depression ( Aldwin and Greenberger, 1987 ; Mongrain and Blackburn, 2005 ). Lab environment: Fairness, inclusion/exclusion, and social support within one’s organizational environment have been shown to be key factors that cause people to either want to remain in the work place and be productive or to want to leave ( Barak et al. , 2006 ; Cooper et al. , 2019c ). We hypothesize that dealing with exclusion or a lack of social support may exacerbate depression for some students; patients with clinical depression react to social exclusion with more pronounced negative emotions than do individuals without clinical depression ( Jobst et al. , 2015 ). While there are likely other aspects of undergraduate research that affect student depression, we hypothesize that these factors have the potential to exacerbate negative research experiences for students with depression.

Depression has been shown to disproportionately affect many populations that are underrepresented or underserved within the scientific community, including females ( American College Health Association, 2018 ; Evans et al. , 2018 ), first-generation college students ( Jenkins et al. , 2013 ), individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds ( Eisenberg et al. , 2007 ), members of the LGBTQ+ community ( Eisenberg et al. , 2007 ; Evans et al. , 2018 ), and people with disabilities ( Turner and Noh, 1988 ). Therefore, as the science community strives to be more diverse and inclusive ( Intemann, 2009 ), it is important that we understand more about the relationship between depression and scientific research, because negative experiences with depression in scientific research may be contributing to the underrepresentation of these groups. Specifically, more information is needed about how the research process and environment of research experiences may affect depression.

Given the high rate of depression among undergraduates, the links between depression and graduate research, the potentially challenging environment of undergraduate research, and how depression could disproportionately impact students from underserved communities, it is imperative to begin to explore the relationship between scientific research and depression among undergraduates to create research experiences that could maximize student success. In this exploratory interview study, we aimed to 1) describe how undergraduates’ symptoms of depression affect their research experiences, 2) understand how undergraduate research affects students’ feelings of depression, and 3) identify recommendations based on the literature and undergraduates’ reported experiences to promote a positive research experience for students with depression.

This study was done with an approved Arizona State University Institutional Review Board protocol #7247.

In Fall 2018, we surveyed undergraduate researchers majoring in the life sciences across 25 research-intensive (R1) public institutions across the United States (specific details about the recruitment of the students who completed the survey can be found in Cooper et al. (2019c) ). The survey asked students for their opinions about their undergraduate research experiences and their demographic information and whether they would be interested in participating in a follow-up interview related to their research experiences. For the purpose of this study, we exclusively interviewed students about their undergraduate research experiences in faculty member labs; we did not consider students’ experiences in CUREs. Of the 768 undergraduate researchers who completed the survey, 65% ( n = 496) indicated that they would be interested in participating in a follow-up interview. In Spring 2019, we emailed the 496 students, explaining that we were interested in interviewing students with depression about their experiences in undergraduate research. Our specific prompt was: “If you identify as having depression, we would be interested in hearing about your experience in undergraduate research in a 30–60 minute online interview.” We did not define depression in our email recruitment because we conducted think-aloud interviews with four undergraduates who all correctly interpreted what we meant by depression ( APA, 2013 ). We had 35 students agree to participate in the interview study. The interview participants represented 12 of the 25 R1 public institutions that were represented in the initial survey.

Student Interviews

We developed an interview script to explore our research questions. Specifically, we were interested in how students’ symptoms of depression affect their research experiences, how undergraduate research negatively affects student depression, and how undergraduate research positively affects student depression.

We recognized that mental health, and specifically depression, can be a sensitive topic to discuss with undergraduates, and therefore we tried to minimize any discomfort that the interviewees might experience during the interview. Specifically, we conducted think-aloud interviews with three graduate students who self-identified with having depression at the time of the interview. We asked them to note whether any interview questions made them uncomfortable. We also sought their feedback on questions given their experiences as persons with depression who had once engaged in undergraduate research. We revised the interview protocol after each think-aloud interview. Next, we conducted four additional think-aloud interviews with undergraduates conducting basic science or biology education research who identified with having depression to establish cognitive validity of the questions and to elicit additional feedback about any questions that might make someone uncomfortable. The questions were revised after each think-aloud interview until no question was unclear or misinterpreted by the students and we were confident that the questions minimized students’ potential discomfort ( Trenor et al. , 2011 ). A copy of the final interview script can be found in the Supplemental Material.

All interviews were individually conducted by one of two researchers (K.M.C. and L.E.G.) who conducted the think-aloud interviews together to ensure that their interviewing practices were as similar as possible. The interviews were approximately an hour long, and students received a $15 gift card for their participation.

Personal, Research, and Depression Demographics

All student demographics and information about students’ research experiences were collected using the survey distributed to students in Fall 2018. We collected personal demographics, including the participants’ gender, race/ethnicity, college generation status, transfer status, financial stability, year in college, major, and age. We also collected information about the students’ research experiences, including the length of their first research experiences, the average number of hours they spend in research per week, how they were compensated for research, who their primary mentors were, and the focus areas of their research.

In the United States, mental healthcare is disproportionately unavailable to Black and Latinx individuals, as well as those who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds ( Kataoka et al. , 2002 ; Howell and McFeeters, 2008 ; Santiago et al. , 2013 ). Therefore, to minimize a biased sample, we invited anyone who identified with having depression to participate in our study; we did not require students to be diagnosed with depression or to be treated for depression in order to participate. However, we did collect information about whether students had been formally diagnosed with depression and whether they had been treated for depression. After the interview, all participants were sent a link to a short survey that asked them if they had ever been diagnosed with depression and how, if at all, they had ever been treated for depression. A copy of these survey questions can be found in the Supplemental Material. The combined demographic information of the participants is in Table 1 . The demographics for each individual student can be found in the Supplemental Material.

a Students reported the time they had spent in research 6 months before being interviewed and only reported on the length of time of their first research experiences.

b Students were invited to report multiple ways in which they were treated for their depression; other treatments included lifestyle changes and meditation.

c Students were invited to report multiple means of compensation for their research if they had been compensated for their time in different ways.

d Students were asked whether they felt financially stable, particularly during the undergraduate research experience.

e Students reported who they work/worked with most closely during their research experiences.

f Staff members included lab coordinators or lab managers.

g Other focus areas of research included sociology, linguistics, psychology, and public health.

Interview Analysis

The initial interview analysis aimed to explore each idea that a participant expressed ( Charmaz, 2006 ) and to identify reoccurring ideas throughout the interviews. First, three authors (K.M.C., L.E.G., and S.E.B.) individually reviewed a different set of 10 interviews and took detailed analytic notes ( Birks and Mills, 2015 ). Afterward, the authors compared their notes and identified reoccurring themes throughout the interviews using open coding methods ( Saldaña, 2015 ).

Once an initial set of themes was established, two researchers (K.M.C. and L.E.G.) individually reviewed the same set of 15 randomly selected interviews to validate the themes identified in the initial analysis and to screen for any additional themes that the initial analysis may have missed. Each researcher took detailed analytic notes throughout the review of an interview, which they discussed after reviewing each interview. The researchers compared what quotes from each interview they categorized into each theme. Using constant comparison methods, they assigned quotes to each theme and constantly compared the quotes to ensure that each quote fit within the description of the theme ( Glesne and Peshkin, 1992 ). In cases in which quotes were too different from other quotes, a new theme was created. This approach allowed for multiple revisions of the themes and allowed the authors to define a final set of codes; the researchers created a final codebook with refined definitions of emergent themes (the final coding rubric can be found in the Supplemental Material). Once the final codebook was established, the researchers (K.M.C. and L.E.G.) individually coded seven additional interviews (20% of all interviews) using the coding rubric. The researchers compared their codes, and their Cohen’s κ interrater score for these seven interviews was at an acceptable level (κ  =  0.88; Landis and Koch, 1977 ). One researcher (L.E.G.) coded the remaining 28 out of 35 interviews. The researchers determined that data saturation had been reached with the current sample and no further recruitment was needed ( Guest et al. , 2006 ). We report on themes that were mentioned by at least 20% of students in the interview study. In the Supplemental Material, we provide the final coding rubric with the number of participants whose interview reflected each theme ( Hannah and Lautsch, 2011 ). Reporting the number of individuals who reported themes within qualitative data can lead to inaccurate conclusions about the generalizability of the results to a broader population. These qualitative data are meant to characterize a landscape of experiences that students with depression have in undergraduate research rather than to make claims about the prevalence of these experiences ( Glesne and Peshkin, 1992 ). Because inferences about the importance of these themes cannot be drawn from these counts, they are not included in the results of the paper ( Maxwell, 2010 ). Further, the limited number of interviewees made it not possible to examine whether there were trends based on students’ demographics or characteristics of their research experiences (e.g., their specific area of study). Quotes were lightly edited for clarity by inserting clarification brackets and using ellipses to indicate excluded text. Pseudonyms were given to all students to protect their privacy.

The Effect of Depressive Symptoms on Undergraduate Research

We asked students to describe the symptoms associated with their depression. Students described experiencing anxiety that is associated with their depression; this could be anxiety that precedes their depression or anxiety that results from a depressive episode or a period of time when an individual has depression symptoms. Further, students described difficulty getting out of bed or leaving the house, feeling tired, a lack of motivation, being overly self-critical, feeling apathetic, and having difficulty concentrating. We were particularly interested in how students’ symptoms of depression affected their experiences in undergraduate research. During the think-aloud interviews that were conducted before the interview study, graduate and undergraduate students consistently described that their depression affected their motivation in research, their creativity in research, and their productivity in research. Therefore, we explicitly asked undergraduate researchers how, if at all, their depression affected these three factors. We also asked students to describe any additional ways in which their depression affected their research experiences. Undergraduate researchers commonly described five additional ways in which their depression affected their research; for a detailed description of each way students’ research was affected and for example quotes, see Table 2 . Students described that their depression negatively affected their productivity in the lab. Commonly, students described that their productivity was directly affected by a lack of motivation or because they felt less creative, which hindered the research process. Additionally, students highlighted that they were sometimes less productive because their depression sometimes caused them to struggle to engage intellectually with their research or caused them to have difficulty remembering or concentrating; students described that they could do mundane or routine tasks when they felt depressed, but that they had difficulty with more complex and intellectually demanding tasks. However, students sometimes described that even mundane tasks could be difficult when they were required to remember specific steps; for example, some students struggled recalling a protocol from memory when their depression was particularly severe. Additionally, students noted that their depression made them more self-conscious, which sometimes held them back from sharing research ideas with their mentors or from taking risks such as applying to competitive programs. In addition to being self-conscious, students highlighted that their depression caused them to be overly self-critical, and some described experiencing imposter phenomenon ( Clance and Imes, 1978 ) or feeling like they were not talented enough to be in research and were accepted into a lab by a fluke or through luck. Finally, students described that depression often made them feel less social, and they struggled to socially engage with other members of the lab when they were feeling down.

The Effect of Undergraduate Research Experiences on Student Depression

We also wanted to explore how research impacted students’ feelings of depression. Undergraduates described how research both positively and negatively affected their depression. In the following sections, we present aspects of undergraduate research and examine how each positively and/or negatively affected students’ depression using embedded student quotes to highlight the relationships between related ideas.

Lab Environment: Relationships with Others in the Lab.

Some aspects of the lab environment, which we define as students’ physical, social, or psychological research space, could be particularly beneficial for students with depression.

Specifically, undergraduate researchers perceived that comfortable and positive social interactions with others in the lab helped their depression. Students acknowledged how beneficial their relationships with graduate students and postdocs could be.

Marta: “I think always checking in on undergrads is important. It’s really easy [for us] to go a whole day without talking to anybody in the lab. But our grad students are like ‘Hey, what’s up? How’s school? What’s going on?’ (…) What helps me the most is having that strong support system. Sometimes just talking makes you feel better, but also having people that believe in you can really help you get out of that negative spiral. I think that can really help with depression.”

Kelley: “I know that anytime I need to talk to [my postdoc mentors] about something they’re always there for me. Over time we’ve developed a relationship where I know that outside of work and outside of the lab if I did want to talk to them about something I could talk to them. Even just talking to someone about hobbies and having that relationship alone is really helpful [for depression].”

In addition to highlighting the importance of developing relationships with graduate students or postdocs in the lab, students described that forming relationships with other undergraduates in the lab also helped their depression. Particularly, students described that other undergraduate researchers often validated their feelings about research, which in turn helped them realize that what they are thinking or feeling is normal, which tended to alleviate their negative thoughts. Interestingly, other undergraduates experiencing the same issues could sometimes help buffer them from perceiving that a mentor did not like them or that they were uniquely bad at research. In this article, we use the term “mentor” to refer to anyone who students referred to in the interviews as being their mentors or managing their research experiences; this includes graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, lab managers, and primary investigators (PIs).

Abby: “One of my best friends is in the lab with me.  A lot of that friendship just comes from complaining about our stress with the lab and our annoyance with people in the lab. Like when we both agree like, ‘Yeah, the grad students were really off today, it wasn’t us,’ that helps. ‘It wasn’t me, it wasn’t my fault that we were having a rough day in lab; it was the grad students.’ Just being able to realize, ‘Hey, this isn’t all caused by us,’ you know? (…) We understand the stresses in the lab. We understand the details of what each other are doing in the lab, so when something doesn’t work out, we understand that it took them like eight hours to do that and it didn’t work. We provide empathy on a different level.”

Meleana: “It’s great to have solidarity in being confused about something, and it’s just that is a form of validation for me too. When we leave a lab meeting and I look at [another undergrad] I’m like, ‘Did you understand anything that they were just saying?’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, no.’ (…) It’s just really validating to hear from the other undergrads that we all seem to be struggling with the same things.”

Developing positive relationships with faculty mentors or PIs also helped alleviate some students’ depressive feelings, particularly when PIs shared their own struggles with students. This also seemed to normalize students’ concerns about their own experiences.

Alexandra: “[Talking with my PI] is helpful because he would talk about his struggles, and what he faced. A lot of it was very similar to my struggles.  For example, he would say, ‘Oh, yeah, I failed this exam that I studied so hard for. I failed the GRE and I paid so much money to prepare for it.’ It just makes [my depression] better, like okay, this is normal for students to go through this. It’s not an out of this world thing where if you fail, you’re a failure and you can’t move on from it.”

Students’ relationships with others in the lab did not always positively impact their depression. Students described instances when the negative moods of the graduate students and PIs would often set the tone of the lab, which in turn worsened the mood of the undergraduate researchers.

Abby: “Sometimes [the grad students] are not in a good mood. The entire vibe of the lab is just off, and if you make a joke and it hits somebody wrong, they get all mad. It really depends on the grad students and the leadership and the mood that they’re in.”

Interviewer: “How does it affect your depression when the grad students are in a bad mood?”

Abby: “It definitely makes me feel worse. It feels like, again, that I really shouldn’t go ask them for help because they’re just not in the mood to help out. It makes me have more pressure on myself, and I have deadlines I need to meet, but I have a question for them, but they’re in a bad mood so I can’t ask. That’s another day wasted for me and it just puts more stress, which just adds to the depression.”

Additionally, some students described even more concerning behavior from research mentors, which negatively affected their depression.

Julie: “I had a primary investigator who is notorious in the department for screaming at people, being emotionally abusive, unreasonable, et cetera. (…) [He was] kind of harassing people, demeaning them, lying to them, et cetera, et cetera. (…) Being yelled at and constantly demeaned and harassed at all hours of the day and night, that was probably pretty bad for me.”

While the relationships between undergraduates and graduate, postdoc, and faculty mentors seemed to either alleviate or worsen students’ depressive symptoms, depending on the quality of the relationship, students in this study exclusively described their relationships with other undergraduates as positive for their depression. However, students did note that undergraduate research puts some of the best and brightest undergraduates in the same environment, which can result in students comparing themselves with their peers. Students described that this comparison would often lead them to feel badly about themselves, even though they would describe their personal relationship with a person to be good.

Meleana: “In just the research field in general, just feeling like I don’t really measure up to the people around me [can affect my depression]. A lot of the times it’s the beginning of a little spiral, mental spiral. There are some past undergrads that are talked about as they’re on this pedestal of being the ideal undergrads and that they were just so smart and contributed so much to the lab. I can never stop myself from wondering like, ‘Oh, I wonder if I’m having a contribution to the lab that’s similar or if I’m just another one of the undergrads that does the bare minimum and passes through and is just there.’”

Natasha: “But, on the other hand, [having another undergrad in the lab] also reminded me constantly that some people are invested in this and meant to do this and it’s not me. And that some people know a lot more than I do and will go further in this than I will.”

While students primarily expressed that their relationships with others in the lab affected their depression, some students explained that they struggled most with depression when the lab was empty; they described that they did not like being alone in the lab, because a lack of stimulation allowed their minds to be filled with negative thoughts.

Mia: “Those late nights definitely didn’t help [my depression]. I am alone, in the entire building.  I’m left alone to think about my thoughts more, so not distracted by talking to people or interacting with people. I think more about how I’m feeling and the lack of progress I’m making, and the hopelessness I’m feeling. That kind of dragged things on, and I guess deepened my depression.”

Freddy: “Often times when I go to my office in the evening, that is when I would [ sic ] be prone to be more depressed. It’s being alone. I think about myself or mistakes or trying to correct mistakes or whatever’s going on in my life at the time. I become very introspective. I think I’m way too self-evaluating, way too self-deprecating and it’s when I’m alone when those things are really, really triggered. When I’m talking with somebody else, I forget about those things.”

In sum, students with depression highlighted that a lab environment full of positive and encouraging individuals was helpful for their depression, whereas isolating or competitive environments and negative interactions with others often resulted in more depressive feelings.

Doing Science: Experiencing Failure in Research, Getting Help, Receiving Feedback, Time Demands, and Important Contributions.

In addition to the lab environment, students also described that the process of doing science could affect their depression. Specifically, students explained that a large contributor to their depression was experiencing failure in research.

Interviewer: “Considering your experience in undergraduate research, what tends to trigger your feelings of depression?”

Heather: “Probably just not getting things right. Having to do an experiment over and over again. You don’t get the results you want. (…) The work is pretty meticulous and it’s frustrating when I do all this work, I do a whole experiment, and then I don’t get any results that I can use. That can be really frustrating. It adds to the stress. (…) It’s hard because you did all this other stuff before so you can plan for the research, and then something happens and all the stuff you did was worthless basically.”

Julie: “I felt very negatively about myself [when a project failed] and pretty panicked whenever something didn’t work because I felt like it was a direct reflection on my effort and/or intelligence, and then it was a big glaring personal failure.”

Students explained that their depression related to failing in research was exacerbated if they felt as though they could not seek help from their research mentors. Perceived insufficient mentor guidance has been shown to be a factor influencing student intention to leave undergraduate research ( Cooper et al. , 2019c ). Sometimes students talked about their research mentors being unavailable or unapproachable.

Michelle: “It just feels like [the graduate students] are not approachable. I feel like I can’t approach them to ask for their understanding in a certain situation. It makes [my depression] worse because I feel like I’m stuck, and that I’m being limited, and like there’s nothing I can do. So then I kind of feel like it’s my fault that I can’t do anything.”

Other times, students described that they did not seek help in fear that they would be negatively evaluated in research, which is a fear of being judged by others ( Watson and Friend, 1969 ; Weeks et al. , 2005 ; Cooper et al. , 2018 ). That is, students fear that their mentor would think negatively about them or judge them if they were to ask questions that their mentor thought they should know the answer to.

Meleana: “I would say [my depression] tends to come out more in being more reserved in asking questions because I think that comes more like a fear-based thing where I’m like, ‘Oh, I don’t feel like I’m good enough and so I don’t want to ask these questions because then my mentors will, I don’t know, think that I’m dumb or something.’”

Conversely, students described that mentors who were willing to help them alleviated their depressive feelings.

Crystal: “Yeah [my grad student] is always like, ‘Hey, I can check in on things in the lab because you’re allowed to ask me for that, you’re not totally alone in this,’ because he knows that I tend to take on all this responsibility and I don’t always know how to ask for help. He’s like, ‘You know, this is my lab too and I am here to help you as well,’ and just reminds me that I’m not shouldering this burden by myself.”

Ashlyn: “The graduate student who I work with is very kind and has a lot of patience and he really understands a lot of things and provides simple explanations. He does remind me about things and he will keep on me about certain tasks that I need to do in an understanding way, and it’s just because he’s patient and he listens.”

In addition to experiencing failure in science, students described that making mistakes when doing science also negatively affected their depression.

Abby: “I guess not making mistakes on experiments [is important in avoiding my depression]. Not necessarily that your experiment didn’t turn out to produce the data that you wanted, but just adding the wrong enzyme or messing something up like that. It’s like, ‘Oh, man,’ you know? You can get really down on yourself about that because it can be embarrassing.”

Commonly, students described that the potential for making mistakes increased their stress and anxiety regarding research; however, they explained that how other people responded to a potential mistake was what ultimately affected their depression.

Briana: “Sometimes if I made a mistake in correctly identifying an eye color [of a fly], [my PI] would just ridicule me in front of the other students. He corrected me but his method of correcting was very discouraging because it was a ridicule. It made the others laugh and I didn’t like that.”

Julie: “[My PI] explicitly [asked] if I had the dedication for science. A lot of times he said I had terrible judgment. A lot of times he said I couldn’t be trusted. Once I went to a conference with him, and, unfortunately, in front of another professor, he called me a klutz several times and there was another comment about how I never learn from my mistakes.”

When students did do things correctly, they described how important it could be for them to receive praise from their mentors. They explained that hearing praise and validation can be particularly helpful for students with depression, because their thoughts are often very negative and/or because they have low self-esteem.

Crystal: “[Something that helps my depression is] I have text messages from [my graduate student mentor] thanking me [and another undergraduate researcher] for all of the work that we’ve put in, that he would not be able to be as on track to finish as he is if he didn’t have our help.”

Interviewer: “Why is hearing praise from your mentor helpful?”

Crystal: “Because a lot of my depression focuses on everybody secretly hates you, nobody likes you, you’re going to die alone. So having that validation [from my graduate mentor] is important, because it flies in the face of what my depression tells me.”

Brian: “It reminds you that you exist outside of this negative world that you’ve created for yourself, and people don’t see you how you see yourself sometimes.”

Students also highlighted how research could be overwhelming, which negatively affected their depression. Particularly, students described that research demanded a lot of their time and that their mentors did not always seem to be aware that they were juggling school and other commitments in addition to their research. This stress exacerbated their depression.

Rose: “I feel like sometimes [my grad mentors] are not very understanding because grad students don’t take as many classes as [undergrads] do. I think sometimes they don’t understand when I say I can’t come in at all this week because I have finals and they’re like, ‘Why though?’”

