Relationship between Mental Illness and Discrimination among College Students

RM 207

Objective: Approximately 43.8 million Americans aged 18 or older have at least one form of mental illness. Given that national objectives, such as those set forth by the Healthy People, the initiative has call to action to improve the mental health status among young adults. In this study we evaluated the prevalence of mental illness among college students, the relation to stigma, in underlying perceived barriers to care and help seeking behavior. Methods: An existing database on health and behavioral outcomes of college students was utilized to conduct analyses. First, psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler 6 scale. Discrimination was assessed using the Everyday Discrimination Scale. Standard demographic characteristics will be assessed using questionnaire similar to that of the California Health Interview Survey. This in turn will enable the results of this study to be comparable to the state-wide assessment. Evaluation of results will enable researchers to identify participants to be recruited to focus groups. Results: Nearly 17% of the population have serious psychological distress, and 30.7% have mild to moderate psychological distress. Furthermore, 19.9% of the population reported everyday discrimination. The prevalence of serious psychological distress among those who reported everyday discrimination was 40.0% compared to 11.3% among those with no discrimination experience (p <.05). Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that psychological distress is associated with discrimination and public health interventions for college students are needed.