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Project Goals

Goals for Transitions I
  1. Collect survey data from approximately 1000 first-year students at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2019/20 to
    1. Assess prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms, along with different types of stressors and stress-buffers among first-year college students,
    2. Examine how different types of stressors experienced during college, psychosocial resources, and associated behaviors affect anxiety and depression symptoms in the first-year of university, and
    3. Examine how the effects differ by race/ethnicity, first-generation status, sexual/gender minority status and gender.
  2. Through qualitative interviews of 20 first-year UNC-Chapel Hill students, understand students’ transition into college, the challenges and stressors they experience as well as the resources and social supports they utilize to manage these stressors.
Goals for Transitions II

Conduct a follow-up survey to Transitions 1 (T1) to examine the disparate effects of the Covid-19 pandemic for students of different race/ethnicities and first-generation college status, with particular attention to

    1. disparities in Covid-19 stressors (e.g., concern about Covid-19, material hardship, food insecurity, job loss, distance learning) experienced at T2 (after the Covid-19 pandemic and the changes in students’ experiences of chronic stressors (e.g., academic, financial, future and health) between T1 and T2;
    2. the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on depression/anxiety symptoms at T2, changes between T1 and T2 and the protective role of psychosocial resources;
    3. the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental-health related behaviors, such as exercise, social media usage, alcohol/drug use, prayer/meditation and sleep; and
    4. the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on social isolation and psychosocial resources at T2, and changes between T1 and T2.