Abby: “I just think being more understanding of student life would be great. We have classes as well as the lab, and classes are the priority. They forget what it’s like to be a student. You feel like they don’t understand and they could never understand when you say like, ‘I have three exams this week,’ and they’re like, ‘I don’t care. You need to finish this.’”

Conversely, some students reported that their research labs were very understanding of students’ schedules. Interestingly, these students talked most about how helpful it was to be able to take a mental health day and not do research on days when they felt down or depressed.

Marta: “My lab tech is very open, so she’ll tell us, ‘I can’t come in today. I have to take a mental health day.’ So she’s a really big advocate for that. And I think I won’t personally tell her that I’m taking a mental health day, but I’ll say, ‘I can’t come in today, but I’ll come in Friday and do those extra hours.’ And she’s like, ‘OK great, I’ll see you then.’  And it makes me feel good, because it helps me take care of myself first and then I can take care of everything else I need to do, which is amazing.”

Meleana: “Knowing that [my mentors] would be flexible if I told them that I’m crazy busy and can’t come into work nearly as much this week [helps my depression]. There is flexibility in allowing me to then care for myself.”

Interviewer: “Why is the flexibility helpful given the depression?”

Meleana: “Because sometimes for me things just take a little bit longer when I’m feeling down. I’m just less efficient to be honest, and so it’s helpful if I feel like I can only go into work for 10 hours in a week. It declutters my brain a little bit to not have to worry about all the things I have to do in work in addition the things that I need to do for school or clubs, or family or whatever.”

Despite the demanding nature of research, a subset of students highlighted that their research and research lab provided a sense of stability or familiarity that distracted them from their depression.

Freddy: “I’ll [do research] to run away from those [depressive] feelings or whatever. (…) I find sadly, I hate to admit it, but I do kind of run to [my lab]. I throw myself into work to distract myself from the feelings of depression and sadness.”

Rose: “When you’re sad or when you’re stressed you want to go to things you’re familiar with. So because lab has always been in my life, it’s this thing where it’s going to be there for me I guess. It’s like a good book that you always go back to and it’s familiar and it makes you feel good. So that’s how lab is. It’s not like the greatest thing in the world but it’s something that I’m used to, which is what I feel like a lot of people need when they’re sad and life is not going well.”

Many students also explained that research positively affects their depression because they perceive their research contribution to be important.

Ashlyn: “I feel like I’m dedicating myself to something that’s worthy and something that I believe in. It’s really important because it contextualizes those times when I am feeling depressed. It’s like, no, I do have these better things that I’m working on. Even when I don’t like myself and I don’t like who I am, which is again, depression brain, I can at least say, ‘Well, I have all these other people relying on me in research and in this area and that’s super important.’”

Jessica: “I mean, it just felt like the work that I was doing had meaning and when I feel like what I’m doing is actually going to contribute to the world, that usually really helps with [depression] because it’s like not every day you can feel like you’re doing something impactful.”

In sum, students highlighted that experiencing failure in research and making mistakes negatively contributed to depression, especially when help was unavailable or research mentors had a negative reaction. Additionally, students acknowledged that the research could be time-consuming, but that research mentors who were flexible helped assuage depressive feelings that were associated with feeling overwhelmed. Finally, research helped some students’ depression, because it felt familiar, provided a distraction from depression, and reminded students that they were contributing to a greater cause.

We believe that creating more inclusive research environments for students with depression is an important step toward broadening participation in science, not only to ensure that we are not discouraging students with depression from persisting in science, but also because depression has been shown to disproportionately affect underserved and underrepresented groups in science ( Turner and Noh, 1988 ; Eisenberg et al. , 2007 ; Jenkins et al. , 2013 ; American College Health Association, 2018 ). We initially hypothesized that three features of undergraduate research—research mentors, the lab environment, and failure—may have the potential to exacerbate student depression. We found this to be true; students highlighted that their relationships with their mentors as well as the overall lab environment could negatively affect their depression, but could also positively affect their research experiences. Students also noted that they struggled with failure, which is likely true of most students, but is known to be particularly difficult for students with depression ( Elliott et al. , 1997 ). We expand upon our findings by integrating literature on depression with the information that students provided in the interviews about how research mentors can best support students. We provide a set of evidence-based recommendations focused on mentoring, the lab environment, and failure for research mentors wanting to create more inclusive research environments for students with depression. Notably, only the first recommendation is specific to students with depression; the others reflect recommendations that have previously been described as “best practices” for research mentors ( NASEM, 2017 , 2019 ; Sorkness et al. , 2017 ) and likely would benefit most students. However, we examine how these recommendations may be particularly important for students with depression. As we hypothesized, these recommendations directly address three aspects of research: mentors, lab environment, and failure. A caveat of these recommendations is that more research needs to be done to explore the experiences of students with depression and how these practices actually impact students with depression, but our national sample of undergraduate researchers with depression can provide an initial starting point for a discussion about how to improve research experiences for these students.

Recommendations to Make Undergraduate Research Experiences More Inclusive for Students with Depression

Recognize student depression as a valid illness..

Allow students with depression to take time off of research by simply saying that they are sick and provide appropriate time for students to recover from depressive episodes. Also, make an effort to destigmatize mental health issues.

Undergraduate researchers described both psychological and physical symptoms that manifested as a result of their depression and highlighted how such symptoms prevented them from performing to their full potential in undergraduate research. For example, students described how their depression would cause them to feel unmotivated, which would often negatively affect their research productivity. In cases in which students were motivated enough to come in and do their research, they described having difficulty concentrating or engaging in the work. Further, when doing research, students felt less creative and less willing to take risks, which may alter the quality of their work. Students also sometimes struggled to socialize in the lab. They described feeling less social and feeling overly self-critical. In sum, students described that, when they experienced a depressive episode, they were not able to perform to the best of their ability, and it sometimes took a toll on them to try to act like nothing was wrong, when they were internally struggling with depression. We recommend that research mentors treat depression like any other physical illness; allowing students the chance to recover when they are experiencing a depressive episode can be extremely important to students and can allow them to maximize their productivity upon returning to research ( Judd et al. , 2000 ). Students explained that if they are not able to take the time to focus on recovering during a depressive episode, then they typically continue to struggle with depression, which negatively affects their research. This sentiment is echoed by researchers in psychiatry who have found that patients who do not fully recover from a depressive episode are more likely to relapse and to experience chronic depression ( Judd et al. , 2000 ). Students described not doing tasks or not showing up to research because of their depression but struggling with how to share that information with their research mentors. Often, students would not say anything, which caused them anxiety because they were worried about what others in the lab would say to them when they returned. Admittedly, many students understood why this behavior would cause their research mentors to be angry or frustrated, but they weighed the consequences of their research mentors’ displeasure against the consequences of revealing their depression and decided it was not worth admitting to being depressed. This aligns with literature that suggests that when individuals have concealable stigmatized identities, or identities that can be hidden and that carry negative stereotypes, such as depression, they will often keep them concealed to avoid negative judgment or criticism ( Link and Phelan, 2001 ; Quinn and Earnshaw, 2011 ; Jones and King, 2014 ; Cooper and Brownell, 2016 ; Cooper et al. , 2019b ; Cooper et al ., unpublished data ). Therefore, it is important for research mentors to be explicit with students that 1) they recognize mental illness as a valid sickness and 2) that students with mental illness can simply explain that they are sick if they need to take time off. This may be useful to overtly state on a research website or in a research syllabus, contract, or agreement if mentors use such documents when mentoring undergraduates in their lab. Further, research mentors can purposefully work to destigmatize mental health issues by explicitly stating that struggling with mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, is common. While we do not recommend that mentors ask students directly about depression, because this can force students to share when they are not comfortable sharing, we do recommend providing opportunities for students to reveal their depression ( Chaudoir and Fisher, 2010 ). Mentors can regularly check in with students about how they’re doing, and talk openly about the importance of mental health, which may increase the chance that students may feel comfortable revealing their depression ( Chaudoir and Quinn, 2010 ; Cooper et al ., unpublished data ).

Foster a Positive Lab Environment.

Encourage positivity in the research lab, promote working in shared spaces to enhance social support among lab members, and alleviate competition among undergraduates.

Students in this study highlighted that the “leadership” of the lab, meaning graduate students, postdocs, lab managers, and PIs, were often responsible for establishing the tone of the lab; that is, if they were in a bad mood it would trickle down and negatively affect the moods of the undergraduates. Explicitly reminding lab leadership that their moods can both positively and negatively affect undergraduates may be important in establishing a positive lab environment. Further, students highlighted how they were most likely to experience negative thoughts when they were alone in the lab. Therefore, it may be helpful to encourage all lab members to work in a shared space to enhance social interactions among students and to maximize the likelihood that undergraduates have access to help when needed. A review of 51 studies in psychiatry supported our undergraduate researchers’ perceptions that social relationships positively impacted their depression; the study found that perceived emotional support (e.g., someone available to listen or give advice), perceived instrumental support (e.g., someone available to help with tasks), and large diverse social networks (e.g., being socially connected to a large number of people) were significantly protective against depression ( Santini et al. , 2015 ). Additionally, despite forming positive relationships with other undergraduates in the lab, many undergraduate researchers admitted to constantly comparing themselves with other undergraduates, which led them to feel inferior, negatively affecting their depression. Some students talked about mentors favoring current undergraduates or talking positively about past undergraduates, which further exacerbated their feelings of inferiority. A recent study of students in undergraduate research experiences highlighted that inequitable distribution of praise to undergraduates can create negative perceptions of lab environments for students (Cooper et al. , 2019). Further, the psychology literature has demonstrated that when people feel insecure in their social environments, it can cause them to focus on a hierarchical view of themselves and others, which can foster feelings of inferiority and increase their vulnerability to depression ( Gilbert et al. , 2009 ). Thus, we recommend that mentors be conscious of their behaviors so that they do not unintentionally promote competition among undergraduates or express favoritism toward current or past undergraduates. Praise is likely best used without comparison with others and not done in a public way, although more research on the impact of praise on undergraduate researchers needs to be done. While significant research has been done on mentoring and mentoring relationships in the context of undergraduate research ( Byars-Winston et al. , 2015 ; Aikens et al. , 2017 ; Estrada et al. , 2018 ; Limeri et al. , 2019 ; NASEM, 2019 ), much less has been done on the influence of the lab environment broadly and how people in nonmentoring roles can influence one another. Yet, this study indicates the potential influence of many different members of the lab, not only their mentors, on students with depression.

Develop More Personal Relationships with Undergraduate Researchers and Provide Sufficient Guidance.

Make an effort to establish more personal relationships with undergraduates and ensure that they perceive that they have access to sufficient help and guidance with regard to their research.

When we asked students explicitly how research mentors could help create more inclusive environments for undergraduate researchers with depression, students overwhelmingly said that building mentor–student relationships would be extremely helpful. Students suggested that mentors could get to know students on a more personal level by asking about their career interests or interests outside of academia. Students also remarked that establishing a more personal relationship could help build the trust needed in order for undergraduates to confide in their research mentors about their depression, which they perceived would strengthen their relationships further because they could be honest about when they were not feeling well or their mentors might even “check in” with them in times where they were acting differently than normal. This aligns with studies showing that undergraduates are most likely to reveal a stigmatized identity, such as depression, when they form a close relationship with someone ( Chaudoir and Quinn, 2010 ). Many were intimidated to ask for research-related help from their mentors and expressed that they wished they had established a better relationship so that they would feel more comfortable. Therefore, we recommend that research mentors try to establish relationships with their undergraduates and explicitly invite them to ask questions or seek help when needed. These recommendations are supported by national recommendations for mentoring ( NASEM, 2019 ) and by literature that demonstrates that both social support (listening and talking with students) and instrumental support (providing students with help) have been shown to be protective against depression ( Santini et al. , 2015 ).

Treat Undergraduates with Respect and Remember to Praise Them.

Avoid providing harsh criticism and remember to praise undergraduates. Students with depression often have low self-esteem and are especially self-critical. Therefore, praise can help calibrate their overly negative self-perceptions.

Students in this study described that receiving criticism from others, especially harsh criticism, was particularly difficult for them given their depression. Multiple studies have demonstrated that people with depression can have an abnormal or maladaptive response to negative feedback; scientists hypothesize that perceived failure on a particular task can trigger failure-related thoughts that interfere with subsequent performance ( Eshel and Roiser, 2010 ). Thus, it is important for research mentors to remember to make sure to avoid unnecessarily harsh criticisms that make students feel like they have failed (more about failure is described in the next recommendation). Further, students with depression often have low self-esteem or low “personal judgment of the worthiness that is expressed in the attitudes the individual holds towards oneself” ( Heatherton et al. , 2003 , p. 220; Sowislo and Orth, 2013 ). Specifically, a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies found that low self-esteem is predictive of depression ( Sowislo and Orth, 2013 ), and depression has also been shown to be highly related to self-criticism ( Luyten et al. , 2007 ). Indeed, nearly all of the students in our study described thinking that they are “not good enough,” “worthless,” or “inadequate,” which is consistent with literature showing that people with depression are self-critical ( Blatt et al. , 1982 ; Gilbert et al. , 2006 ) and can be less optimistic of their performance on future tasks and rate their overall performance on tasks less favorably than their peers without depression ( Cane and Gotlib, 1985 ). When we asked students what aspects of undergraduate research helped their depression, students described that praise from their mentors was especially impactful, because they thought so poorly of themselves and they needed to hear something positive from someone else in order to believe it could be true. Praise has been highlighted as an important aspect of mentoring in research for many years ( Ashford, 1996 ; Gelso and Lent, 2000 ; Brown et al. , 2009 ) and may be particularly important for students with depression. In fact, praise has been shown to enhance individuals’ motivation and subsequent productivity ( Hancock, 2002 ; Henderlong and Lepper, 2002 ), factors highlighted by students as negatively affecting their depression. However, something to keep in mind is that a student with depression and a student without depression may process praise differently. For a student with depression, a small comment that praises the student’s work may not be sufficient for the student to process that comment as praise. People with depression are hyposensitive to reward or have reward-processing deficits ( Eshel and Roiser, 2010 ); therefore, praise may affect students without depression more positively than it would affect students with depression. Research mentors should be mindful that students with depression often have a negative view of themselves, and while students report that praise is extremely important, they may have trouble processing such positive feedback.

Normalize Failure and Be Explicit about the Importance of Research Contributions.

Explicitly remind students that experiencing failure is expected in research. Also explain to students how their individual work relates to the overall project so that they can understand how their contributions are important. It can also be helpful to explain to students why the research project as a whole is important in the context of the greater scientific community.

Experiencing failure has been thought to be a potentially important aspect of undergraduate research, because it may provide students with the potential to develop integral scientific skills such as the ability to navigate challenges and persevere ( Laursen et al. , 2010 ; Gin et al. , 2018 ; Henry et al. , 2019 ). However, in the interviews, students described that when their science experiments failed, it was particularly tough for their depression. Students’ negative reaction to experiencing failure in research is unsurprising, given recent literature that has predicted that students may be inadequately prepared to approach failure in science ( Henry et al. , 2019 ). However, the literature suggests that students with depression may find experiencing failure in research to be especially difficult ( Elliott et al. , 1997 ; Mongrain and Blackburn, 2005 ; Jones et al. , 2009 ). One potential hypothesis is that students with depression may be more likely to have fixed mindsets or more likely to believe that their intelligence and capacity for specific abilities are unchangeable traits ( Schleider and Weisz, 2018 ); students with a fixed mindset have been hypothesized to have particularly negative responses to experiencing failure in research, because they are prone to quitting easily in the face of challenges and becoming defensive when criticized ( Forsythe and Johnson, 2017 ; Dweck, 2008 ). A study of life sciences undergraduates enrolled in CUREs identified three strategies of students who adopted adaptive coping mechanisms, or mechanisms that help an individual maintain well-being and/or move beyond the stressor when faced with failure in undergraduate research: 1) problem solving or engaging in strategic planning and decision making, 2) support seeking or finding comfort and help with research, and 3) cognitive restructuring or reframing a problem from negative to positive and engaging in self encouragement ( Gin et al. , 2018 ). We recommend that, when undergraduates experience failure in science, their mentors be proactive in helping them problem solve, providing help and support, and encouraging them. Students also explained that mentors sharing their own struggles as undergraduate and graduate students was helpful, because it normalized failure. Sharing personal failures in research has been recommended as an important way to provide students with psychosocial support during research ( NASEM, 2019 ). We also suggest that research mentors take time to explain to students why their tasks in the lab, no matter how small, contribute to the greater research project ( Cooper et al. , 2019a ). Additionally, it is important to make sure that students can explain how the research project as a whole is contributing to the scientific community ( Gin et al. , 2018 ). Students highlighted that contributing to something important was really helpful for their depression, which is unsurprising, given that studies have shown that meaning in life or people’s comprehension of their life experiences along with a sense of overarching purpose one is working toward has been shown to be inversely related to depression ( Steger, 2013 ).

Limitations and Future Directions

This work was a qualitative interview study intended to document a previously unstudied phenomenon: depression in the context of undergraduate research experiences. We chose to conduct semistructured interviews rather than a survey because of the need for initial exploration of this area, given the paucity of prior research. A strength of this study is the sampling approach. We recruited a national sample of 35 undergraduates engaged in undergraduate research at 12 different public R1 institutions. Despite our representative sample from R1 institutions, these findings may not be generalizable to students at other types of institutions; lab environments, mentoring structures, and interactions between faculty and undergraduate researchers may be different at other institution types (e.g., private R1 institutions, R2 institutions, master’s-granting institutions, primarily undergraduate institutions, and community colleges), so we caution against making generalizations about this work to all undergraduate research experiences. Future work could assess whether students with depression at other types of institutions have similar experiences to students at research-intensive institutions. Additionally, we intentionally did not explore the experiences of students with specific identities owing to our sample size and the small number of students in any particular group (e.g., students of a particular race, students with a graduate mentor as the primary mentor). We intend to conduct future quantitative studies to further explore how students’ identities and aspects of their research affect their experiences with depression in undergraduate research.

The students who participated in the study volunteered to be interviewed about their depression; therefore, it is possible that depression is a more salient part of these students’ identities and/or that they are more comfortable talking about their depression than the average population of students with depression. It is also important to acknowledge the personal nature of the topic and that some students may not have fully shared their experiences ( Krumpal, 2013 ), particularly those experiences that may be emotional or traumatizing ( Kahn and Garrison, 2009 ). Additionally, our sample was skewed toward females (77%). While females do make up approximately 60% of students in biology programs on average ( Eddy et al. , 2014 ), they are also more likely to report experiencing depression ( American College Health Association, 2018 ; Evans et al. , 2018 ). However, this could be because women have higher rates of depression or because males are less likely to report having depression; clinical bias, or practitioners’ subconscious tendencies to overlook male distress, may underestimate depression rates in men ( Smith et al. , 2018 ). Further, females are also more likely to volunteer to participate in studies ( Porter and Whitcomb, 2005 ); therefore, many interview studies have disproportionately more females in the data set (e.g., Cooper et al. , 2017 ). If we had been able to interview more male students, we might have identified different findings. Additionally, we limited our sample to life sciences students engaged in undergraduate research at public R1 institutions. It is possible that students in other majors may have different challenges and opportunities for students with depression, as well as different disciplinary stigmas associated with mental health.

In this exploratory interview study, we identified a variety of ways in which depression in undergraduates negatively affected their undergraduate research experiences. Specifically, we found that depression interfered with students’ motivation and productivity, creativity and risk-taking, engagement and concentration, and self-perception and socializing. We also identified that research can negatively affect depression in undergraduates. Experiencing failure in research can exacerbate student depression, especially when students do not have access to adequate guidance. Additionally, being alone or having negative interactions with others in the lab worsened students’ depression. However, we also found that undergraduate research can positively affect students’ depression. Research can provide a familiar space where students can feel as though they are contributing to something meaningful. Additionally, students reported that having access to adequate guidance and a social support network within the research lab also positively affected their depression. We hope that this work can spark conversations about how to make undergraduate research experiences more inclusive of students with depression and that it can stimulate additional research that more broadly explores the experiences of undergraduate researchers with depression.

Important note

If you or a student experience symptoms of depression and want help, there are resources available to you. Many campuses provide counseling centers equipped to provide students, staff, and faculty with treatment for depression, as well as university-dedicated crisis hotlines. Additionally, there are free 24/7 services such as Crisis Text Line, which allows you to text a trained live crisis counselor (Text “CONNECT” to 741741; Text Depression Hotline , 2019 ), and phone hotlines such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK). You can also learn more about depression and where to find help near you through the Anxiety and Depression Association of American website: https://adaa.org ( Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2019 ) and the Depression and Biopolar Support Alliance: http://dbsalliance.org ( Depression and Biopolar Support Alliance, 2019 ).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are extremely grateful to the undergraduate researchers who shared their thoughts and experiences about depression with us. We acknowledge the ASU LEAP Scholars for helping us create the original survey and Rachel Scott for her helpful feedback on earlier drafts of this article. L.E.G. was supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Fellowship (DGE-1311230) and K.M.C. was partially supported by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Inclusive Excellence grant (no. 11046) and an NSF grant (no. 1644236). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF or HHMI.

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Submitted: 4 November 2019 Revised: 24 February 2020 Accepted: 6 March 2020

© 2020 K. M. Cooper, L. E. Gin, et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2020 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

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• Published: 08 June 2021

Impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of US college students

• Jenny Lee 1 ,
• Matthew Solomon 1 ,
• Tej Stead 1 ,
• Bryan Kwon 1 &
• Latha Ganti 2 , 3 , 4  

BMC Psychology volume  9 , Article number:  95 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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Background/aim

In the beginning of 2020, the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, became a public health emergency in the U.S. and rapidly escalated into a global pandemic. Because the SARS-CoV-2 virus is highly contagious, physical distancing was enforced and indoor public spaces, including schools and educational institutions, were abruptly closed and evacuated to ensure civilian safety. Accordingly, educational institutions rapidly transitioned to remote learning. We investigated the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on domestic U.S. college students, ages 18–24 years.

Through Pollfish®’s survey research platform, we collected data from 200 domestic U.S. college students in this age range (N = 200) regarding the physical, emotional, and social impacts of COVID-19 as well as key background information (e.g. whether or not they are first-generation or if they identify with the LGBTQIA+ community).

Our results indicate that students closer to graduating faced increases in anxiety (60.8%), feeling of loneliness (54.1%), and depression (59.8%). Many reported worries for the health of loved ones most impacted their mental health status (20.0%), and the need to take care of family most affected current and future plans (31.8%). Almost one-half of students took to exercising and physical activity to take care of their mental health (46.7%). While a third did not have strained familial relationships (36.5%), almost one half did (45.7%). A majority found it harder to complete the semester at home (60.9%), especially among those who had strained relationships with family (34.1%). Seventy percent spent time during the pandemic watching television shows or movies. Significantly more men, first-generation, and low-income students gained beneficial opportunities in light of the pandemic, whereas their counterparts reported no impact. First-generation students were more likely to take a gap year or time off from school.

Conclusions

Although students found ways to take care of themselves and spent more time at home, the clear negative mental health impacts call for schools and federal regulations to accommodate, support, and make mental health care accessible to all students.

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Introduction

The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, originally from Wuhan, China, in December 2019 gave rise to an ongoing global public health crisis addressing the proliferation of the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The SARS-CoV-2 virus directly targets the respiratory system in humans with characteristic symptoms of cough, fever, sore throat, dyspnea, and fatigue [ 1 ]. As the virus continued spreading over 2020, more findings on the epidemiological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 have been divulged to the public. A study showed that the COVID-19 disease presents varying lengths of incubation periods, typically an average of 5.2 days, and it is estimated to have a slightly higher basic reproduction number (2.24–3.58) than that of the original SARS-CoV virus [ 1 ]. According to the National Health Commission of China, the virus can be transmitted through aerosols, droplets, contacts, respiratory aspirates, and feces, with both animals (e.g., bats, pangolins) and humans being veritable modes of transmission [ 2 ]. Accurate and accelerated testing is necessary to control this extremely contagious disease in cities, communities, and hospitals.

Due to the sudden outbreak of COVID-19, most universities across the United States were forced to send their students home early for the 2019–2020 academic year to prevent spread and protect students as well as surrounding communities. The sudden change in students’ learning environment, the quality of their education, and other circumstances caused students to face unique challenges, adversely impacting their mental health. The loss of internships, on-campus jobs, and other opportunities also contributed to the stress and declining mental health of students. According to a study done on a cohort of students attending Dartmouth College, there were noticeable differences in behavioral and mental health over the course of the pandemic thus far, with a higher number of self-reported cases of depression and anxiety around final exams [ 3 ].

Other minority communities also faced particular hardship in light of the pandemic. For example, greater proportions of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) population do not have access to health insurance and struggle with poverty compared to the non-LGBTQ population [ 4 ]. Because of their health disparities and social disadvantages, the mental health of LGBTQ students is exacerbated due to the psychological trauma that can come with the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, people of color and those in socioeconomically disadvantaged groups are more likely to be mentally overwhelmed due to the unequal burden of finances, illness, and death. In a study done at a hospital in northern California of COVID-19 patients, non-Hispanic African Americans were found to be 2.7 times more likely to be hospitalized compared to non-Hispanic white patients [ 5 ].

A study of college students from India [ 6 ] found that both anxiety and depression were prevalent in their cohort, with women being affected more. They also noted a disturbed sleeping pattern which aligns with both anxiety and depression. A study that used smartphone-based ecological momentary assessments of anxiety and optimism related to COVID-19 and other generic mental health variables 6 times daily [ 7 ] found widespread mental health impact, especially anxiety, in their cohort of 140 students. Yet another study of college students [ 8 ] found a significant decline in physical activity and mental health occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are many variables that can further contribute to the mental health status of college students during the pandemic, including their identity, family life, and background. We aimed to investigate the emotional, physical and social impacts on domestic US college students ages 18–24 and determine whether these impacts were significant among particular groups.

Recruitment and data collection

Two hundred (N = 200) domestic U.S. college students ages 18–24 attending a 4-year university in person before the COVID-19 pandemic were surveyed through Pollfish®. Pollfish® is a survey research platform that uses organic sampling built on Random Device Engagement (RDE). [ 9 ] Using artificial intelligence (AI) to track unique respondent identification, RDE reaches users in their natural environments as they participate in their daily activities through any device. [ 10 ] Pollfish®’s partnerships with over 120,000 applications and more than 700 million global users allow for random recruitment of participants fitting the specific inclusion criteria via in-app incentives specific to each user’s real-time activity on their respective devices [ 9 ]. The advanced AI technology and algorithm prevents fraud from single users on multiple accounts (SUMA) and suspicious or illogical responses to specific questions [ 10 ]. Pollfish® uses weighting to match the univariate distributions of age, gender, and geographic region. All results reported use this weighting.

Two screening questions were used to determine survey eligibility. These questions inquired whether participants are male or female aged 18–24 years, and whether they attended a domestic four-year U.S. college or university. The survey then consisted of 14 multiple choice questions. For some of the questions, multiple selections amongst the multiple choices were allowed, so that percentage totals could exceed 100%. The first 3 questions of the 14 inquired about background, including the participants’ year in college, whether they are the first in their family to attend college, and if they identify with the LGBTQIA+ community. The subsequent questions honed in on the physical, emotional, and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The final question was an open-ended one designed to capture the students’ verbatim feelings.

Statistical analysis

Data were analyzed using JMP Pro 14.1 for Windows [ 11 ]. Participants with a household income less than $50,000 annually were considered “low-income”. For comparing 2 × 2 contingency tables, Fisher’s two-tailed exact test was used. For comparing ordinal data, Wilcoxon’s rank-sum test was used. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals (CI) for odds ratios are Wald-based. All results used weighting generated by Pollfish® to match the univariate distributions of age and gender.

Ethics committee approval

This study (# 2020-966) was considered exempt by our institutional review board manager HCA Centralized Algorithms for Research Rules on IRB Exemptions (CARRIE).

A total of 200 people responded, of whom 50.6% were female (after adding weighting). Twenty three and 3/10% were first-year students, 39.9% were second-year students, 17.8% were third-year, 12.6% were fourth-year (seniors), and seven and one half percent were taking additional semesters (fifth or higher year). Fifty eight percent were first-generation students, and 36% considered themselves to be “a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.” The distributions of responses to each question are summarized in the Appendix, and each question is explored in detail in this section.

How has COVID-19 impacted your mental health?

For this question, multiple responses were allowed. Increased anxiety, depression, and feeling of loneliness were found in 60.8%, 54.1%, and 59.8% of the weighted population, respectively (Fig.  1 ). More than eighty percent (83.8%) reported an increase in at least one of these three symptoms. On the other hand, decreased anxiety, depression, and feelings of loneliness were respectively found in only 9.1%, 5.3%, and 4.6% of the population. For 10.7%, their mental health was unaffected. Using Fisher’s exact test, we found no significant differences in the prevalence of having at least one increased mental health symptom across first-generation status, gender, or LGBTQIA+ status. A general trend of decreased prevalence of symptoms as students drew closer to graduation was noticed. Using Fisher’s exact test, academic year and prevalence of mental health symptoms are not independent, with p  < 0.0001.

Prevalence of mental health symptoms by academic year, and whether they increased

If you are not feeling at ease, what contributes MOST to your mental health status?

Twenty percent of respondents said that worries about the health of loved ones was their primary concern, 19.2% were most concerned about school/continuing education, 19.0% had anxiety about lack of proactivity, 15.9% were worried about finances, 10.8% were worried about future job offers, and 5.0% feared contracting the virus. Only 6.8% said that they were feeling at ease. Interestingly, there was no significant association between the proportion of respondents who were most worried about finances and income level (Fig.  2 ).

Causes of worry among students

Was it easier or harder to complete this semester away from campus?

Almost sixty-one percent of students found it harder to complete the semester away from campus, while 32.7% found it easier and 6.4% reported no change. There was no significant difference across age, gender, income level, LGBTQIA+ status, or first-generation status in this response.

How has COVID-19 affected your physical health?

Fifty percent of respondents indicated that they gained weight due to increased eating, while 20.2% reported that they felt/looked better due to exercise or dieting, 13.3% lost weight due to a lack of appetite, and 16.6% reported no changes. Among the students who reported an increased feeling of loneliness (59.8%), 57% reported that they gained weight, compared with just 39.4% of those who did not experience symptoms. Using Fisher’s exact test, this was significant with a p -value of 0.0301. The odds ratio (OR) is 2.04 (95% CI 1.15–3.62).

How has COVID-19 impacted your current and future plans?

COVID-19 disrupted the lives of most students, with only 26.4% stating the pandemic has not impacted their current or future plans. 27.1% lost an internship or job offer, 22.9% are taking a gap year or time off from school, and 31.8% need to support family. Only 16.6% say that the pandemic has given them other beneficial opportunities.

The groups of people most likely to have other beneficial opportunities due to the pandemic were men (OR 3.18, 95% CI 1.41–7.22, p = 0.0039), first-generation students (OR 2.27, 95% CI 0.99–5.19, p  = 0.0329), and low-income students (OR 3.05, 95% CI 1.35–6.99, p  = 0.0042). First-generation students were significantly more likely to take a gap year/time off from school (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.17–5.02, p  = 0.0251).

On the other hand, the groups that were significantly more likely to report no impact on future plans were women (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.07–3.92, p  = 0.0159), non-first-generation students (OR 3.12, 95% CI 1.62–5.97, p  = 0.0003), and non-low-income students (OR 3.77, 95% CI 1.89–7.53, p  < 0.0001). Given that these three groups correspond exactly to those which were least likely to say they gained beneficial opportunities, we investigated the rate at which gender, first-generation status, and low-income status affects having either a beneficial opportunity or no change in future plans. When performing this analysis, we found no significant differences across any of the three groups. Combined with the other evidence, this suggests that the key difference between demographic groups lies in the rate at which they gained beneficial opportunities in light of the pandemic.

How has COVID-19 impacted your relationships with your family?

29.4% of students had improved relationships with family, while 34.1% had strained relationships with family and 36.5% had no impact on relationships with family. The people who had strained relationships were significantly more likely to consider it harder to complete the semester at home (OR 2.59, 95% CI 1.36–4.94, p  = 0.0036) compared to those who had improved relationships or no change.

How has COVID-19 impacted your relationships with your friends?

27.8% of students had improved relationships with friends, while 45.7% had strained relationships with friends and 26.5% had no impact on relationships with friends.

How have you specifically taken care of your mental health amidst COVID-19?

29.0% of students engaged in mindfulness activities (meditation, yoga, journaling, etc.). 46.7% were exercising or engaging in physical activity, 22.0% were using a health app, 17.7% were obtaining mental health care from a professional, and 30.3% were not taking any specific actions to take care of their mental health. Of the people who were exercising, 35.9% gained weight while 32.0% said they felt/looked better due to exercise or dieting. In contrast, of those who were not exercising, 62.2% gained weight and only 9.8% said they felt or looked better. Using Fisher’s exact test, this effect was significant with p  < 0.0001.

At what point was your concern about COVID-19 heightened?

29.8% of students had their concern first heightened when college campuses sent students home, whereas 29.0% were first alarmed by states beginning lockdown guidelines. For 10.5%, they became more concerned when a friend or relative was diagnosed with COVID-19. For just 6.4%, the turning point was that friends or relatives were taking prevention measures seriously. Only 4.1% of the population indicated that they were not concerned about COVID-19. The distribution of responses was roughly equal across demographic groups.

How are you spending most of your time during the pandemic?

71.0% were watching TV shows or movies, 30.5% were reading books, 39.6% were exercising, 34.9% were learning new skills or picking up new hobbies, 33.6% were cooking or baking, 29.5% were working or interning, and 8.0% said they were not doing very much at all (Fig.  3 ). Note that the 39.6% figure of those exercising does not conflict with the 46.7% figure above, as some of the respondents may not be devoting very much time to exercise, and do not consider it a major use of their time during the pandemic.

How college students spent their time during the COVID-19 pandemic

Is there anything else you would like to share about the effect of COVID-19 on your mental health?

As this was a free-form text box, we used JMP’s text analysis suite to identify keywords. However, neither keyword identification nor singular value decomposition provided very much insight into the sentiments expressed. Given that this was an optional question, there was not enough information for numerical patterns to emerge. Instead, we have included a few quotes that demonstrate the range of ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected people’s mental health (not ordered by frequency).

“Everything has been so uncertain and has made me increasingly anxious”

“It is comforting to know that every college student in the country, and most around the world, are dealing with the same struggles that I am, and I am not alone in being fearful and anxious.”

“I smoke more”

“Its very hard to hold it together knowing the world as we once knew is no longer in existence..”

“Not getting help from my college financially has really drained me from even thinking about returning to college for FALL semester 2020.”

“One good thing is that it's given me more time to sleep, which has been one of the only benefits of the lockdown/pandemic.”

“It has increased productivity in approaching music & business”

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought severe educational and social repercussions, including the closure of college campuses as well as the introduction of online learning and social distancing at universities for the foreseeable future. College students were forced to abandon the social advantages of the so-called “college experience” (i.e. social gatherings, group studying, and in-person classes and meetings) to return home mid-semester. As reported by our survey, this triggered a decline in mental health measured by self-reported increased anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Consistent with these results, reports indicate that people of student status and ages 18–24 are at higher risk of anxiety and depression [ 12 ]. The stress associated with this abrupt social change, the disruptive factors that may exist at one’s home, and the fear of potentially contracting or spreading COVID-19 likely contributed to the development of trauma or stress-related disorders [ 13 ]. This accounts for the worsening mental health of domestic U.S. college students as shown by this survey, with significantly greater prevalence of symptoms among underclassmen that decreases with students closer to undergraduate completion. In line with the impacts we will discuss, this is likely due to the challenge of transitioning to college amidst a pandemic, the limited opportunities to form solid friendships, as well as a lack of human contact and in-person support.

Based on our survey’s results, the mental health status of the respondents has been most affected by their worries about the health of their loved ones amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. On top of that, many respondents feel uneasy about their plans for their continuing education, anxious about their lack of productivity at home, concerned about their finances and losing job and internship prospects, and worried about contracting the virus. These factors likely made it harder for students to complete the Spring 2020 semester at home, as many respondents have indicated. Indeed, most respondents indicated that their concern about the ongoing pandemic largely began when college campuses began to shut down or when states issued lockdown guidelines shortly after. These events evidently served as a turning point in the mental health of the respondents. As the pandemic ensued, the respondents reported that their lives were disrupted in significant ways. For instance, many reported to have lost an internship or job offer. Others reported the need to take a gap year. In addition, many respondents indicated that they now have the added responsibility of supporting their family in some way. Of the respondents who claimed that the COVID-19 pandemic strained family relationships, most admitted that it has been harder to work from home than at school. These results are summarized in Fig.  4 .

Ways in which COVID-19 has affected the mental health of college students

More than one third of first-generation students experienced increased anxiety and a quarter found it harder to complete the semester at home. Accordingly, significantly more first-generation students reported taking a gap year or time off from school. First generation students were more likely able to take advantage of opportunities due to the pandemic, indicating access to support systems that may have allowed these students to take time off from school in the first place. Men and low-income students were also more likely to benefit from opportunities due to the pandemic while women, non first-generation, and non low-income students were more likely to report no impacts. However, there were no significant differences across these three demographic statuses, indicating that the main differences were solely in whether or not they gained beneficial opportunities due to the pandemic. Taken together, it appears that first generation and low-income students likely sought out more support during the pandemic, which has helped them overcome pre-pandemic anxiety regarding communicating with campus faculty and staff and utilizing support services [ 14 ]. In regards to male students who benefitted from these opportunities, they likely took time off from school as the number of men who have enrolled in college this Fall 2020 declined by seven times compared to the number of women enrolled [ 15 ], potentially due to the increased mental health issues experienced by all. The key difference is that men are less likely to seek help for mental health difficulties compared to women even pre-pandemic [ 16 ].

On the other hand, there were mixed experiences (albeit statistically insignificant) for LGBTQIA+ students with regard to anxiety, with a quarter reported increased levels and a similar number reporting decreased levels of anxiety. There were similarly mixed experiences in completing the semester from home. This may be due to LGBTQIA+ students accessing necessary resources as sixty-two percent of U.S. colleges and universities have LGBTQIA+ support groups [ 17 ] that likely serve as a valuable resource for these students throughout the pandemic.

Presumably due to increased stress factors at home and distance barriers, most respondents indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic strained relationships with their friends. While communications with friends declined, most respondents reported to be spending most of their free time watching TV because of widespread state and local lockdown orders. According to a health survey in England from 2012, watching TV for two hours or more on a daily basis is associated with mental health disorders, measured by a poor performance on the General Health Questionnaire and Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale [ 18 ]. On the other hand, nearly 40% of respondents indicated that they spent time exercising. Physical exercise has been proven to alleviate anxiety and depression, while increasing one’s mood and cognitive function [ 19 ]. Roughly half of the respondents claimed that they used exercise to take care of their mental health. Of those people, most reported feeling better. However, over 30% of respondents admitted to not specifically taking care of their mental health. Most people reported that they gained weight, particularly those who reported increased loneliness. The isolation and lack of contact may have led affected students to seek comfort food or decrease their daily activity levels, whether it may be training on a sports team or walking to classes and other commitments.

Similar to our findings that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an overall reduction in the mental health of US college students, a study in China reported that about 40% of female adolescents have suffered from depression. The study cited distance learning, concern about the pandemic, and a decrease in physical exercise and sleep as independent factors causing this increase in depression [ 20 ]. Undoubtedly, the pandemic has caused many to experience feelings of loneliness and isolation. Furthermore, it has caused many individuals’ pre-existing mental health conditions to deteriorate without access to the appropriate services [ 21 ].

These services are offered on most college campuses but are more difficult to access in the world of online learning. According to a study in the New York City metropolitan area, only about half of the surveyed colleges offered information about remote counseling on their website and less than 60% of college counseling websites even offered directions for students experiencing a mental health emergency [ 22 ]. Furthermore, many news outlets report that out-of-state students have been unable to receive mental health services from their schools due to state-dependent licensures—some of which require psychologists to apply for a temporary license or receive special permission to practice [ 23 ]. Although some policies have been relaxed, students still face geographic, time, and financial barriers to access these necessary mental health services [ 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Additionally, the flexibility extended for telemedicine providers due to the pandemic being a public health emergency began to expire in Fall 2020, and navigating these policies is time-consuming and confusing for healthcare providers [ 25 ]. All of these obstacles have contributed to out-of-state students losing their mental health support completely in the face of the clear decline in mental health we have found, as supported by recent similar studies [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ].

To combat the mental health challenges experienced by many US college students amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities across the country could take steps to expand access to virtual mental health resources and professional guidance. Some institutions have taken to a 24/7 crisis support line as well as virtual resources and emergency funding provided by the CARES Act distributed through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund [ 30 ]. Some universities were able to refund costs from room and board, which likely contributed to easing financial distress [ 31 ]. At the federal level, the PSYPACT agreement was passed—allowing interstate practice within the fourteen states it has been enacted in [ 32 ]ーand the TREAT Act that would allow healthcare professionals to render services anywhere during the COVID-19 pandemic was proposed but has yet to be implemented [ 33 ].

Limitations

The survey results are limited by the fact that only students who are registered with Pollfish® as publishers have the opportunity to participate in this survey. Potentially due to the monetary incentive given by Pollfish® to the respondents of their surveys, first generation and low income students are slightly overrepresented. In this survey, 61.0% of students are first generation, 35.5% being low income which is higher than the national average of 56.0% first generation students [ 34 ]. However, a study by Haenz et al. at the University of California, Los Angeles reports that roughly 50.0% of first generation students are low-income [ 35 ], which may be accounted for by the additional 10.5% of students who preferred not to reveal their income status in our study. Additionally, there are more students who identify as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community (36.5%) compared to the national average of 18.2% [ 36 ]. Our slightly disproportionate sample indicates that our findings may not be fully representative of all U.S. college students.

Future avenues of investigation include looking into specific experiences of these groups as well as other factors, such as the experiences of international students, of associate degree program students, community college students, or students completing online degrees and areas of improvement for the specific support systems in place at these educational institutions for these students since the pandemic.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has taken a universal toll on almost all aspects of life. As cases rapidly increased with great incidence, dense areas and indoor public spaces were closed and physical distancing as well as other preventative measures were enforced. These safety measures led to abrupt closures of schools and educational institutions, and a rushed transition to remote learning. Many reported worries for the health of loved ones most impacted their mental health, and the need to take care of family most affected current and future plans. Given that most students’ concerns were heightened when college campuses sent students home as well as the detrimental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ mental health, it is crucial for colleges as well as federal regulations to provide the appropriate accommodations and access to mental health care to ensure well-being and safety are prioritized as much asーif not more thanーeducation.

Availability of the data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Confidence interval

2019 Novel Coronavirus

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual or allied

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Agender, Asexual and other queer-identifying community

Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact, an interstate compact facilitated by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB)

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, S.3548 bill introduced in 19 March 2020 by Senator McConnell

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First In My Family: A Profile Of First-Generation College Students At Four-Year Institutions Since 1971 . University of California, Los Angeles; The Foundation for Independent Higher Education; Los Angeles, CA. 2007. https://www.heri.ucla.edu/PDFs/pubs/TFS/Special/Monographs/FirstInMyFamily.pdf . Accessed 01 March 2021.

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Lee, J., Solomon, M., Stead, T. et al. Impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of US college students. BMC Psychol 9 , 95 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-021-00598-3

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Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 113 great research paper topics.

General Education

One of the hardest parts of writing a research paper can be just finding a good topic to write about. Fortunately we've done the hard work for you and have compiled a list of 113 interesting research paper topics. They've been organized into ten categories and cover a wide range of subjects so you can easily find the best topic for you.

In addition to the list of good research topics, we've included advice on what makes a good research paper topic and how you can use your topic to start writing a great paper.

What Makes a Good Research Paper Topic?

Not all research paper topics are created equal, and you want to make sure you choose a great topic before you start writing. Below are the three most important factors to consider to make sure you choose the best research paper topics.

#1: It's Something You're Interested In

A paper is always easier to write if you're interested in the topic, and you'll be more motivated to do in-depth research and write a paper that really covers the entire subject. Even if a certain research paper topic is getting a lot of buzz right now or other people seem interested in writing about it, don't feel tempted to make it your topic unless you genuinely have some sort of interest in it as well.

#2: There's Enough Information to Write a Paper

Even if you come up with the absolute best research paper topic and you're so excited to write about it, you won't be able to produce a good paper if there isn't enough research about the topic. This can happen for very specific or specialized topics, as well as topics that are too new to have enough research done on them at the moment. Easy research paper topics will always be topics with enough information to write a full-length paper.

Trying to write a research paper on a topic that doesn't have much research on it is incredibly hard, so before you decide on a topic, do a bit of preliminary searching and make sure you'll have all the information you need to write your paper.

#3: It Fits Your Teacher's Guidelines

Don't get so carried away looking at lists of research paper topics that you forget any requirements or restrictions your teacher may have put on research topic ideas. If you're writing a research paper on a health-related topic, deciding to write about the impact of rap on the music scene probably won't be allowed, but there may be some sort of leeway. For example, if you're really interested in current events but your teacher wants you to write a research paper on a history topic, you may be able to choose a topic that fits both categories, like exploring the relationship between the US and North Korea. No matter what, always get your research paper topic approved by your teacher first before you begin writing.

113 Good Research Paper Topics

Below are 113 good research topics to help you get you started on your paper. We've organized them into ten categories to make it easier to find the type of research paper topics you're looking for.

Arts/Culture

• Discuss the main differences in art from the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance .
• Analyze the impact a famous artist had on the world.
• How is sexism portrayed in different types of media (music, film, video games, etc.)? Has the amount/type of sexism changed over the years?
• How has the music of slaves brought over from Africa shaped modern American music?
• How has rap music evolved in the past decade?
• How has the portrayal of minorities in the media changed?

Current Events

• What have been the impacts of China's one child policy?
• How have the goals of feminists changed over the decades?
• How has the Trump presidency changed international relations?
• Analyze the history of the relationship between the United States and North Korea.
• What factors contributed to the current decline in the rate of unemployment?
• What have been the impacts of states which have increased their minimum wage?
• How do US immigration laws compare to immigration laws of other countries?
• How have the US's immigration laws changed in the past few years/decades?
• How has the Black Lives Matter movement affected discussions and view about racism in the US?
• What impact has the Affordable Care Act had on healthcare in the US?
• What factors contributed to the UK deciding to leave the EU (Brexit)?
• What factors contributed to China becoming an economic power?
• Discuss the history of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies  (some of which tokenize the S&P 500 Index on the blockchain) .
• Do students in schools that eliminate grades do better in college and their careers?
• Do students from wealthier backgrounds score higher on standardized tests?
• Do students who receive free meals at school get higher grades compared to when they weren't receiving a free meal?
• Do students who attend charter schools score higher on standardized tests than students in public schools?
• Do students learn better in same-sex classrooms?
• How does giving each student access to an iPad or laptop affect their studies?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Montessori Method ?
• Do children who attend preschool do better in school later on?
• What was the impact of the No Child Left Behind act?
• How does the US education system compare to education systems in other countries?
• What impact does mandatory physical education classes have on students' health?
• Which methods are most effective at reducing bullying in schools?
• Do homeschoolers who attend college do as well as students who attended traditional schools?
• Does offering tenure increase or decrease quality of teaching?
• How does college debt affect future life choices of students?
• Should graduate students be able to form unions?

• What are different ways to lower gun-related deaths in the US?
• How and why have divorce rates changed over time?
• Is affirmative action still necessary in education and/or the workplace?
• Should physician-assisted suicide be legal?
• How has stem cell research impacted the medical field?
• How can human trafficking be reduced in the United States/world?
• Should people be able to donate organs in exchange for money?
• Which types of juvenile punishment have proven most effective at preventing future crimes?
• Has the increase in US airport security made passengers safer?
• Analyze the immigration policies of certain countries and how they are similar and different from one another.
• Several states have legalized recreational marijuana. What positive and negative impacts have they experienced as a result?
• Do tariffs increase the number of domestic jobs?
• Which prison reforms have proven most effective?
• Should governments be able to censor certain information on the internet?
• Which methods/programs have been most effective at reducing teen pregnancy?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Keto diet?
• How effective are different exercise regimes for losing weight and maintaining weight loss?
• How do the healthcare plans of various countries differ from each other?
• What are the most effective ways to treat depression ?
• What are the pros and cons of genetically modified foods?
• Which methods are most effective for improving memory?
• What can be done to lower healthcare costs in the US?
• What factors contributed to the current opioid crisis?
• Analyze the history and impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic .
• Are low-carbohydrate or low-fat diets more effective for weight loss?
• How much exercise should the average adult be getting each week?
• Which methods are most effective to get parents to vaccinate their children?
• What are the pros and cons of clean needle programs?
• How does stress affect the body?
• Discuss the history of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
• What were the causes and effects of the Salem Witch Trials?
• Who was responsible for the Iran-Contra situation?
• How has New Orleans and the government's response to natural disasters changed since Hurricane Katrina?
• What events led to the fall of the Roman Empire?
• What were the impacts of British rule in India ?
• Was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary?
• What were the successes and failures of the women's suffrage movement in the United States?
• What were the causes of the Civil War?
• How did Abraham Lincoln's assassination impact the country and reconstruction after the Civil War?
• Which factors contributed to the colonies winning the American Revolution?
• What caused Hitler's rise to power?
• Discuss how a specific invention impacted history.
• What led to Cleopatra's fall as ruler of Egypt?
• How has Japan changed and evolved over the centuries?
• What were the causes of the Rwandan genocide ?

• Why did Martin Luther decide to split with the Catholic Church?
• Analyze the history and impact of a well-known cult (Jonestown, Manson family, etc.)
• How did the sexual abuse scandal impact how people view the Catholic Church?
• How has the Catholic church's power changed over the past decades/centuries?
• What are the causes behind the rise in atheism/ agnosticism in the United States?
• What were the influences in Siddhartha's life resulted in him becoming the Buddha?
• How has media portrayal of Islam/Muslims changed since September 11th?

Science/Environment

• How has the earth's climate changed in the past few decades?
• How has the use and elimination of DDT affected bird populations in the US?
• Analyze how the number and severity of natural disasters have increased in the past few decades.
• Analyze deforestation rates in a certain area or globally over a period of time.
• How have past oil spills changed regulations and cleanup methods?
• How has the Flint water crisis changed water regulation safety?
• What are the pros and cons of fracking?
• What impact has the Paris Climate Agreement had so far?
• What have NASA's biggest successes and failures been?
• How can we improve access to clean water around the world?
• Does ecotourism actually have a positive impact on the environment?
• Should the US rely on nuclear energy more?
• What can be done to save amphibian species currently at risk of extinction?
• What impact has climate change had on coral reefs?
• How are black holes created?
• Are teens who spend more time on social media more likely to suffer anxiety and/or depression?
• How will the loss of net neutrality affect internet users?
• Analyze the history and progress of self-driving vehicles.
• How has the use of drones changed surveillance and warfare methods?
• Has social media made people more or less connected?
• What progress has currently been made with artificial intelligence ?
• Do smartphones increase or decrease workplace productivity?
• What are the most effective ways to use technology in the classroom?
• How is Google search affecting our intelligence?
• When is the best age for a child to begin owning a smartphone?
• Has frequent texting reduced teen literacy rates?

How to Write a Great Research Paper

Even great research paper topics won't give you a great research paper if you don't hone your topic before and during the writing process. Follow these three tips to turn good research paper topics into great papers.

#1: Figure Out Your Thesis Early

Before you start writing a single word of your paper, you first need to know what your thesis will be. Your thesis is a statement that explains what you intend to prove/show in your paper. Every sentence in your research paper will relate back to your thesis, so you don't want to start writing without it!

As some examples, if you're writing a research paper on if students learn better in same-sex classrooms, your thesis might be "Research has shown that elementary-age students in same-sex classrooms score higher on standardized tests and report feeling more comfortable in the classroom."

If you're writing a paper on the causes of the Civil War, your thesis might be "While the dispute between the North and South over slavery is the most well-known cause of the Civil War, other key causes include differences in the economies of the North and South, states' rights, and territorial expansion."

#2: Back Every Statement Up With Research

Remember, this is a research paper you're writing, so you'll need to use lots of research to make your points. Every statement you give must be backed up with research, properly cited the way your teacher requested. You're allowed to include opinions of your own, but they must also be supported by the research you give.

#3: Do Your Research Before You Begin Writing

You don't want to start writing your research paper and then learn that there isn't enough research to back up the points you're making, or, even worse, that the research contradicts the points you're trying to make!

Get most of your research on your good research topics done before you begin writing. Then use the research you've collected to create a rough outline of what your paper will cover and the key points you're going to make. This will help keep your paper clear and organized, and it'll ensure you have enough research to produce a strong paper.

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Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Academic stress and mental well-being in college students: correlations, affected groups, and covid-19.

• 1 Department of Neurology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, United States
• 2 Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, United States
• 3 Office for Diversity and Community Engagement, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, United States
• 4 Department of Biology, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ, United States

Academic stress may be the single most dominant stress factor that affects the mental well-being of college students. Some groups of students may experience more stress than others, and the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic could further complicate the stress response. We surveyed 843 college students and evaluated whether academic stress levels affected their mental health, and if so, whether there were specific vulnerable groups by gender, race/ethnicity, year of study, and reaction to the pandemic. Using a combination of scores from the Perception of Academic Stress Scale (PAS) and the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), we found a significant correlation between worse academic stress and poor mental well-being in all the students, who also reported an exacerbation of stress in response to the pandemic. In addition, SWEMWBS scores revealed the lowest mental health and highest academic stress in non-binary individuals, and the opposite trend was observed for both the measures in men. Furthermore, women and non-binary students reported higher academic stress than men, as indicated by PAS scores. The same pattern held as a reaction to COVID-19-related stress. PAS scores and responses to the pandemic varied by the year of study, but no obvious patterns emerged. These results indicate that academic stress in college is significantly correlated to psychological well-being in the students who responded to this survey. In addition, some groups of college students are more affected by stress than others, and additional resources and support should be provided to them.

Introduction

Late adolescence and emerging adulthood are transitional periods marked by major physiological and psychological changes, including elevated stress ( Hogan and Astone, 1986 ; Arnett, 2000 ; Shanahan, 2000 ; Spear, 2000 ; Scales et al., 2015 ; Romeo et al., 2016 ; Barbayannis et al., 2017 ; Chiang et al., 2019 ; Lally and Valentine-French, 2019 ; Matud et al., 2020 ). This pattern is particularly true for college students. According to a 2015 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment survey, three in four college students self-reported feeling stressed, while one in five college students reported stress-related suicidal ideation ( Liu, C. H., et al., 2019 ; American Psychological Association, 2020 ). Studies show that a stressor experienced in college may serve as a predictor of mental health diagnoses ( Pedrelli et al., 2015 ; Liu, C. H., et al., 2019 ; Karyotaki et al., 2020 ). Indeed, many mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, and substance abuse disorder, begin during this period ( Blanco et al., 2008 ; Pedrelli et al., 2015 ; Saleh et al., 2017 ; Reddy et al., 2018 ; Liu, C. H., et al., 2019 ).

Stress experienced by college students is multi-factorial and can be attributed to a variety of contributing factors ( Reddy et al., 2018 ; Karyotaki et al., 2020 ). A growing body of evidence suggests that academic-related stress plays a significant role in college ( Misra and McKean, 2000 ; Dusselier et al., 2005 ; Elias et al., 2011 ; Bedewy and Gabriel, 2015 ; Hj Ramli et al., 2018 ; Reddy et al., 2018 ; Pascoe et al., 2020 ). For instance, as many as 87% of college students surveyed across the United States cited education as their primary source of stress ( American Psychological Association, 2020 ). College students are exposed to novel academic stressors, such as an extensive academic course load, substantial studying, time management, classroom competition, financial concerns, familial pressures, and adapting to a new environment ( Misra and Castillo, 2004 ; Byrd and McKinney, 2012 ; Ekpenyong et al., 2013 ; Bedewy and Gabriel, 2015 ; Ketchen Lipson et al., 2015 ; Pedrelli et al., 2015 ; Reddy et al., 2018 ; Liu, C. H., et al., 2019 ; Freire et al., 2020 ; Karyotaki et al., 2020 ). Academic stress can reduce motivation, hinder academic achievement, and lead to increased college dropout rates ( Pascoe et al., 2020 ).

Academic stress has also been shown to negatively impact mental health in students ( Li and Lin, 2003 ; Eisenberg et al., 2009 ; Green et al., 2021 ). Mental, or psychological, well-being is one of the components of positive mental health, and it includes happiness, life satisfaction, stress management, and psychological functioning ( Ryan and Deci, 2001 ; Tennant et al., 2007 ; Galderisi et al., 2015 ; Trout and Alsandor, 2020 ; Defeyter et al., 2021 ; Green et al., 2021 ). Positive mental health is an understudied but important area that helps paint a more comprehensive picture of overall mental health ( Tennant et al., 2007 ; Margraf et al., 2020 ). Moreover, positive mental health has been shown to be predictive of both negative and positive mental health indicators over time ( Margraf et al., 2020 ). Further exploring the relationship between academic stress and mental well-being is important because poor mental well-being has been shown to affect academic performance in college ( Tennant et al., 2007 ; Eisenberg et al., 2009 ; Freire et al., 2016 ).

Perception of academic stress varies among different groups of college students ( Lee et al., 2021 ). For instance, female college students report experiencing increased stress than their male counterparts ( Misra et al., 2000 ; Eisenberg et al., 2007 ; Evans et al., 2018 ; Lee et al., 2021 ). Male and female students also respond differently to stressors ( Misra et al., 2000 ; Verma et al., 2011 ). Moreover, compared to their cisgender peers, non-binary students report increased stressors and mental health issues ( Budge et al., 2020 ). The academic year of study of the college students has also been shown to impact academic stress levels ( Misra and McKean, 2000 ; Elias et al., 2011 ; Wyatt et al., 2017 ; Liu, C. H., et al., 2019 ; Defeyter et al., 2021 ). While several studies indicate that racial/ethnic minority groups of students, including Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian American students, are more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and suicidality than their white peers ( Lesure-Lester and King, 2004 ; Lipson et al., 2018 ; Liu, C. H., et al., 2019 ; Kodish et al., 2022 ), these studies are limited and often report mixed or inconclusive findings ( Liu, C. H., et al., 2019 ; Kodish et al., 2022 ). Therefore, more studies should be conducted to address this gap in research to help identify subgroups that may be disproportionately impacted by academic stress and lower well-being.

The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic is a major stressor that has led to a mental health crisis ( American Psychological Association, 2020 ; Dong and Bouey, 2020 ). For college students, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant changes and disruptions to daily life, elevated stress levels, and mental and physical health deterioration ( American Psychological Association, 2020 ; Husky et al., 2020 ; Patsali et al., 2020 ; Son et al., 2020 ; Clabaugh et al., 2021 ; Lee et al., 2021 ; Lopes and Nihei, 2021 ; Yang et al., 2021 ). While any college student is vulnerable to these stressors, these concerns are amplified for members of minority groups ( Salerno et al., 2020 ; Clabaugh et al., 2021 ; McQuaid et al., 2021 ; Prowse et al., 2021 ; Kodish et al., 2022 ). Identifying students at greatest risk provides opportunities to offer support, resources, and mental health services to specific subgroups.

The overall aim of this study was to assess academic stress and mental well-being in a sample of college students. Within this umbrella, we had several goals. First, to determine whether a relationship exists between the two constructs of perceived academic stress, measured by the Perception of Academic Stress Scale (PAS), and mental well-being, measured by the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), in college students. Second, to identify groups that could experience differential levels of academic stress and mental health. Third, to explore how the perception of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic affected stress levels. We hypothesized that students who experienced more academic stress would have worse psychological well-being and that certain groups of students would be more impacted by academic- and COVID-19-related stress.

Materials and Methods

Survey instrument.

A survey was developed that included all questions from the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being ( Tennant et al., 2007 ; Stewart-Brown and Janmohamed, 2008 ) and from the Perception of Academic Stress Scale ( Bedewy and Gabriel, 2015 ). The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale is a seven-item scale designed to measure mental well-being and positive mental health ( Tennant et al., 2007 ; Fung, 2019 ; Shah et al., 2021 ). The Perception of Academic Stress Scale is an 18-item scale designed to assess sources of academic stress perceived by individuals and measures three main academic stressors: academic expectations, workload and examinations, and academic self-perceptions of students ( Bedewy and Gabriel, 2015 ). These shorter scales were chosen to increase our response and study completion rates ( Kost and de Rosa, 2018 ). Both tools have been shown to be valid and reliable in college students with Likert scale responses ( Tennant et al., 2007 ; Bedewy and Gabriel, 2015 ; Ringdal et al., 2018 ; Fung, 2019 ; Koushede et al., 2019 ). Both the SWEMWBS and PAS scores are a summation of responses to the individual questions in the instruments. For the SWEMWBS questions, a higher score indicates better mental health, and scores range from 7 to 35. Similarly, the PAS questions are phrased such that a higher score indicates lower levels of stress, and scores range from 18 to 90. We augmented the survey with demographic questions (e.g., age, gender, and race/ethnicity) at the beginning of the survey and two yes/no questions and one Likert scale question about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic at the end of our survey.

Participants for the study were self-reported college students between the ages of 18 and 30 years who resided in the United States, were fluent in English, and had Internet access. Participants were solicited through Prolific ( https://prolific.co ) in October 2021. A total of 1,023 individuals enrolled in the survey. Three individuals did not agree to participate after beginning the survey. Two were not fluent in English. Thirteen individuals indicated that they were not college students. Two were not in the 18–30 age range, and one was located outside of the United States. Of the remaining individuals, 906 were full-time students and 96 were part-time students. Given the skew of the data and potential differences in these populations, we removed the part-time students. Of the 906 full-time students, 58 indicated that they were in their fifth year of college or higher. We understand that not every student completes their undergraduate studies in 4 years, but we did not want to have a mixture of undergraduate and graduate students with no way to differentiate them. Finally, one individual reported their age as a non-number, and four individuals did not answer a question about their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This yielded a final sample of 843 college students.

Data Analyses

After reviewing the dataset, some variables were removed from consideration due to a lack of consistency (e.g., some students reported annual income for themselves and others reported family income) or heterogeneity that prevented easy categorization (e.g., field of study). We settled on four variables of interest: gender, race/ethnicity, year in school, and response to the COVID-19 pandemic ( Table 1 ). Gender was coded as female, male, or non-binary. Race/ethnicity was coded as white or Caucasian; Black or African American; East Asian; Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish origin; or other. Other was used for groups that were not well-represented in the sample and included individuals who identified themselves as Middle Eastern, Native American or Alaskan Native, and South Asian, as well as individuals who chose “other” or “prefer not to answer” on the survey. The year of study was coded as one through four, and COVID-19 stress was coded as two groups, no change/neutral response/reduced stress or increased stress.

Table 1 . Characteristics of the participants in the study.

Our first goal was to determine whether there was a relationship between self-reported academic stress and mental health, and we found a significant correlation (see Results section). Given the positive correlation, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with a model testing the main effects of gender, race/ethnicity, and year of study was run in SPSS v 26.0. A factorial MANOVA would have been ideal, but our data were drawn from a convenience sample, which did not give equal representation to all groupings, and some combinations of gender, race/ethnicity, and year of study were poorly represented (e.g., a single individual). As such, we determined that it would be better to have a lack of interaction terms as a limitation to the study than to provide potentially spurious results. Finally, we used chi-square analyses to assess the effect of potential differences in the perception of the COVID-19 pandemic on stress levels in general among the groups in each category (gender, race/ethnicity, and year of study).

In terms of internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha was 0.82 for the SMEMWBS and 0.86 for the PAS. A variety of descriptors have been applied to Cronbach's alpha values. That said, 0.7 is often considered a threshold value in terms of acceptable internal consistency, and our values could be considered “high” or “good” ( Taber, 2018 ).

The participants in our study were primarily women (78.5% of respondents; Table 1 ). Participants were not equally distributed among races/ethnicities, with the majority of students selecting white or Caucasian (66.4% of responders; Table 1 ), or years of study, with fewer first-year students than other groups ( Table 1 ).

Students who reported higher academic stress also reported worse mental well-being in general, irrespective of age, gender, race/ethnicity, or year of study. PAS and SWEMWBS scores were significantly correlated ( r = 0.53, p < 0.001; Figure 1 ), indicating that a higher level of perceived academic stress is associated with worse mental well-being in college students within the United States.

Figure 1 . SWEMWBS and PAS scores for all participants.

Among the subgroups of students, women, non-binary students, and second-year students reported higher academic stress levels and worse mental well-being ( Table 2 ; Figures 2 – 4 ). In addition, the combined measures differed significantly between the groups in each category ( Table 2 ). However, as measured by partial eta squared, the effect sizes were relatively small, given the convention of 0.01 = small, 0.06 = medium, and 0.14 = large differences ( Lakens, 2013 ). As such, there were only two instances in which Tukey's post-hoc tests revealed more than one statistical grouping ( Figures 2 – 4 ). For SWEMWBS score by gender, women were intermediate between men (high) and non-binary individuals (low) and not significantly different from either group ( Figure 2 ). Second-year students had the lowest PAS scores for the year of study, and first-year students had the highest scores. Third- and fourth-year students were intermediate and not statistically different from the other two groups ( Figure 4 ). There were no pairwise differences in academic stress levels or mental well-being among racial/ethnic groups.

Table 2 . Results of the MANOVA.

Figure 2 . SWEMWBS and PAS scores according to gender (mean ± SEM). Different letters for SWEMWBS scores indicate different statistical groupings ( p < 0.05).

Figure 3 . SWEMWBS and PAS scores according to race/ethnicity (mean ± SEM).

Figure 4 . SWEMWBS and PAS scores according to year in college (mean ± SEM). Different letters for PAS scores indicate different statistical groupings ( p < 0.05).

The findings varied among categories in terms of stress responses due to the COVID-19 pandemic ( Table 3 ). For gender, men were less likely than women or non-binary individuals to report increased stress from COVID-19 (χ 2 = 27.98, df = 2, p < 0.001). All racial/ethnic groups responded similarly to the pandemic (χ 2 = 3.41, df = 4, p < 0.49). For the year of study, first-year students were less likely than other cohorts to report increased stress from COVID-19 (χ 2 = 9.38, df = 3, p < 0.03).

Table 3 . Impact of COVID-19 on stress level by gender, race/ethnicity, and year of study.

Our primary findings showed a positive correlation between perceived academic stress and mental well-being in United States college students, suggesting that academic stressors, including academic expectations, workload and grading, and students' academic self-perceptions, are equally important as psychological well-being. Overall, irrespective of gender, race/ethnicity, or year of study, students who reported higher academic stress levels experienced diminished mental well-being. The utilization of well-established scales and a large sample size are strengths of this study. Our results extend and contribute to the existing literature on stress by confirming findings from past studies that reported higher academic stress and lower psychological well-being in college students utilizing the same two scales ( Green et al., 2021 ; Syed, 2021 ). To our knowledge, the majority of other prior studies with similar findings examined different components of stress, studied negative mental health indicators, used different scales or methods, employed smaller sample sizes, or were conducted in different countries ( Li and Lin, 2003 ; American Psychological Association, 2020 ; Husky et al., 2020 ; Pascoe et al., 2020 ; Patsali et al., 2020 ; Clabaugh et al., 2021 ; Lee et al., 2021 ; Lopes and Nihei, 2021 ; Yang et al., 2021 ).

This study also demonstrated that college students are not uniformly impacted by academic stress or pandemic-related stress and that there are significant group-level differences in mental well-being. Specifically, non-binary individuals and second-year students were disproportionately impacted by academic stress. When considering the effects of gender, non-binary students, in comparison to gender-conforming students, reported the highest stress levels and worst psychological well-being. Although there is a paucity of research examining the impact of academic stress in non-binary college students, prior studies have indicated that non-binary adults face adverse mental health outcomes when compared to male and female-identifying individuals ( Thorne et al., 2018 ; Jones et al., 2019 ; Budge et al., 2020 ). Alarmingly, Lipson et al. (2019) found that gender non-conforming college students were two to four times more likely to experience mental health struggles than cisgender students ( Lipson et al., 2019 ). With a growing number of college students in the United States identifying as as non-binary, additional studies could offer invaluable insight into how academic stress affects this population ( Budge et al., 2020 ).

In addition, we found that second-year students reported the most academic-related distress and lowest psychological well-being relative to students in other years of study. We surmise this may be due to this group taking advanced courses, managing heavier academic workloads, and exploring different majors. Other studies support our findings and suggest higher stress levels could be attributed to increased studying and difficulties with time management, as well as having less well-established social support networks and coping mechanisms compared to upperclassmen ( Allen and Hiebert, 1991 ; Misra and McKean, 2000 ; Liu, X et al., 2019 ). Benefiting from their additional experience, upperclassmen may have developed more sophisticated studying skills, formed peer support groups, and identified approaches to better manage their academic stress ( Allen and Hiebert, 1991 ; Misra and McKean, 2000 ). Our findings suggest that colleges should consider offering tailored mental health resources, such as time management and study skill workshops, based on the year of study to improve students' stress levels and psychological well-being ( Liu, X et al., 2019 ).

Although this study reported no significant differences regarding race or ethnicity, this does not indicate that minority groups experienced less academic stress or better mental well-being ( Lee et al., 2021 ). Instead, our results may reflect the low sample size of non-white races/ethnicities, which may not have given enough statistical power to corroborate. In addition, since coping and resilience are important mediators of subjective stress experiences ( Freire et al., 2020 ), we speculate that the lower ratios of stress reported in non-white participants in our study (75 vs. 81) may be because they are more accustomed to adversity and thereby more resilient ( Brown, 2008 ; Acheampong et al., 2019 ). Furthermore, ethnic minority students may face stigma when reporting mental health struggles ( Liu, C. H., et al., 2019 ; Lee et al., 2021 ). For instance, studies showed that Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian American students disclose fewer mental health issues than white students ( Liu, C. H., et al., 2019 ; Lee et al., 2021 ). Moreover, the ability to identify stressors and mental health problems may manifest differently culturally for some minority groups ( Huang and Zane, 2016 ; Liu, C. H., et al., 2019 ). Contrary to our findings, other studies cited racial disparities in academic stress levels and mental well-being of students. More specifically, Negga et al. (2007) concluded that African American college students were more susceptible to higher academic stress levels than their white classmates ( Negga et al., 2007 ). Another study reported that minority students experienced greater distress and worse mental health outcomes compared to non-minority students ( Smith et al., 2014 ). Since there may be racial disparities in access to mental health services at the college level, universities, professors, and counselors should offer additional resources to support these students while closely monitoring their psychological well-being ( Lipson et al., 2018 ; Liu, C. H., et al., 2019 ).

While the COVID-19 pandemic increased stress levels in all the students included in our study, women, non-binary students, and upperclassmen were disproportionately affected. An overwhelming body of evidence suggests that the majority of college students experienced increased stress levels and worsening mental health as a result of the pandemic ( Allen and Hiebert, 1991 ; American Psychological Association, 2020 ; Husky et al., 2020 ; Patsali et al., 2020 ; Son et al., 2020 ; Clabaugh et al., 2021 ; Lee et al., 2021 ; Yang et al., 2021 ). Our results also align with prior studies that found similar subgroups of students experience disproportionate pandemic-related distress ( Gao et al., 2020 ; Clabaugh et al., 2021 ; Hunt et al., 2021 ; Jarrett et al., 2021 ; Lee et al., 2021 ; Chen and Lucock, 2022 ). In particular, the differences between female students and their male peers may be the result of different psychological and physiological responses to stress reactivity, which in turn may contribute to different coping mechanisms to stress and the higher rates of stress-related disorders experienced by women ( Misra et al., 2000 ; Kajantie and Phillips, 2006 ; Verma et al., 2011 ; Gao et al., 2020 ; Graves et al., 2021 ). COVID-19 was a secondary consideration in our study and survey design, so the conclusions drawn here are necessarily limited.

The implications of this study are that college students facing increased stress and struggling with mental health issues should receive personalized and specific mental health services, resources, and support. This is particularly true for groups that have been disproportionately impacted by academic stress and stress due to the pandemic. Many students who experience mental health struggles underutilize college services due to cost, stigma, or lack of information ( Cage et al., 2020 ; Lee et al., 2021 ). To raise awareness and destigmatize mental health, colleges can consider distributing confidential validated assessments, such as the PAS and SWEMWBS, in class and teach students to self-score ( Lee et al., 2021 ). These results can be used to understand how academic stress and mental well-being change over time and allow for specific and targeted interventions for vulnerable groups. In addition, teaching students healthy stress management techniques has been shown to improve psychological well-being ( Alborzkouh et al., 2015 ). Moreover, adaptive coping strategies, including social and emotional support, have been found to improve the mental well-being of students, and stress-reduction peer support groups and workshops on campus could be beneficial in reducing stress and improving the self-efficacy of students ( Ruthig et al., 2009 ; Baqutayan, 2011 ; Bedewy and Gabriel, 2015 ; Freire et al., 2020 ; Green et al., 2021 ; Suresh et al., 2021 ). Other interventions that have been effective in improving the coping skills of college students include cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness mediation, and online coping tools ( Kang et al., 2009 ; Regehr et al., 2013 ; Molla Jafar et al., 2015 ; Phang et al., 2015 ; Houston et al., 2017 ; Yusufov et al., 2019 ; Freire et al., 2020 ). Given that resilience has also been shown to help mediate stress and improve mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, interventions focusing on enhancing resilience should be considered ( Surzykiewicz et al., 2021 ; Skalski et al., 2022 ). Telemental health resources across colleges can also be implemented to reduce stigma and improve at-risk students' access to care ( Toscos et al., 2018 ; Hadler et al., 2021 ). University campuses, professors, and counselors should consider focusing on fostering a more equitable and inclusive environment to encourage marginalized students to seek mental health support ( Budge et al., 2020 ).

Limitations

While our study has numerous strengths, including using standardized instruments and a large sample size, this study also has several limitations due to both the methodology and sample. First, the correlational study design precludes making any causal relationships ( Misra and McKean, 2000 ). Thereby, our findings should be taken in the context of academic stress and mental well-being, and recognize that mental health could be caused by other non-academic factors. Second, the PAS comprised only the perception of responses to academic stress, but stress is a multi-factorial response that encompasses both perceptions and coping mechanisms to different stressors, and the magnitude of stress varies with the perception of the degree of uncontrollability, unpredictability, or threat to self ( Miller, 1981 ; Hobfoll and Walfisch, 1984 ; Lazarus and Folkman, 1984 ; Wheaton, 1985 ; Perrewé and Zellars, 1999 ; Schneiderman et al., 2005 ; Bedewy and Gabriel, 2015 ; Schönfeld et al., 2016 ; Reddy et al., 2018 ; Freire et al., 2020 ; Karyotaki et al., 2020 ). Third, the SWEMSBS used in our study and the data only measured positive mental health. Mental health pathways are numerous and complex, and are composed of distinct and interdependent negative and positive indicators that should be considered together ( Margraf et al., 2020 ). Fourth, due to the small effect sizes and unequal representation for different combinations of variables, our analysis for both the PAS and SWEMSBS included only summed-up scales and did not examine group differences in response to the type of academic stressors or individual mental health questions.

An additional limitation is that the participants in our study were a convenience sample. The testing service we used, prolific.co, self-reports a sample bias toward young women of high levels of education (i.e., WEIRD bias) ( Team Prolific, 2018 ). The skew toward this population was observed in our data, as 80% of our participants were women. While we controlled for these factors, the possibility remains that the conclusions we draw for certain groups, such as nonbinary students, ethnic/racial minorities, and men, may not be as statistically powerful as they should be. Moreover, our pre-screening was designed to recruit undergraduate level, English-speaking, 18–30-year-olds who resided in the United States. This resulted in our participant demographics being skewed toward the WEIRD bias that was already inherent in the testing service we used. Future research will aim to be more inclusive of diverse races/ethnicities, sexual orientations, languages, educational backgrounds, socioeconomic backgrounds, and first-generation college students.

Another limitation of our study is the nature of satisficing. Satisficing is a response strategy in which a participant answers a question to satisfy its condition with little regard to the quality or accuracy of the answer ( Roberts et al., 2019 ). Anonymous participants are more likely to satisfice than respondents who answer the question face-to-face ( Krosnick et al., 2002 ). We sought to mitigate satisficing by offering financial incentives to increase response rates and decrease straight-lining, item skipping, total missing items, and non-completion ( Cole et al., 2015 ). Concerns of poor data quality due to surveys offering financial incentives found little evidence to support that claim and may do the opposite ( Cole et al., 2015 ). On the other hand, social desirability bias may have influenced the participant's self-reported responses, although our anonymous survey design aimed to reduce this bias ( Joinson, 1999 ; Kecojevic et al., 2020 ).

Future Studies

Future studies should replicate our study to validate our results, conduct longitudinal cohort studies to examine well-being and perceived academic stress over time, and aim for a more representative student sample that includes various groups, including diverse races/ethnicities, sexual orientations, socioeconomic backgrounds, languages, educational levels, and first-generation college students. Additionally, these studies should consider examining other non-academic stressors and students' coping mechanisms, both of which contribute to mental health and well-being ( Lazarus and Folkman, 1984 ; Freire et al., 2020 ). Further explorations of negative and other positive indicators of mental health may offer a broader perspective ( Margraf et al., 2020 ). Moreover, future research should consider extending our work by exploring group differences in relation to each factor in the PAS (i.e., academic expectations, workload and examinations, and self-perception of students) and SWEMBS to determine which aspects of academic stress and mental health were most affected and allow for the devising of targeted stress-reduction approaches. Ultimately, we hope our research spurs readers into advocating for greater academic support and access to group-specific mental health resources to reduce the stress levels of college students and improve their mental well-being.

Utilizing two well-established scales, our research found a statistically significant correlation between the perceived academic stress of university students and their mental well-being (i.e., the higher the stress, the worse the well-being). This relationship was most apparent among gender and grade levels. More specifically, non-binary and second-year students experienced greater academic burden and lower psychological well-being. Moreover, women, non-binary students, and upper-level students were disproportionately impacted by stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Studies regarding broad concepts of stress and well-being using a questionnaire are limited, but our study adds value to the understanding of academic stress as a contributor to the overall well-being of college students during this specific point in time (i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic). Competition both for admission to college ( Bound et al., 2009 ) and during college ( Posselt and Lipson, 2016 ) has increased over time. Further, selective American colleges and universities draw applicants from a global pool. As such, it is important to document the dynamics of academic stress with renewed focus. We hope that our study sparks interest in both exploring and funding in-depth and well-designed psychological studies related to stress in colleges in the future.

Data Availability Statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics Statement

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Institutional Review Board at Rutgers University. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author Contributions

GB and MB contributed to conceptualization, study design, IRB application, manuscript drafting, and revision. XZ participated in the conceptualization and design of the questionnaires. HB participated in subject recruitment and questionnaire collection. KP contributed to data analysis, table and figure preparation, manuscript drafting, and revision. XM contributed to conceptualization, study design, IRB application, supervision of the project, manuscript drafting, and revision. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

This study was made possible by a generous donation from the Knights of Columbus East Hanover Chapter in New Jersey.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Shivani Mehta and Varsha Garla for their assistance with the study. We also thank all the participants for their efforts in the completion of the study.

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Keywords: academic stress, well-being, college students, Perception of Academic Stress, Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, COVID-19

Citation: Barbayannis G, Bandari M, Zheng X, Baquerizo H, Pecor KW and Ming X (2022) Academic Stress and Mental Well-Being in College Students: Correlations, Affected Groups, and COVID-19. Front. Psychol. 13:886344. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.886344

Received: 28 February 2022; Accepted: 20 April 2022; Published: 23 May 2022.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2022 Barbayannis, Bandari, Zheng, Baquerizo, Pecor and Ming. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Keith W. Pecor, pecor@tcnj.edu

† These authors have contributed equally to this work and share first authorship

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

How To Write A Research Paper

Research Paper Example

Research Paper Example - Examples for Different Formats

Published on: Jun 12, 2021

Last updated on: Feb 6, 2024

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Writing a research paper is the most challenging task in a student's academic life. researchers face similar writing process hardships, whether the research paper is to be written for graduate or masters.

A research paper is a writing type in which a detailed analysis, interpretation, and evaluation are made on the topic. It requires not only time but also effort and skills to be drafted correctly.

If you are working on your research paper for the first time, here is a collection of examples that you will need to understand the paper’s format and how its different parts are drafted. Continue reading the article to get free research paper examples.

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Research Paper Example for Different Formats

A research paper typically consists of several key parts, including an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, and annotated bibliography .

When writing a research paper (whether quantitative research or qualitative research ), it is essential to know which format to use to structure your content. Depending on the requirements of the institution, there are mainly four format styles in which a writer drafts a research paper:

Let’s look into each format in detail to understand the fundamental differences and similarities.

Research Paper Example APA

If your instructor asks you to provide a research paper in an APA format, go through the example given below and understand the basic structure. Make sure to follow the format throughout the paper.

APA Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Research Paper Example MLA

Another widespread research paper format is MLA. A few institutes require this format style as well for your research paper. Look at the example provided of this format style to learn the basics.

MLA Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Research Paper Example Chicago

Unlike MLA and APA styles, Chicago is not very common. Very few institutions require this formatting style research paper, but it is essential to learn it. Look at the example given below to understand the formatting of the content and citations in the research paper.

Chicago Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Research Paper Example Harvard

Learn how a research paper through Harvard formatting style is written through this example. Carefully examine how the cover page and other pages are structured.

Harvard Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Examples for Different Research Paper Parts

A research paper is based on different parts. Each part plays a significant role in the overall success of the paper. So each chapter of the paper must be drafted correctly according to a format and structure.

Below are examples of how different sections of the research paper are drafted.

Research Proposal Example

A research proposal is a plan that describes what you will investigate, its significance, and how you will conduct the study.

Research Proposal Sample (PDF)

Abstract Research Paper Example

An abstract is an executive summary of the research paper that includes the purpose of the research, the design of the study, and significant research findings.

It is a small section that is based on a few paragraphs. Following is an example of the abstract to help you draft yours professionally.

Abstract Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Literature Review Research Paper Example

A literature review in a research paper is a comprehensive summary of the previous research on your topic. It studies sources like books, articles, journals, and papers on the relevant research problem to form the basis of the new research.

Writing this section of the research paper perfectly is as important as any part of it.

Literature Review in Research Sample (PDF)

Methods Section of Research Paper Example

The method section comes after the introduction of the research paper that presents the process of collecting data. Basically, in this section, a researcher presents the details of how your research was conducted.

Methods Section in Research Sample (PDF)

Research Paper Conclusion Example

The conclusion is the last part of your research paper that sums up the writer’s discussion for the audience and leaves an impression. This is how it should be drafted:

Research Paper Conclusion Sample (PDF)

Research Paper Examples for Different Fields

The research papers are not limited to a particular field. They can be written for any discipline or subject that needs a detailed study.

In the following section, various research paper examples are given to show how they are drafted for different subjects.

Science Research Paper Example

Are you a science student that has to conduct research? Here is an example for you to draft a compelling research paper for the field of science.

Science Research Paper Sample (PDF)

History Research Paper Example

Conducting research and drafting a paper is not only bound to science subjects. Other subjects like history and arts require a research paper to be written as well. Observe how research papers related to history are drafted.

History Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Psychology Research Paper Example

If you are a psychology student, look into the example provided in the research paper to help you draft yours professionally.

Psychology Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Research Paper Example for Different Levels

Writing a research paper is based on a list of elements. If the writer is not aware of the basic elements, the process of writing the paper will become daunting. Start writing your research paper taking the following steps:

• Choose a topic
• Form a strong thesis statement
• Conduct research
• Develop a research paper outline

Once you have a plan in your hand, the actual writing procedure will become a piece of cake for you.

No matter which level you are writing a research paper for, it has to be well structured and written to guarantee you better grades.

If you are a college or a high school student, the examples in the following section will be of great help.

Research Paper Outline (PDF)

Research Paper Example for College

Pay attention to the research paper example provided below. If you are a college student, this sample will help you understand how a winning paper is written.

College Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Research Paper Example for High School

Expert writers of CollegeEssay.org have provided an excellent example of a research paper for high school students. If you are struggling to draft an exceptional paper, go through the example provided.

High School Research Paper Sample (PDF)

Examples are essential when it comes to academic assignments. If you are a student and aim to achieve good grades in your assignments, it is suggested to get help from  CollegeEssay.org .

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Professional writers have your back, whether you are looking for guidance in writing a lab report, college essay, or research paper.

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How to Write a Research Paper | A Beginner's Guide

A research paper is a piece of academic writing that provides analysis, interpretation, and argument based on in-depth independent research.

Research papers are similar to academic essays , but they are usually longer and more detailed assignments, designed to assess not only your writing skills but also your skills in scholarly research. Writing a research paper requires you to demonstrate a strong knowledge of your topic, engage with a variety of sources, and make an original contribution to the debate.

This step-by-step guide takes you through the entire writing process, from understanding your assignment to proofreading your final draft.

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Table of contents

Understand the assignment, choose a research paper topic, conduct preliminary research, develop a thesis statement, create a research paper outline, write a first draft of the research paper, write the introduction, write a compelling body of text, write the conclusion, the second draft, the revision process, research paper checklist, free lecture slides.

Completing a research paper successfully means accomplishing the specific tasks set out for you. Before you start, make sure you thoroughly understanding the assignment task sheet:

• Read it carefully, looking for anything confusing you might need to clarify with your professor.
• Identify the assignment goal, deadline, length specifications, formatting, and submission method.
• Make a bulleted list of the key points, then go back and cross completed items off as you’re writing.

Carefully consider your timeframe and word limit: be realistic, and plan enough time to research, write, and edit.

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There are many ways to generate an idea for a research paper, from brainstorming with pen and paper to talking it through with a fellow student or professor.

You can try free writing, which involves taking a broad topic and writing continuously for two or three minutes to identify absolutely anything relevant that could be interesting.

You can also gain inspiration from other research. The discussion or recommendations sections of research papers often include ideas for other specific topics that require further examination.

Once you have a broad subject area, narrow it down to choose a topic that interests you, m eets the criteria of your assignment, and i s possible to research. Aim for ideas that are both original and specific:

• A paper following the chronology of World War II would not be original or specific enough.
• A paper on the experience of Danish citizens living close to the German border during World War II would be specific and could be original enough.

Note any discussions that seem important to the topic, and try to find an issue that you can focus your paper around. Use a variety of sources , including journals, books, and reliable websites, to ensure you do not miss anything glaring.

Do not only verify the ideas you have in mind, but look for sources that contradict your point of view.

• Is there anything people seem to overlook in the sources you research?
• Are there any heated debates you can address?
• Do you have a unique take on your topic?
• Have there been some recent developments that build on the extant research?

In this stage, you might find it helpful to formulate some research questions to help guide you. To write research questions, try to finish the following sentence: “I want to know how/what/why…”

A thesis statement is a statement of your central argument — it establishes the purpose and position of your paper. If you started with a research question, the thesis statement should answer it. It should also show what evidence and reasoning you’ll use to support that answer.

The thesis statement should be concise, contentious, and coherent. That means it should briefly summarize your argument in a sentence or two, make a claim that requires further evidence or analysis, and make a coherent point that relates to every part of the paper.

You will probably revise and refine the thesis statement as you do more research, but it can serve as a guide throughout the writing process. Every paragraph should aim to support and develop this central claim.

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• Style consistency

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A research paper outline is essentially a list of the key topics, arguments, and evidence you want to include, divided into sections with headings so that you know roughly what the paper will look like before you start writing.

A structure outline can help make the writing process much more efficient, so it’s worth dedicating some time to create one.

Your first draft won’t be perfect — you can polish later on. Your priorities at this stage are as follows:

• Maintaining forward momentum — write now, perfect later.
• Paying attention to clear organization and logical ordering of paragraphs and sentences, which will help when you come to the second draft.
• Expressing your ideas as clearly as possible, so you know what you were trying to say when you come back to the text.

You do not need to start by writing the introduction. Begin where it feels most natural for you — some prefer to finish the most difficult sections first, while others choose to start with the easiest part. If you created an outline, use it as a map while you work.

Do not delete large sections of text. If you begin to dislike something you have written or find it doesn’t quite fit, move it to a different document, but don’t lose it completely — you never know if it might come in useful later.

Paragraph structure

Paragraphs are the basic building blocks of research papers. Each one should focus on a single claim or idea that helps to establish the overall argument or purpose of the paper.

Example paragraph

George Orwell’s 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language” has had an enduring impact on thought about the relationship between politics and language. This impact is particularly obvious in light of the various critical review articles that have recently referenced the essay. For example, consider Mark Falcoff’s 2009 article in The National Review Online, “The Perversion of Language; or, Orwell Revisited,” in which he analyzes several common words (“activist,” “civil-rights leader,” “diversity,” and more). Falcoff’s close analysis of the ambiguity built into political language intentionally mirrors Orwell’s own point-by-point analysis of the political language of his day. Even 63 years after its publication, Orwell’s essay is emulated by contemporary thinkers.

Citing sources

It’s also important to keep track of citations at this stage to avoid accidental plagiarism . Each time you use a source, make sure to take note of where the information came from.

You can use our free citation generators to automatically create citations and save your reference list as you go.

APA Citation Generator MLA Citation Generator

The research paper introduction should address three questions: What, why, and how? After finishing the introduction, the reader should know what the paper is about, why it is worth reading, and how you’ll build your arguments.

What? Be specific about the topic of the paper, introduce the background, and define key terms or concepts.

Why? This is the most important, but also the most difficult, part of the introduction. Try to provide brief answers to the following questions: What new material or insight are you offering? What important issues does your essay help define or answer?

How? To let the reader know what to expect from the rest of the paper, the introduction should include a “map” of what will be discussed, briefly presenting the key elements of the paper in chronological order.

The major struggle faced by most writers is how to organize the information presented in the paper, which is one reason an outline is so useful. However, remember that the outline is only a guide and, when writing, you can be flexible with the order in which the information and arguments are presented.

One way to stay on track is to use your thesis statement and topic sentences . Check:

• topic sentences against the thesis statement;
• topic sentences against each other, for similarities and logical ordering;
• and each sentence against the topic sentence of that paragraph.

Be aware of paragraphs that seem to cover the same things. If two paragraphs discuss something similar, they must approach that topic in different ways. Aim to create smooth transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and sections.

The research paper conclusion is designed to help your reader out of the paper’s argument, giving them a sense of finality.

Trace the course of the paper, emphasizing how it all comes together to prove your thesis statement. Give the paper a sense of finality by making sure the reader understands how you’ve settled the issues raised in the introduction.

You might also discuss the more general consequences of the argument, outline what the paper offers to future students of the topic, and suggest any questions the paper’s argument raises but cannot or does not try to answer.

You should not :

• Offer new arguments or essential information
• Take up any more space than necessary
• Begin with stock phrases that signal you are ending the paper (e.g. “In conclusion”)

There are four main considerations when it comes to the second draft.

• Check how your vision of the paper lines up with the first draft and, more importantly, that your paper still answers the assignment.
• Identify any assumptions that might require (more substantial) justification, keeping your reader’s perspective foremost in mind. Remove these points if you cannot substantiate them further.
• Be open to rearranging your ideas. Check whether any sections feel out of place and whether your ideas could be better organized.
• If you find that old ideas do not fit as well as you anticipated, you should cut them out or condense them. You might also find that new and well-suited ideas occurred to you during the writing of the first draft — now is the time to make them part of the paper.

The goal during the revision and proofreading process is to ensure you have completed all the necessary tasks and that the paper is as well-articulated as possible. You can speed up the proofreading process by using the AI proofreader .

Global concerns

• Confirm that your paper completes every task specified in your assignment sheet.
• Check for logical organization and flow of paragraphs.
• Check paragraphs against the introduction and thesis statement.

Fine-grained details

Check the content of each paragraph, making sure that:

• each sentence helps support the topic sentence.
• no unnecessary or irrelevant information is present.
• all technical terms your audience might not know are identified.

Next, think about sentence structure , grammatical errors, and formatting . Check that you have correctly used transition words and phrases to show the connections between your ideas. Look for typos, cut unnecessary words, and check for consistency in aspects such as heading formatting and spellings .

Finally, you need to make sure your paper is correctly formatted according to the rules of the citation style you are using. For example, you might need to include an MLA heading  or create an APA title page .

Scribbr’s professional editors can help with the revision process with our award-winning proofreading services.

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Checklist: Research paper

I have followed all instructions in the assignment sheet.

My introduction presents my topic in an engaging way and provides necessary background information.

My introduction presents a clear, focused research problem and/or thesis statement .

My paper is logically organized using paragraphs and (if relevant) section headings .

Each paragraph is clearly focused on one central idea, expressed in a clear topic sentence .

Each paragraph is relevant to my research problem or thesis statement.

I have used appropriate transitions  to clarify the connections between sections, paragraphs, and sentences.

My conclusion provides a concise answer to the research question or emphasizes how the thesis has been supported.

My conclusion shows how my research has contributed to knowledge or understanding of my topic.

My conclusion does not present any new points or information essential to my argument.

I have provided an in-text citation every time I refer to ideas or information from a source.

I have included a reference list at the end of my paper, consistently formatted according to a specific citation style .

I have thoroughly revised my paper and addressed any feedback from my professor or supervisor.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (page numbers, headers, spacing, etc.).

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Ultimate List of 265 Research Topics for College Students

How often do you freeze up after receiving an assignment to write a research paper? We know how tough it can be, particularly in a flood of possible research topics for students. Choosing that one idea from plenty of research proposal topics for college students is the foremost step in any academic project.

Lack of inspiration? We made an ultimate list of research topics for college students. You will find art, biology, social science, education, and even more fun research topics for college students. Don’t scour the tons of outdated or dull topics anymore. A much better alternative would be to look at essay examples instead. 

What’s more, we prepared three main steps to start converting the chosen topic into a successful research paper. Besides, we will dispel any uncertainty in research importance. 

Is Research Important?

• Art Research Topics
• Biology Research Topics
• Educational Topics
• Environmental Topics

Gender Research Topics

• Law Research Topics

Literature Research Topics

• Music Research Topics
• Psychology Topics
• Religion Research Topics
• Science Research Topics
• Social Science Topics

Sports Research Paper Topics

How to start a research paper, top 10 research topics for college students:.

• Human impact on biodiversity loss
• Internet’s effect on freedom of speech
• Is isolation a cause of child abuse?
• Negative effect of pop culture trends on youth
• Pros and cons of free education
• Is AI a threat to humans?
• The impact of modern technology on ecology
• Can nuclear power be safe?
• Economic impact of GMO food
• Negative effect of climate change on economy

Before getting into the importance of research, let’s understand what kind of work it is.

Research is an analysis aimed at discovering of new facts or revising existing theories. It consists of several steps. The most common are:

• Research methodology setting
• Research problem statement
• Data extraction and gathering
• Assessment of the gathered data
• Conclusions summarizing

What Are the Purposes of Research?

The intentions are countless, but here are the general ones:

✨ to accept or reject a hypothesis; ✨ to gather information on a phenomenon or subject; ✨ to initiate further research or to “dig deeper.”

Why Is It important?

Research makes our life easier. The underlying cause of new discoveries is to understand how things work. If we acquire that data, we’ll know how to get practical value out of it.

Think of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. As we meet our deficiency needs, its level grows. At the same time, the demand for new knowledge increases. That is why discovering new is a never-ending process.

That is all clear. But you may ask: why do I need research skills in my day-to-day life?

After graduation, you will most likely still need research skills at work. No matter what the industry is. Either you decided to excel in science or form a hi-tech startup. If you want to achieve success, you should have strong research skills.

All in all, having research skills is one of the core elements of personal and social growth. It helps to generate additional findings or set new questions around existing knowledge.

Now let’s move on to the list of research topics.

Art Research Paper Topics

We’ll start from the study area, which is difficult to measure. We talk about art. For some, it may seem easier to study than exact sciences. But still, the number of questions about various genres, forms, and art styles is beyond imagination.

Why should we not overestimate the importance of studying art ?

Art is not just something for connoisseurs. It has always been and still is vital for the whole of society. What affected humanity’s development? Of course, the way people express their everyday life or feelings through art.

Besides, thanks to art, we can see things from different perspectives. It makes us open-minded and helps to develop critical thinking. And, most apparently, art fills our lives with beauty and elegance.

Art is so diverse that students may struggle to choose from a myriad of research areas. Here are some of the hottest art research paper topics for you:

• The influence of the internet and social networks on art.
• Researching of Greek mythological painting.
• The comparison of modern art in the United States and Europe.
• The representation of art in Lars von Trier’s films.
• The influence of African-American cultural heritage on modern American art.
• What are the features of contemporary art ?
• Frida Khalo and her sources of inspiration.
• The role of Kazimir Malevich in abstract art development.
• Art in the early renaissance and today’s European society .
• Art therapy techniques: what are they and are they effective?
• The difference of women’s representation in ancient and modern art .
• Comparative analysis of modern and classic cubism .
• The history and main features of abstract expressionism .
• The relationship between art and globalization .
• The influence of art on the fashion industry in Japan.

Biology Research Topics for College Students

Let’s move on to biology. This science deals with vital processes of living organisms. We’ve gathered a list of topics from different biology fields. You’ll find essay ideas from the fields of botany and zoology to genetics.

Research in biology has one distinctive feature. It is the use of research lab equipment. If you don’t use it and base your research on other sources — make sure they are credible.

What are the attributes of a research paper in biology?

Molecular biology, cellular, and other categories of biology imply accurate measurements. There is no place for mistakes here. Otherwise, the relevance of research results would be insignificant. A researcher should be scrupulous in calculations and statements.

So, feel free to pick up any topics from the list below. Study them thoroughly!

• The impact of global warming on marine life.
• Extensive research of photosynthesis aspects and functions.
• Thyroid hormones and their impact on the female body.

• DNA structure, modifications, and genetic disorders .
• Is it ethical to test cosmetics on animals ?
• The ability of living organisms to adapt to changing environments.
• The need for the protection of rare and endangered species .
• The role of sustainability in biology.
• Advantages and disadvantages of organic farming .
• The role of neurobiology in artificial intelligence development.
• The discovery and impact of Darwin’s theory .
• The discovery, history, and importance of vaccination .
• The role of microbes and microbiology in health .
• Neurobiology and its association with emotional trauma .
• Biology: mechanical signals regulating development .
• Cultural variations in environment and biology: AIDS .
• A review of the ecology and biology of the whale shark.
• Performance and quality assessment of methods for detection of point mutations.
• Optical imaging techniques in cell biology .
• Computational methods in molecular biology .

Educational Research Topics for Students

What can be trickier than studying how to study? Education research papers evolve at a rapid pace as the world changes every day. That is why new techniques and approaches are in demand.

No other discipline will answer the milestone questions as well as education. And the most important is about human nature.

What can make a precious contribution to society? The definite answer is — driving innovations in studying .

Want to remain in history as an author of a revolutionary breakthrough? Explore educational research paper topics for college students:

• Language distribution issues in bilingual schooling .
• Critical thinking as the primary goal of the educational process.
• Role-playing games as a learning tool .
• Pay-for-performance scheme for teachers .
• Moving from compliance to performance-based schools .
• Bilingual learning: advantages and disadvantages.
• Educational approaches in retrospective.
• Aspects of multicultural educational practices .
• The importance of inclusivity in teaching .
• Popular modern educational techniques: a comparison.
• Arithmetical problem-solving difficulties .
• Learning methods for blind children.
• The role of technology in lesson planning .
• Role-playing as an educational practice.
• The need for parents’ involvement in the educational process.
• Tools to develop the best teaching strategy .
• The efficiency of gamification .
• Individual approach to students.
• Popular educational mobile apps.
• Peculiarities of teaching disabled children .
• Same-gender and mixed-gender schools: a comparative analysis.
• Understanding the causes of school violence and bullying.
• The importance of sex education at schools.
• The educational system in America : problems and prospects.
• Cloud computing in educational institutions: an impact on the educational environment.
• Ethical behavior in higher educational institutions.
• Cooperation of educational institutions and businesses: successful cases.
• Information technology as a means of educational process improvement.
• Homeschooling and its influence on communication skills.
• Comparative analysis of distance learning and face-to-face education efficiency.
• Individualized versus group learning.
• The necessity of higher education for all students.
• Best practices of top higher education establishments.
• Peculiarities of teacher’s education in America.
• Preschool education versus tertiary education .
• Teacher as a researcher. Cross-age peer tutoring .
• Multicultural and monocultural education programs: a comparison.
• Comparison of advantages and disadvantages of tablets and printed textbooks .
• Should education be free?
• Education unification: reasons to apply in high schools.

Environmental Research Topics

Our day-to-day comfort is an inherent cause of environmental problems. We may drive a car and have no idea how we harm nature.

Eco activism is a growing trend. Ecology issues acquired a more frequent and lucid coverage. Regardless, people tend to overlook the environment. They got the idea that we should protect our planet, but not all of them are ready to act.

That is why we need to be aware of more facts and measures. This can’t be obtained without decent environmental science research papers.

Do you want to be a part of it? Use our list of environmental research topics for college students:

• Risks of climate change and global warming .
• Aspects and perspectives of Kyoto protocol .
• Green hydrogen in automotive industry : is it a great alternative?
• The origin of the carbon tax .
• Amazonian deforestation , its causes, and trends.
• The greenhouse effect : process, components, and risks.
• Types of pollution : air, water, and soil.
• Alternative energy in Europe.
• Water scarcity in the Middle East .

• Wind energy as an alternative source .
• Benefits of sustainable technology and living .
• Vulnerability of hazardville to flooding disasters .
• Environment protection authority and chemical waste .
• Population control in China.
• Geoengineering principles.
• Acid rains : the cause and current measures.
• Radioactive waste disposal.
• The protection of wildlife .
• E-mobility as an environmental protection measure.
• Ecological conservation.

Gender roles and aspects are one of the central social questions nowadays. Studies in this field are as relevant and necessary as never before. It pushes our society forward, eliminating gender inequality and discrimination.

Do you want to contribute to gender knowledge but don’t know where to start? Here is the list of most relevant gender studies essay topics:

• Public policy analysis on gender inequality in education in South Sudan.
• The history of gender concept.
• Gender imbalance in the developing countries.
• Sex reassignment in treating gender dysphoria : a way to psychological well-being.
• Employee issues: gender discrimination, sexual harassment , discrimination.
• Gender roles in couples and sex stereotypes in society.
• The diversity of gender and sexual orientation identities of transgender individuals.
• MeToo movement as sexual harassment fight measure.
• Feminism : the contraception movement in Canada.
• Maternity and paternity leaves .
• The correlation between gender and cognitive abilities .
• Transgender people and healthcare barriers .
• Race and gender in public relations .
• Gender stereotyping in American media .
• The health and well-being of LGBTQA+ young people in Australia.
• Cancel culture in America.
• Transgender healthcare issues.
• Transgender person in professional sports.
• Female genital mutilation.
• Gender roles in media.

Law Research Paper Topics

We cannot imagine a civilized society without law. Even though the fundamental rights and obligations in different countries are mostly similar, there is still a great scope of differences to research.

We gathered the list of law research paper topics to explore:

• Human rights violations in CIS countries.
• A self-enforcing model of corporate law .
• Corporate strategies and environmental regulations : organizing framework.
• The benefits of decriminalization .
• International criminal law and measures .
• Discrimination in the workplace in legal practice.
• Welfare legislation for families .
• Intellectual property law: copyright law, trademark law, patent law.
• Enforcement of civil rights law in private workplaces.
• The establishment of foreign and international law in American courts. A procedural overview.
• Family law : spousal support after a divorce in Canada.
• Employment law and workplace relations in Saudi Arabia.
• Applicable real estate laws and policies for sustainable development in South Africa.
• Retrospective of the immigration crisis in Europe.
• The need for a domestic violence law in Russian Federation.
• Religious crimes and religious laws.
• Terrorism in different countries’ law systems.
• Grievance procedure in the European court of human rights.
• Cybercrimes in legal practice.
• Human trafficking and slavery in the modern world.

When it comes to literature, there is a vast ocean of ideas to research. The topics can be classified into a large number of categories. Those can be literature genres, awards, trends in literature, different social aspects of literature, etc.

To make finding the best fit easier, we conducted a list of the world literature research topics:

• Golden Age writers and their impact on literature.
• Feminist literature authors.
• Y. Zamyatin’s “We” as the origin of dystopian literature.
• Trends of modern literature .
• Ancient Greece literature.
• Is best seller always good literature?
• Tricksters in literature.
• Post-modernism in literature .
• Sexual violence in the “Handmaid’s Tale” by Atwood .
• Children literature.
• The works of J. D. Salinger .
• Social perception of modern literature .
• Philosophy, literature, and religion in society: a comparative analysis of the impact on human life.
• The portrayal of racism in the literature of the 21st century.
• Censorship in literature.
• Professional literature trends.
• Central themes in American literature .
• The impact of digitalization on literature.
• The role of the main character in literature.
• Literature: print versus digitalized?

Music Research Paper Topics

Research is something we can do not only in astronomy or molecular biology. We need it in the music too. Music shapes our life in a way we can’t even imagine. It’s a tremendous social and cultural phenomenon to explore.

These are 20 potential topics for your research in the music industry :

• The effect of music on a human brain .
• The evolution of rap music .
• TikTok as the most efficient promotional channel for new music.
• The origin of music theory.
• The music industry and information technology .
• The influence of Kanye West performances on the music industry.
• Music journalism : the most influential music media.
• Feminism and sex in hip-hop music .
• Opera and instrumental music .
• The origin of music festivals .
• Reggae music and its aspects .
• Latin American women and trap music .
• Streaming services prospects.
• Music as the way of promoting new trends.
• Features of punk music.

Psychology Research Paper Topics

Psychology is a multidisciplinary kind of field. That means there’s a wide range of potential research questions.

Do you need to write a psychology paper? Explore the list of possible topics:

• Cross-cultural psychology : research and application.
• The psychology of self-esteem .
• Aspects of industrial and organizational psychology .
• The psychology of learning and motivation : skill and strategy in memory use.
• Description of remarkable experiments and their results in psychology.
• The influence of meditation on people’s health .
• Analyzing psychological disorders: disorders treatment and research .
• Personality psychology and zen Buddhism .
• Perception of psychology in society .
• Organizational behavior. Emotion and personality .
• Children’s emotional development .
• Predictors of postpartum depression.

• Symptoms, causes, and treatment of schizophrenia .
• The social, political, and religious reasons of homophobia .
• Eating disorders in males: current progress and challenges.
• The side effects of antidepressants .
• Cognitive psychology : best cognitive scientists’ practices.
• Social anxiety as a constraint in learning.
• Alzheimer’s disease : working strategies for disease modification.
• The relation between the aging process and psychology.

Religion Research Paper Topics

Religious institutions, beliefs, and customs also get explored in papers quite often. That is rather a controversial sphere of education, so we gathered the most relevant religion paper topics below to help you.

• The religious significance of the Bible .
• The place of women in Islam .
• The history of Christianity in Indonesia .
• Assessing a crisis of faith and making a pastoral crisis intervention.
• Forced religion: cause and effect on children.
• The problem of creation mythology in the study of Indian religion.
• Existence of God : a philosophical introduction.
• Religion and mythology: concepts, differences.
• The role of religion in attitudes toward LGBT individuals.
• Issues and traditions in western religion .
• Theology in the concepts of nature, time, and the future.
• Religion and government interaction in the US.
• The history of the Christian church in East Europe.
• Religion freedom and its limitation .
• Hinduism and Buddhism: similarities and differences .
• Baptism in Christianity .
• The impact of religion on terrorism .
• The God of Israel and Christian theology .
• Culture and religion: how they interact.
• Religion and social morality.

Science Research Topics for College Students

What is a better way to uncover the mysteries of our universe than through science? As it comprises multiple types and directions, there is a vast number of questions to answer.

We suggest you the following science research paper topics:

• Paris climate agreement perspectives.
• Ethical aspects of cloning .
• Political science in the US: past and present issues.
• Genetic engineering and cloning controversy .
• The development of life on Earth .
• The current state of nuclear energetics in America.
• Nuclear weapon -free zones: a history and assessment.
• Solid earth dynamics and the evolution of the Antarctic ice sheet.
• Natural hazards : local, national, global.
• Geophysical fluid dynamics: atmospheric dynamics, dynamo theory, and climate dynamics.
• Data science as a key element of data-driven decision-making.
• Robotics & mobility systems in agriculture: successful cases.
• Legal models of space resources exploration and utilization.
• The social context of recycling : factors influencing household recycling behavior.
• Trends in consumer attitudes about agricultural biotechnology .
• Theory of turbulence: a mathematical model that illustrates it.
• Dual-mode infrared and radar hardware-in-the-loop test equipment.
• Essentials of computational chemistry: theories and models.
• Genetic algorithms in astronomy and astrophysics.
• A fundamental relation between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies.

Social Science Research Topics

Sociology is an umbrella term that covers dozens of branches. It studies family, social movements, mass media, class theory, race, ethnicity, levels of income. We could go on and on.

As you can see, the options for research are endless. Don’t waste your time trying to understand the peculiarities of each social or cultural branch. Use our list of social science research paper topics for college students.

• Social movements of 21 st century.
• Strauss–howe generational theory in marketing.
• Social media as a “hotbed” of narcissism .
• The nutritional status of vegans and vegetarians .
• Gender identity and community among three transgender groups in the United States: MTFs, FTMs, and genderqueers.
• Social causes of anorexia in young women.
• The civil rights in South America.
• #BlackLivesMatter movement and its influence on society.
• Gay marriage in America : current debates.
• Dependency of the children mortality level on the anti-vaccination movement development.
• Judaism in the first centuries of the Christian era.
• School choice and segregation by race, class, and achievement.
• The correlation between race and wealth.
• Freedom and social status of blacks in America .
• The problem of abortion .
• Causes and effects of drug addiction .
• Horizontal and vertical gender segregation in employment .
• Effects of domestic violence on children.
• The poverty level in the US: a retrospective analysis.
• Women leadership and community development.

We are approaching the end of our ultimate research paper topics list. To wrap it up, let’s take a look at sports research ideas.

It has been present in our lives for a long time and is still developing. That’s why we need to answer new questions and build new knowledge. Explore the list below:

• How does globalization affect sports?
• History of doping scandals in the Olympics .
• Team sports as a socialization tool for children.
• The origin and history of ice hockey.
• Organizational aspects of Paralympic games.
• Aspects of independent Olympians at the Olympic games .
• The unique history of Pelé.
• Risk factors for injuries in football.
• Short interval versus long interval training.
• Sport as a communication medium .
• Nutritional support of young athletes .
• Mental training during competition preparation.
• Philosophical conflicts between the practices of sport and cybersport.
• Running as a treatment for heart diseases .
• Typical traumas of soccer players.

After getting familiar with the list of topics, let’s discuss the essential steps before beginning research.

Narrow Your Topic

Let’s say you selected that one topic from the list. What’s next? It’s time to outline the boundaries of the research. It should not be too broad or narrow . Its scope must strictly correspond to the problem’s scope under exploration.

What is the difference between a narrow and a broad topic?

Let’s look at three research topic examples:

• Eating Disorders. The topic is too general and comprehensive. If your research paper requires to be short, then there is no sense in choosing this topic. You better narrow it down.
• Eating Disorders in Young Females. In this topic, we try to segment the subjected populations to specify the research question. It is still rather broad but more focused.
• Anorexia in Young Females and Its Impact on Society. Here, we distinguish a particular type of eating disorder and leave a population segmentation. That is a perfect example of a narrowed topic. Now, it’s easier to ask specific questions, uncover insights and contribute to further research.

Focus on your narrowed topic and form a central research question. After that, research the existing data and find supporting facts. Don’t let your exploration be one-sided: explore different points of view. Compare and analyze counterpoints and draw conclusions.

After a profound studying, create a thesis statement to support your narrowed topic in a specific way.

To make things clear, use this step-by-step guide on finding and narrowing your topic.

Evaluate Sources

It takes a second to get access to billions of search results on any topic in Google. Most of the time, we jump through the first two or three links, and that’s it. If you seek quality, then it’s not the proper approach. You should acquire the skill of processing the sources.

What are the tips for source evaluation?

• Forget about Wikipedia as a scientific source. Wikipedia is a free platform where any user can make edits. Extracting information from wiki without fact-checking isn’t a good academic practice. Great alternatives to Wikipedia are College e-libraries, scholarly databases, Google Scholar, etc.
• Explore well-respected professional research journals. They contain up-to-date research data and conclusions which shape the most relevant views and understanding of what is going on in the modern world.
• Visit libraries. We tend to overlook them in our digital era. But you can find super valuable sources for research there.
• Avoid personal blogs, opinion articles, and self-published books . There can be heavy use of bias.

3 Main Tips on Writing a Thesis Statement

After you decide on a research topic and sources, it’s time to write a thesis statement.

• Ask a question. Here are two options. In the first one, your professor can assign you a concrete question. If it’s not your case, then ask what interests you. What would you like to explore?
• Give an initial answer. Try to answer the question before in-depth topic exploration. Work out some hypotheses.
• Enrich the initial answer. Prove the initial hypothesis by detailing the research. Use the calculations and quantitative data to make your thesis credible.

To back up these tips, let’s look at a couple of example thesis statements from the StudyCorgi essay database:

You’ve just explored an ultimate list of research paper topic ideas and important steps to turn those topics into excellent research papers.

Did you find our topics compilation helpful? Save it for a future reference or share with friends!

• What Is Research? — Hampshire College
• Definition of Research — Western Sydney University
• The Importance of Research to Students — Cleveland University Kansas City
• Guidelines for Writing Art History Research Papers — UA Little Rock University
• Areas of Research in Biology — Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Environmental Science: Current Research — Herald Scholarly Open Access
• Thesis Statements — University of North Carolina
• Thesis Statement Tips — Purdue University
• What Is Education Research — National Center for Education Research
• Research in the Faculty of Music — University of Cambridge
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High School Students Thrive as Researchers

Authentic exploratory research hones students’ investigation and analysis skills..

Posted April 1, 2024 | Reviewed by Monica Vilhauer

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This post is Part I in a series.

I got to speak with students at Laguna Beach High School (LBHS) recently when giving a career talk there. They kept asking me advanced questions about conducting studies, writing, and science, and they spoke with passion about their own research projects. I was taken aback by how much these high school teens sounded like my adult college students and peers. They kept mentioning “AER”, and I had to learn more.

LBHS’s Authentic Exploratory Research (AER) Program is an independent research course inspired by Palo Alto Unified School District’s Advanced Authentic Research Program. In AER, students are paired with adult mentors (such as LBUSD staff, industry experts, and academics) who assist the teens in researching their own big questions in fields of their choice. Students spend about 60 hours per semester on coursework that includes both instruction and working on each project itself.

No such courses were offered at LBHS when I graduated there back in 1990, and I wonder how much sooner I could have enjoyed my career as a researcher if I had gotten to participate in AER as a youth. Though the program was introduced in 2019 by Laguna Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) Superintendent Jason Viloria, Ed.D., Jun Shen is the passionate teacher and edtech coordinator who runs it. I had the pleasure of partnering with Shen for an interview series where we’ll first explore how AER works before hearing from students about their experiences with AER honing skills for future success. Students’ feedback (in interviews to follow) and Shen’s answers (which follow each question below) can help others implement such a program.

Jenny Grant Rankin: What were the biggest challenges to implementing a successful AER program, and how did you tackle them?

Jun Shen: The biggest ongoing challenge is to find the balance between respecting the students’ individual freedom in their projects on one hand, and on the other, closely managing the students so they’d make adequate progress. Tackling this is an iterative process. Through the last four years, I have tried many different methods like online journaling, different grading rubrics and requirements, different communication protocols, and it seems to be steadily getting better.

JGR: When pairing students with adult mentors, how do you find and secure mentors who are appropriate for students' different interests?

JS: We have a dedicated Mentor Coordinator for AER, at first the ASB Director Jennifer Lundblad, then our District’s Career Education Coordinator Kellee Shearer. After students register for AER in March, we interview them in April and May to get a good feel for their field of interest, and Kellee spends the summer finding them mentors.

JGR: When speaking to your students about AER, I was impressed by the sophistication with which they discussed their studies. What was the most powerful strategy you used to help high schoolers understand research concepts that are hard for even college students to grasp?

JS: Most AER students are definitely wise beyond their years but I can’t claim credit for this one. It’s definitely a team effort, with a splash of selection bias thrown in. Most (though not all) students who take on the challenge of AER are already high-performing and highly-motivated students; thus, they’ve already learned a lot of the research and analysis skills in some of their other upper-level classes. In addition to that, we have a full-time Library Media Specialist, first Stephanie Gamache then Glen Warren, who works with the students to help them find what they need. Their mentor is another obviously valuable asset. As for me, I do very little whole-group, one-size-fits-all instruction about research and data analysis. Most of the students’ research methodologies are created individually with my advice.

JGR: What can you tell educators who are nervous about giving students so much independence and freedom in a course?

JS: First, be curious. If you love learning new things, then you’ll have a great time with your students as you explore some obscure topics together. The more you communicate that you’re personally invested in their study, the harder they will work with you. Second, it won’t be perfect your first year and that’s OK. Looking back, my first year running AER was rather lackluster, with a sizable portion of students dropping out or barely finishing their projects. Every year we learn our lessons and improve the course for the following year. Third, don’t reinvent the wheel. We based our program on Palo Alto USD’s program and, year after year, have modified it to suit our culture and needs. Start with their or our curriculum and see where it leads you.

JGR: What else should readers know about AER?

JS: It’s one of the highlights of my career. I’ve always been that kid who watched as many Discovery Channel Documentaries as I could because I loved learning about everything. I never thought that I’d get to geek out with kids about Aerospace Engineering and Fashion Design in a high school teaching job!

I’ve always been that kid, too. It’s heartwarming to learn how AER can be as rewarding for staff as it is for students, who we’ll hear from next. To continue reading, look for Part II.

Jenny Grant Rankin, Ph.D., is a Fulbright Specialist for the U.S. Department of State.

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Women’s History Series: Early Female Student Organizations, College of Pharmacy

Early pharmacy education at the University of Utah experienced considerable growing pains. Although 1917 saw the advent of the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Utah, situated within the College of Medicine, in 1927 the department was forced to close due to lack of funding. Fortunately it was determined that a baccalaureate program in pharmacy should be resurrected. In 1946 the College of Pharmacy was established as an independent entity , primarily through the efforts of the Utah Pharmaceutical Association. In quick succession the first PhD degree was awarded in 1953 and a couple years later a new five-year program was developed.

From the beginning, women were welcomed into the College of Pharmacy. In an article that appeared in the first issue of Pharmic-Ute (the official journal of the College of Pharmacy) in 1949 , Marybell Fenton wrote that “at the University of Utah women students are met with genuine encouragement and are made to feel that there is a place for any student who has a real interest and is capable of fulfilling the requirements.”

Female students in the college, and female pharmacists on the whole, felt that they met with prejudiced views on a regular basis (for example, see “Prejudice Against Women in Pharmacy” , p.11, Pharmic-Ute, Vol.XI, No.2 – Winter 1959 ). Statistically, the number of men enrolled far outweighed women ( 11.8% in 1958 , 12 women enrolled in 1959 ). Yet women who were interested in pursuing a career in pharmacy were offered a pathway forward, and support. Often, this support came in the guise of student groups organized by other women at the college. The first iteration was a local professional sorority, Phi Gamma, organized in 1948 for the purpose of furthering the interest of pharmacy among women enrolled in the school.

In the spring of 1959 Phi Gamma became an active chapter of the national fraternity for women in pharmacy, Kappa Epsilon. Kappa Epsilon was founded on May 13, 1921 , in Iowa City by Professor Zada Mary Cooper and a group of female pharmacy students attending the universities of Minnesota, Nebraska, and Iowa State. The goal of the group was, and remains, to unite women pharmacy students across the United States.

In 1951 a group of wives of male pharmacy students met in an official capacity as the Wives’ (or Ladies) Auxiliary of the American Pharmacists Association Student Branch. In addition to the networking opportunities afforded, women joined the group as an “expression of interest in the future of pharmacy,” with a goal to become better informed about “the profession as a whole, the problems which face all pharmacists and what [can be done] to help solve these problems” ( Pharma-Sister Journal, 1966-67 ). Image right: Dean of the College of Pharmacy L. David Hiner with the Wives’ Auxiliary group, 1953.

-Explore the College of Pharmacy digital collection: • College of Pharmacy Bulletin (1949-1980) • College of Pharmacy Photographs (1945-1978) • Pharmic-Ute Journal (1949-1978) • Pharma-Sister Journal (1966) Images courtesy of Historical Collections, Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah.

Related Posts

Women’s History Series: Women Making History, Jeri Bullock, DDS, School of Dentistry

Women’s History Series: Priscilla Mayden, Eccles Health Sciences Library

Women’s History Series: Dr. Sumiko Fujiki, College of Nursing

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Student story: admissions essay about a past mistake, how to write a college application essay, tips for writing an effective application essay, sample college essay 1 with feedback, sample college essay 2 with feedback.

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Should college essays touch on race? Some feel the affirmative action ruling leaves them no choice

CHICAGO — When she started writing her college essay, Hillary Amofa told the story she thought admissions offices wanted to hear. About being the daughter of immigrants from Ghana and growing up in a small apartment in Chicago. About hardship and struggle.

Then she deleted it all.

“I would just find myself kind of trauma-dumping,” said the 18-year-old senior at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago. “And I’m just like, this doesn’t really say anything about me as a person.”

When the Supreme Court ended affirmative action in higher education, it left the college essay as one of few places where race can play a role in admissions decisions. For many students of color, instantly more was riding on the already high-stakes writing assignment. Some say they felt pressure to exploit their hardships as they competed for a spot on campus.

Amofa was just starting to think about her essay when the court issued its decision, and it left her with a wave of questions. Could she still write about her race? Could she be penalized for it? She wanted to tell colleges about her heritage but she didn’t want to be defined by it.

In English class, Amofa and her classmates read sample essays that all seemed to focus on some trauma or hardship. It left her with the impression she had to write about her life’s hardest moments to show how far she’d come. But she and some of her classmates wondered if their lives had been hard enough to catch the attention of admissions offices.

“For a lot of students, there’s a feeling of, like, having to go through something so horrible to feel worthy of going to school, which is kind of sad,” said Amofa, the daughter of a hospital technician and an Uber driver.

This year’s senior class is the first in decades to navigate college admissions without affirmative action . The Supreme Court upheld the practice in decisions going back to the 1970s, but this court’s conservative supermajority found it is unconstitutional for colleges to give students extra weight because of their race alone.

Still, the decision left room for race to play an indirect role: Chief Justice John Roberts wrote universities can still consider how an applicant’s life was shaped by their race, “so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability.”

“A benefit to a student who overcame racial discrimination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage and determination,” he wrote.

Scores of colleges responded with new essay prompts asking about students’ backgrounds. Brown University asked applicants how “an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you.” Rice University asked students how their perspectives were shaped by their “background, experiences, upbringing, and/or racial identity.”

WONDERING IF SCHOOLS 'EXPECT A SOB STORY'

When Darrian Merritt started writing his essay, he knew the stakes were higher than ever because of the court’s decision. His first instinct was to write about events that led to him going to live with his grandmother as a child.

Those were painful memories, but he thought they might play well at schools like Yale, Stanford and Vanderbilt.

“I feel like the admissions committee might expect a sob story or a tragic story,” said Merritt, a senior in Cleveland. “And if you don’t provide that, then maybe they’re not going to feel like you went through enough to deserve having a spot at the university. I wrestled with that a lot.”

He wrote drafts focusing on his childhood, but it never amounted to more than a collection of memories. Eventually he abandoned the idea and aimed for an essay that would stand out for its positivity.

Merritt wrote about a summer camp where he started to feel more comfortable in his own skin. He described embracing his personality and defying his tendency to please others. The essay had humor — it centered on a water gun fight where he had victory in sight but, in a comedic twist, slipped and fell. But the essay also reflects on his feelings of not being “Black enough” and getting made fun of for listening to “white people music.”

“I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to write this for me, and we’re just going to see how it goes,’” he said. “It just felt real, and it felt like an honest story.”

The essay describes a breakthrough as he learned “to take ownership of myself and my future by sharing my true personality with the people I encounter. ... I realized that the first chapter of my own story had just been written.”

A RULING PROMPTS PIVOTS ON ESSAY TOPICS

Like many students, Max Decker of Portland, Oregon, had drafted a college essay on one topic, only to change direction after the Supreme Court ruling in June.

Decker initially wrote about his love for video games. In a childhood surrounded by constant change, navigating his parents’ divorce, the games he took from place to place on his Nintendo DS were a source of comfort.

But the essay he submitted to colleges focused on the community he found through Word is Bond, a leadership group for young Black men in Portland.

As the only biracial, Jewish kid with divorced parents in a predominantly white, Christian community, Decker wrote he constantly felt like the odd one out. On a trip with Word is Bond to Capitol Hill, he and friends who looked just like him shook hands with lawmakers. The experience, he wrote, changed how he saw himself.

“It’s because I’m different that I provide something precious to the world, not the other way around,” he wrote.

As a first-generation college student, Decker thought about the subtle ways his peers seemed to know more about navigating the admissions process . They made sure to get into advanced classes at the start of high school, and they knew how to secure glowing letters of recommendation.

If writing about race would give him a slight edge and show admissions officers a fuller picture of his achievements, he wanted to take that small advantage.

His first memory about race, Decker said, was when he went to get a haircut in elementary school and the barber made rude comments about his curly hair. Until recently, the insecurity that moment created led him to keep his hair buzzed short.

Through Word is Bond, Decker said he found a space to explore his identity as a Black man. It was one of the first times he was surrounded by Black peers and saw Black role models. It filled him with a sense of pride in his identity. No more buzzcut.

The pressure to write about race involved a tradeoff with other important things in his life, Decker said. That included his passion for journalism, like the piece he wrote on efforts to revive a once-thriving Black neighborhood in Portland. In the end, he squeezed in 100 characters about his journalism under the application’s activities section.

“My final essay, it felt true to myself. But the difference between that and my other essay was the fact that it wasn’t the truth that I necessarily wanted to share,” said Decker, whose top college choice is Tulane, in New Orleans, because of the region’s diversity. “It felt like I just had to limit the truth I was sharing to what I feel like the world is expecting of me.”

SPELLING OUT THE IMPACT OF RACE

Before the Supreme Court ruling, it seemed a given to Imani Laird that colleges would consider the ways that race had touched her life. But now, she felt like she had to spell it out.

As she started her essay, she reflected on how she had faced bias or felt overlooked as a Black student in predominantly white spaces.

There was the year in math class when the teacher kept calling her by the name of another Black student. There were the comments that she’d have an easier time getting into college because she was Black .

“I didn’t have it easier because of my race,” said Laird, a senior at Newton South High School in the Boston suburbs who was accepted at Wellesley and Howard University, and is waiting to hear from several Ivy League colleges. “I had stuff I had to overcome.”

In her final essays, she wrote about her grandfather, who served in the military but was denied access to GI Bill benefits because of his race.

She described how discrimination fueled her ambition to excel and pursue a career in public policy.

“So, I never settled for mediocrity,” she wrote. “Regardless of the subject, my goal in class was not just to participate but to excel. Beyond academics, I wanted to excel while remembering what started this motivation in the first place.”

WILL SCHOOLS LOSE RACIAL DIVERSITY?

Amofa used to think affirmative action was only a factor at schools like Harvard and Yale. After the court’s ruling, she was surprised to find that race was taken into account even at some public universities she was applying to.

Now, without affirmative action, she wondered if mostly white schools will become even whiter.

It’s been on her mind as she chooses between Indiana University and the University of Dayton, both of which have relatively few Black students. When she was one of the only Black students in her grade school, she could fall back on her family and Ghanaian friends at church. At college, she worries about loneliness.

“That’s what I’m nervous about,” she said. “Going and just feeling so isolated, even though I’m constantly around people.”

The first drafts of her essay focused on growing up in a low-income family, sharing a bedroom with her brother and grandmother. But it didn’t tell colleges about who she is now, she said.

Her final essay tells how she came to embrace her natural hair . She wrote about going to a mostly white grade school where classmates made jokes about her afro. When her grandmother sent her back with braids or cornrows, they made fun of those too.

Over time, she ignored their insults and found beauty in the styles worn by women in her life. She now runs a business doing braids and other hairstyles in her neighborhood.

“I stopped seeing myself through the lens of the European traditional beauty standards and started seeing myself through the lens that I created,” Amofa wrote.

“Criticism will persist, but it loses its power when you know there’s a crown on your head!”

Ma reported from Portland, Oregon.

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The Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety and Stress and Their Associated Factors in College Students

Enrique ramón-arbués.

1 Faculty of Health Sciences, Campus Universitario Villanueva de Gállego, Universidad San Jorge, 50830 Villanueva de Gállego, Zaragoza, Spain; se.jsu@nomare

Vicente Gea-Caballero

2 Nursing School La Fe, Adscript Center of University of Valencia, 46026 Valencia, Spain

3 Research Group GREIACC, Health Research Institute La Fe, 46026 Valencia, Spain

José Manuel Granada-López

4 Faculty of Health Sciences, Zaragoza University, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain

Raúl Juárez-Vela

5 Faculty of Health Sciences, La Rioja University, 26006 Logroño, Spain; [email protected]

Begoña Pellicer-García

6 Servicio Aragonés de Salud, Sector Alcañiz Atención Primaria, Centro de Salud Andorra Calle Huesca, 44500 Andorra, Spain; se.liamtoh@8002geb

Isabel Antón-Solanas

7 Department of Physiatry and Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain; se.razinu@notnai

Aim: To estimate the prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress and associated factors in a population of college students. Method: Cross-sectional study of psychological distress measured through the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) in a sample of 1074 college students. Results: We found a moderate prevalence of depression (18.4%), anxiety (23.6%) and stress (34.5%) symptoms in our study population. Being <21, having problematic Internet use behavior, smoking, presenting insomnia and having a low self-esteem were independently associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. Being a woman, living with their family, having a stable partner, consuming alcohol frequently and having poor nutritional habits were significantly associated with symptoms of stress; lacking a stable partner was significantly associated with depressive symptoms; and frequent consumption of alcohol was significantly associated with symptoms of anxiety. Conclusion: We found a moderate prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms in our population. Interventions aimed at promoting mental health among college students should be implemented.

1. Introduction

In its plan for the prevention, treatment and overcoming of mental health disorders, the World Health Organization described mental health as fundamental to human health [ 1 ]. Yet, mental health problems are the first cause of disability and a major public health issue worldwide due to disease progression, difficulties in therapeutic management and increasing prevalence [ 2 , 3 ]. Specifically, depression, anxiety and stress are considered important indicators for mental health which, if untreated, can have a negative effect on individuals [ 4 , 5 ]. According to the American Psychological Association, anxiety and depression are both emotional responses leading to a very similar set of symptoms, including difficulty sleeping, fatigue, muscle tension and irritability. Whereas stress is usually caused by an external factor and can be short-term, anxiety is persistent, even in the absence of a stressor [ 6 ]. Depression is characterized by a set of symptoms including a lack of interest in daily activities, significant weight loss or gain, sleep pattern alterations, lack of energy, loss of concentration, feelings of worthlessness or guilt and even recurrent thoughts of death or suicide [ 7 ].

Most mental health problems appear by early adulthood, yet young adults rarely get any support for their mental health [ 8 ]. Furthermore, mental health issues in this population are associated with higher incidence of physical and emotional problems in the mid to long term [ 9 ], labor market marginalization [ 10 ], worse quality of sleep [ 11 ] and dysfunctional relationships [ 12 ], among others. College students are at risk of experiencing stress, anxiety and depression, which cause psychological distress and may impact on their academic performance [ 13 ]. Worldwide, it is estimated that 12–50% of college students present at least one diagnostic criterion for one or more mental disorders [ 14 ]. Causes of stress during college life include academic pressure stemming from factors such as exams and workload, lack of leisure time, competition, concerns about not meeting parents’ expectations, establishing new personal relationships and moving to a strange location [ 15 ]; biological factors such as age and gender, specifically being female [ 16 ]; and financial burden [ 17 ].

Globally, studies conducted on different samples of undergraduate students have identified a moderate to high prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress in this population [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. Early diagnosis and management of psychological distress lead to better management and patient outcomes [ 24 ]. Thus, it is necessary to identify those students who are at a higher risk of developing mental health problems during college life.

In Spain, mental health problems are highly prevalent in the general population [ 25 ], as well as in specific groups [ 26 , 27 ]. However, little is known about the mental health of college students. Previous studies have reported a high prevalence of anxiety and depression in this population [ 28 , 29 ], but sample size was small and they did not measure stress. Furthermore, since psychological health status was not the main research variable, predictive factors were not reported. Based on the above, we aim to determine the prevalence of anxiety, depression and stress, and their associated factors in a sample of Spanish college students.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. design.

A cross-sectional study of the prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress and associated factors was carried out in a population of college students registered in San Jorge University (SJU) in Zaragoza (Spain).

2.2. Sample

Our participants were undergraduate students registered in one of the bachelor’s degrees offered by SJU’s Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Communication and School of Architecture and Technology during the academic year 2018–2019. Participant recruitment took place from September 2018 to May 2019. The students were informed about the aims of the study and the methods of data collection by a researcher in the classroom; a copy of the participant information leaflet and consent form was given to the students at this time. The students were assured that privacy and confidentiality would be maintained, and that they had a right to refuse to participate in the study or to withdraw consent to participate at any time without reprisal. Of a total population of 1341, 1074 students gave their consent to participate in this study and completed the questionnaire.

2.3. Data Collection

The questionnaire was divided into two sections, namely sociodemographic characteristics (including anthropometry and habits) and psychological health. Sociodemographic data included a list of variables generally associated with psychological distress in younger populations [ 20 , 21 ], namely age, gender, bachelor’s degree, place of residence, personal relationship, height, weight, financial status, tobacco and alcohol consumption, physical activity, diet and Internet use. As in a previous study by Mahroon et al. [ 30 ], the variable age was dichotomized into <21 and ≥21. This allowed us to estimate differences in the prevalence of anxiety, stress and depression in relation to the students’ age group and year of study. The variable body mass index (BMI) was calculated from weight and height self-report (BMI = kg/m 2 ). BMI was trichotomized to: (1) low BMI (≤18.5 kg/m 2 ), (2) normal BMI (18.5–24.9 kg/m 2 ) and (3) high BMI/obese (≥25 kg/m 2 ).

Physical activity was measured using the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF). This tool measures the intensity, frequency and duration of physical activity over the last seven-day period. Metabolic equivalents (METs), defined as “the ratio of a person’s working metabolic rate relative to their resting metabolic rate” [ 31 ], are then calculated for each of the physical activities undertaken including walking, moderate and vigorous physical activity. The results are then added up to obtain a measure of the total physical activity undertaken in the previous seven days and the participants are subsequently classified into one of three categories of physical activity (low, medium and high) [ 32 ].

Internet use was measured using Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT). This tool comprises 20 items answered on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5, indicating the extent to which they endorse each particular behavior. The IAT total score ranges from 0 to 100, where higher scores represent higher levels of severity of Internet compulsivity and addiction. Specifically, scores <50 suggest a controlled use of the Internet, scores between 50 and 79 suggest excessive Internet use and scores ≥80 imply that the participant is experiencing severe Internet addition, which impacts on his or her personal as well as social life [ 32 ]. In this study, Internet use was analyzed as a dichotomous variable where IAT <50 indicated no problematic Internet use (PIU) and IAT ≥50 indicated PIU [ 33 ].

We assessed the quality of the participants’ diet through the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) in its Spanish version [ 34 ]. The HEI uses a scoring system ranging from 1 to 10 to evaluate a set of foods. Total score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores suggesting healthier dietary habits. HEI scores >80 indicate a good or healthy diet, scores ranging from 50 to 80 suggest a diet that needs improvement and scores <50 imply a poor or unhealthy diet.

The presence and severity of insomnia was assessed through the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). The ISI is a 7-item self-report questionnaire assessing the nature, severity and impact of insomnia experienced in the last month. A 5-point Likert scale is used to rate each item (0 = no problem; 4 = very severe problem) yielding a total score ranging from 0 to 28. The ISI total score is interpreted as follows: absence of insomnia (0–7); sub-threshold insomnia (8–14); moderate insomnia (15–21); and severe insomnia (22–28) [ 35 ].

The participants’ self-esteem was assessed using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). This tool consists of 10 items, five of which are expressed in positive statements and the other five in negative statements. Negative items were reverse-scored prior to analysis. The RSES uses a 4-point response scale (1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = agree; 4 = strongly agree) with total scores ranging from 10 to 40. Respondents are classified into three levels of self-esteem: high self-esteem (≥30 points), medium self-esteem (26–29 points) and low self-esteem (≤25 points) [ 36 ].

Finally, symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression were measured through the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). The DASS-21 consists of 21 items, 7 items per subscale: DASS-D (depression), DASS-A (anxiety) and DASS-S (stress). Respondents must rate the extent to which each statement applies during the past week on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (did not apply to me at all) to 3 (applied to me very much). Because the DASS-21 is a short-form version of the DASS (42 items), the final score for each sub-scale is multiplied by two and evaluated according to its severity rating index. Depression, anxiety and stress scores are calculated by adding up the scores of the items in each separate subscale. The results are interpreted as follows: DASS-A (>19 = extremely severe depression; 19–15 = severe anxiety; 14–10 = moderate anxiety; 9–8 = mild anxiety; 7–0 = no anxiety/normal), DASS-D (>27 = extremely severe depression; 27–21 = severe depression; 20–14 = moderate depression; 13–10 = mild depression; 9–0 = no depression/normal), DASS-S (>33 = extremely severe stress; 33–26 = severe stress; 25–19 = moderate stress; 18–15 = mild stress; 14–0 = no stress/normal). This tool has been previously validated in a population of Spanish college students showing high levels of consistency for the three subscales [ 37 ].

2.4. Data Analysis

The sample characteristics were analyzed using frequency and percentage for qualitative variables and mean and standard deviation for quantitative ones. We used a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test to test for normality of distribution in our data. Bivariant analyses were carried out using Chi-Square, Mann–Whitney or t-test, as applicable. In addition, we carried out a binary logistic regression (backward stepwise method with a probability value for the entry of p = 0.05 and removal of p = 0.10) analysis in order to determine the predictive factors of psychological health in our sample (presence of anxiety, stress, depression). We performed a collinearity analysis in order to detect variables which showed a condition index ≥30. Subsequently, two analyses were carried out with and without outliers, with minimal differences between them. In this manuscript, we present the results from the analysis including outliers. Data codification, processing and analysis were completed using the statistical software Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS version 21 for Windows, IBM Corp., Chicago, IL, USA) accepting a level of significance of p < 0.05.

2.5. Ethical Considerations

This study was reviewed and approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Aragón (IRB Ref: CP-CI.PI09/93) prior to the start of this investigation. We confirm that each and every one of the national and international standards for ethical research with human subjects were respected and adhered to.

A total of 1074 undergraduate students (71% women and 29% men) took part in this investigation. Age ranged from 18 to 42, with an average of 21.73 ± 5.12 years. The majority of our students were enrolled in a healthcare program (57.3%), had a normal BMI (69.8%), perceived their financial status to be medium (74.7%), did not have a stable partner (53.2%) and lived with their family (66.3%). In addition, 24.9% consumed tobacco habitually, 28% had a low level of physical activity, 23% experienced PIU, 42.9% had some degree of insomnia and 82.6% needed diet improvement (see Table 1 ).

Participants’ characteristics ( n = 1074).

* Metabolic equivalents (MET) are defined as “the ratio of a person’s working metabolic rate relative to their resting metabolic rate”.

Of our participants, 23.6% and 34.5% had symptoms of anxiety and stress above the normal range, respectively. In both cases, women’s levels of anxiety and stress were higher than men’s ( p < 0.05). The symptoms of depression, on the other hand, were evenly distributed between our male and female participants (19.3% men and 18.1% women) (see Table 2 ).

Total scores from the DASS-21 and by gender.

* NS: Non-significant. ( a ) DASS-21: 21 item Depression, Anxiety Stress Scale. ( b ) DASS-D: 7-item DASS-21 Depression subscale. ( c ) DASS-A: 7-item DASS-21 Anxiety subscale. ( d ) DASS-S: 7-item DASS-21 Stress subscale.

Of our participants, 22.5% presented symptoms of two mental disorders according to the DASS-21 questionnaire, and up to 9.7% of our sample experienced symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress simultaneously (see Figure 1 ).

Coexistence of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress according to the results from DASS-21 ( n = 1074).

We performed a collinearity analysis in order to detect variables which showed a condition index ≥30. None of them reached this value. Subsequently, two analyses were carried out with and without outliers, with minimal differences between them. In this manuscript, we present the results from the analysis including outliers. The final models of binary logistic regression evidenced that being <21, experiencing PIU, smoking, having insomnia and reporting a low level of self-esteem were associated with depression, anxiety and stress ( p < 0.05). In addition, being a woman, living with their family, having a stable partner, consuming alcohol regularly and following an inadequate or unhealthy diet were significantly associated with stress; not having a stable partner was associated with depression; and frequent alcohol consumption was associated with anxiety (see Table 3 ).

Factors associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in Spanish college students. OR a (IC95%).

* p < 0.01; † p < 0.05. Non-significant variables according to the following criterion: probability value for the entry of p = 0.05 and removal of p = 0.1, were removed from the model after each step. The values from the variables that remained after the last step of the model are shown in the multivariable model columns. ( a ) OR: Odds ratio. ( b ) PUI: Problematic use of the internet.

4. Discussion

This, to our knowledge, is the first report of the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress, and their associated factors, in a sample of Spanish college students. Although the DASS-21 questionnaire cannot be considered as a tool for the diagnosis of psychological pathology, it is useful to identify the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress. We identified a significant prevalence of symptoms of stress (34.5%), anxiety (23.6%) and depression (18.4%) in our population. Previous studies carried out in Spain involving smaller samples have reported an even greater prevalence of psychological distress in our population [ 28 , 29 ]. Specifically, Balanza et al. [ 28 ] reported a prevalence of anxiety and depression of 41.7% and 55.6% respectively using the Goldberg Anxiety and Depression Scale. Fernández et al. [ 29 ] identified an even higher percentage of students with anxiety symptoms (44.7%) and a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms (23.5%) using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Unfortunately, the use of different screening tools does limit the comparability of the findings.

Worldwide, there is variation in the reported prevalence of psychological distress among college students. A systematic review of 24 studies estimated an average prevalence of depression of 30.5%, with results ranging between 10.4 and 80.5% [ 38 ]. The same level of variation was observed in previous studies which used the DASS questionnaire to assess psychological distress. This may be explained by differences in the selection criteria, as well the presence of confounding factors such as the influence of the environment on the mental health of our participants, modulating both the individual’s subjective perception and the expression of symptoms of psychological discomfort. That is, it is possible that external factors including the participants’ geographical location as well as their sociocultural context can significantly affect the prevalence of psychological distress in this population.

Of our participants, 37.4% presented symptoms of two or more psychological disorders. This association has been previously described both in the general population [ 39 ], as well as in college students [ 11 ]. In fact, Long et al. [ 40 ] suggest that there is a bidirectional, systematic pattern between the development of depressive and anxious syndromes in young adults. In addition, previous studies [ 41 , 42 , 43 ] have identified similarities in the neurobiology and genetic structure of depression and anxiety. Another possible explanation for the association between depression, anxiety and stress is the fact that they share a significant number of risk factors and symptoms. Nevertheless, the reason for the association between these psychological syndromes is yet to be established.

In our sample, female students presented a higher prevalence of symptoms of stress and anxiety compared to male students. This is in agreement with previous studies, which also reported a higher prevalence of anxiety, stress and depression among women [ 39 ].

The relationship between lifestyle habits and mental health has been studied in detail. Thus, physical activity has often been associated with psychological wellbeing through a range of mechanisms including the secretion of endogen substances such as endorphins, the activity of the regulation of stress responses through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the improvement of sleep quality and the development of self-regulation and other coping mechanisms [ 44 , 45 ]. However, physical activity was not clearly associated with psychological distress in our sample. It seems reasonable to suggest that other factors, such as those linked to socialization, may have a bigger impact on mental health in adolescence and early adulthood, when personality is shaped and an adult role is gradually acquired.

Various possible explanations have been proposed to explain the relationship between tobacco and psychological distress in our population. First, it is likely that tobacco use and mental health problems have a common root; people who experience mental health problems may smoke to regulate feelings of low mood, stress and anxiety; smoking could also cause or exacerbate existing mental health problems [ 46 ]. With regard to the association between alcohol and psychological distress, several studies [ 47 , 48 ] have reported strong behavioral and neurologic interactions. In addition, drinking alcohol carries a heavy social component which, in part, may explain its intense consumption in youth and adolescence.

PIU has been studied in the past few years, both in the general population and, especially, in the young and adolescent. The negative consequences of PIU include, among others, a possible increase in stress and anxiety, as well as a lack of social communication and interaction [ 49 , 50 ]. This may seem paradoxical. However, even when used for social interaction, digital screen time can reduce the time spent developing skills to read and interpret cues of human emotion.

Recent studies [ 51 , 52 ] have reported a positive association between dietary quality and mental health problems. However, two previous systematic reviews [ 53 , 54 ] found limited and contradictory evidence to support the association between dietary patterns and mental health problems in adults.

As has been reported in previous studies involving similar samples, we found an association between certain habits such as tobacco and alcohol consumption [ 32 ], presenting PIU [ 11 ] and eating unhealthily [ 43 , 55 ] with higher levels of psychological distress. It is important to highlight that, although we were not able to establish the direction of these associations, it seems reasonable to hypothesize that a bidirectional relationship exists between these variables. Thus, we suggest that future mental health promoting strategies in this population include an evaluation of lifestyle.

It is also worth highlighting that being enrolled in a healthcare program did not increase the risk of experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in our sample. This is contrary to previous studies [ 56 , 57 ], which identified that being enrolled in a health-related program of study was a risk factor for psychological distress. They argue that health-related programs pose unique challenges including excessive academic pressure, peer competition, working under minimal supervision in unfamiliar clinical settings and witnessing pain, suffering and death [ 30 ].

It is possible that college students perceive vital events associated with college life as threatening to them, thus negatively affecting their mental health. For example, being under 21 was significantly associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress [ 58 ]. This is an interesting finding, which may suggest that younger students may be more likely to experience uncertainty related to their studies than mature students. This observation is supported by previous studies [ 1 , 2 ], which reported higher levels of anxiety in the initial years of study.

This, to our knowledge, is the first attempt to establish an association between the symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress, and a large range of socioeconomic and behavioral variables, in a sample of Spanish college students. Furthermore, we believe that our results are highly representative of, and generalizable to, the population of college students in Spain, owing not only to our sample size but also to the standardized procedures of data collection and plausibility of the associations established. This has allowed us to draw a reliable picture of the psychological health and habits of our population of college students, which may serve as a starting point for the development and implementation of preventative and diagnostic interventions, and treatment services, to promote mental health and well-being.

Some authors [ 59 , 60 ] have argued that educational settings are ideal to implement measures and interventions leading to the promotion of a healthy lifestyle and prevention of mental health problems. Higher education institutions must attempt to train not only excellent professionals but also healthy individuals. Some Spanish universities, known as Health Promoting Universities, have accepted this challenge and are systematically implementing measures to promote health and wellbeing among the university population [ 61 ]. Future studies should compare the prevalence and level of psychological distress between the staff and the students enrolled in these universities, and those working and studying in non-health promoting ones.

This study has some limitations that need to be acknowledged. Firstly, the DASS-21 questionnaire is a suitable tool to screen for anxious, depressive and stress disorders, and may be useful to identify patients who are at risk of being affected by these conditions. However, additional tools should be used to establish a formal diagnosis. Secondly, the methodology employed in this investigation does allow for the establishment of associations between variables, but not causality. Finally, we would like to highlight that data collection took place over a period of eight months and, consequently, it is likely that academic life conditions were different for some of the students. For example, it is well known that factors such as the proximity of deadlines and exams may become a significant source of stress and anxiety for college students [ 62 ]. Furthermore, the generalizability of our results to the general population of Spanish college students may be limited. Specifically, this study was carried out in a private college in Spain. Such private higher education institutions are less numerous than public ones in Spain and tuition fees tend to be significantly higher. Having said this, the sociodemographic characteristics of our sample are similar to those of similar studies conducted in Spain involving college students enrolled in public universities [ 63 , 64 ]

Future investigations in this area should attempt to address these limitations. In any case, we argue that our results bring to light the need to implement strategies to protect and, if applicable, improve the mental health and wellbeing of college students.

5. Conclusions

We found a considerable prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in our population which, in some cases, do not occur in isolation, but coexist. In addition, we identified a number of factors associated with these symptoms. Factors including age, gender, self-esteem, sleep quality and living arrangements of college students, as well as specific behaviors relating to alcohol, tobacco and Internet use seem to be strongly associated with psychological distress in the college student population. We argue that our results can be helpful to design strategies for the early identification of mental health disorders, as well as psychological and other interventions leading to mental health promotion and wellbeing in the population of college students.

Author Contributions

All the authors have made a substantial contribution to this work, have approved the submitted version and agree to be personally accountable for their own contribution to the study and for ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated, resolved and documented in the literature. Conceptualization, E.R.-A. and I.A.-S.; methodology, E.R.-A., I.A.-S. and J.M.G.-L.; data collection, E.R.-A. and B.P.-G.; formal analysis, E.R.-A., V.G.-C. and R.J.-V.; resources, E.R.-A. and B.P.-G., writing—original draft preparation, E.R.-A. and B.P.-G.; writing—review and editing, R.J.-V., V.G.-C., J.M.G.-L. and I.A.-S.; supervision, I.A.-S.; project administration, V.G.-C. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

We declare that we have not received any funding in support of this research or to cover publication costs.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Department of History

Call for papers: intellectual history conference.

Thoughts of the Tomorrow: Intellectuals and the History of the Future Faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows are invited to participate in the Thoughts of Tomorrow conference sponsored by the Columbia University History Department and hosted by Teachers College. On November 1, 2024, an interdisciplinary community of scholars will congregate at Columbia University to weigh in on and consider questions around the history of the future. It is not an exaggeration to say that we are living through a period of intense uncertainty, even dread, of the future. Whether it’s the unsettling pace of technological development, the instability of taken-for-granted political institutions, radical transformations of work, labor, and economy, or the rapid reconfigurations of gender, race, and identity, nearly every facet of contemporary life seems characterized by confusion about our past and suspicion of our future. This conference serves as a platform to dissect, among other topics, the intricacies of futurology, dystopias, utopias, apocalypse, and paradise. Historians and scholars working beyond the historical field will reflect on the diverse social imaginaries and narratives that shape our understanding of the future. The organizing committee welcomes papers from every geography, historical topic, and time period, as well as submissions from other disciplines dealing with the history and conceptualization of the future. Research involving historical thinking about utopias and dystopias, the future of labor and technology, the environment, the future of nations and citizens, and political thought in any part of the world are some examples of topics that could be discussed at this conference. While historians cannot predict the future, we can learn and share lessons from those who have thought about it deeply. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES : Applicants may submit individually or as a group, though the organizing committee reserves the right to organize panels according to overall need. Please submit a 200-300 word abstract outlining the topic of your proposed paper here . The deadline to submit a paper is May 31, 2024 . Limited financial assistance will be available to support panelists’ travel and lodging expenses. Please contact your department first regarding funding. Please reach out to the conference organizers with any questions. Organizers: Juliana Torres ([email protected]), Nick Vachon ([email protected]) Wyatt Reynolds ([email protected]), GeColby Youngblood ([email protected])

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Mr. President: If you force me to choose, you will lose

OPINION: The Biden administration's proposal to cut funding to the Charter Schools Program will leave parents little choice come November.

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Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.

I vote in every election. When it comes to casting a ballot, whether it’s for president, Congress, state legislators, governor, mayor or city council, I am always going to vote based on what’s best for my child. There is nothing a candidate can say about any issue that will change this calculus. If I don’t believe my child will be better off with that person in office, they will not get my vote.

And I am not alone. There are millions of Americans — white, Black, Hispanic, Democrat, Republican, rural, suburban, urban — who will make the very same decision come November. Choosing to put our kids first is not a political issue; it’s just how we are wired.

This is why President Biden faces significant headwinds as we approach November. And so do other Democratic candidates up and down the ballot who seem to be unclear about the priorities of some of their most important constituents, parents.

Parents of K-12 students make up 40% of the U.S. electorate and according to a  survey  commissioned by the Harris Poll, 82% of them are willing to vote outside their political party based on the candidate’s position on education, which is a particularly acute issue for Black mothers like me.

For decades, we have been promised that brighter days are ahead and that elected leaders are working toward creating equity in areas like education and the workforce. But now we are tired of waiting. We want something better right now.

That is why it was initially encouraging to hear during the State of the Union address when President Biden announced a laudable goal of all children reading by the third grade. The optimism was short-lived.

Just a couple of days later, President Biden’s proposed budget called for cutting investments in charter schools , which predominantly serve Black and brown students.

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I was understandably puzzled. How, exactly, are we supposed to get to this laudable goal by slashing the only source of federal funding for the startup, growth, replication, and expansion of these public schools that serve our students so well? There is never a cost to attend a charter school and, according to research from Stanford, the average charter student gains an equivalent of 16 additional learning days in reading in a year, and six additional days of learning in math.

It’s hard to interpret a proposed cut to the Charter Schools Program as anything other than harmful to our children.

We want our kids to at least have a fighting chance at achieving their dreams. We want them to be prepared for great careers that will help diminish income inequality. We are not talking about theories and hypotheticals. These are our children, and it is time to move with more urgency.

I am reminded of Martin Luther King Jr.’s April 1963 letter from Birmingham Jail , in which he responded to those encouraging Blacks to just “wait.”

Dr. King remarked, “There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.”

Sixty years later, we remain impatient and rightfully so. Black children are still behind their white peers in reading and math. Their median weekly earnings , among those ages 16 to 24, is $133 less than white workers. And they are far more likely to end up in poverty or prison.

It is no wonder that according to a recent  poll  of Black single mothers, 69% believe the country is heading in the wrong direction and only 7% believe it’s on the right track. Fatigue is making us quite restless. Black women voters are an important voting bloc. Why? Because we tip elections.

To begin to rebuild trust, President Biden must demonstrate that he’s listening to us.  

He must show that he understands the value Black voters place on education and having better public school options by demonstrating his support for the schools we choose. President Biden must understand that if we’re going to reach the literacy goal he set out, it’s only achievable if Black and Brown families can actually access high-quality schools.

My home state of Florida can serve as a cautionary tale for President Biden. In 2018, Andrew Gillum ignored the wishes of Black voters and came out against school choice options that met the needs of underserved communities throughout the state. Gillum received around 40,000 fewer votes among Blacks than fellow Florida Democrat Bill Nelson received in his Senate race that same election day. Gillum lost to Ron DeSantis by 32,463 votes .

President Biden, do the math and please don’t take our vote for granted. 

Debbie Veney is a senior vice president at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

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Marella Feltrin-Morris (World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures) Publishes Book Chapter and Translation

Marella feltrin-morris (world languages, literatures, and cultures) has published a book chapter and the translation of a short story by luigi pirandello..

Marella Feltrin-Morris (World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures) has published a book chapter, "The United States," in the volume Pirandello in Context ( https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108339391 ), edited by Patricia Gaborik (Cambridge University Press, 2024): pp. 35-42.  For students of Luigi Pirandello's life and works, the volume provides a multifaceted view spanning the many genres in which he wrote, from poetry and essays to fiction and drama. It gives a true sense of Pirandello's remarkable sensitivity to place and of how his perspective was shaped by a wide range of interlocutors with varying professional backgrounds. Feltrin-Morris's contribution focuses on Pirandello's complex and ambivalent attitude towards the United States, which he visited on two occasions, in 1923 and 1935, and which inspired three short stories.

Feltrin-Morris has also published an English translation of Luigi Pirandello's 1934 short story, "Di sera, un geranio" ("At Nightfall, a Geranium") in Stories for a Year , eds. Lisa Sarti and Michael Subialka, Digital Edition, https://www.pirandellointranslation.org/ 2024.

https://www.pirandellointranslation.org/at-nightfall-a-geranium

In the story, a recently-deceased man watches himself from outside his body and reflects on material existence and transience.