# German college students’ mental health state and their willingness to use mental health prevention: An online survey during the COVID-19 pandemic

## TL;DR

This study found that German college students experienced poor mental health during the pandemic and were interested in prevention, but lacked knowledge about where to seek help.

## Contribution

The study highlights the need for accessible mental health prevention integrated into university settings during crises.

## Key findings

- Many students reported depressive and anxiety symptoms, along with low resilience.
- Students with mental health issues showed higher interest in prevention than those without.
- Female students engaged in more mental health activities and had higher anxiety and lower resilience than males.

## Abstract

The number of college students suffering from mental illnesses has been rising for several years. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected young adults. Mental health prevention is essential in order to effectively reduce the incidence of mental disorders and may help to counteract chronic mental disorders in the long term. Data were derived from a German online survey of 1334 college students (MAGE = 24.75, SDAGE = 3.32, [19–42] years) conducted in autumn 2021. Besides validated questionnaires (PHQ-2, ASI-3, CD-RISC-10) to assess their mental health status, we asked specific questions on students’ general interest in mental health prevention, whether students knew where to get help, and how many activities they engaged in to maintain their mental health. Students' overall interest in mental health prevention was high. Participants with clinically relevant scores were significantly more interested in prevention offers compared to those with clinically normal scores. Females engaged in significantly more activities to strengthen their mental health during the pandemic, and showed significantly higher anxiety scores and significantly lower resilience scores compared to their male counterparts. According to our results, students show decreasing mental health and resilience in times of crisis. Overall, motivation to seek professional support is high but knowledge about where to find such support is low. Based on these results, we conclude that easily accessible and low-threshold mental health prevention offers should be integrated into university curricula.

•Many students report depressive and anxiety symptoms, along with low resilience.•Students, especially those with mental health issues, show high interest in mental health prevention.•Interventions should be short, accessible, and combine online and face-to-face services.•Crisis and advice contact options should be more prominent.

Many students report depressive and anxiety symptoms, along with low resilience.

Students, especially those with mental health issues, show high interest in mental health prevention.

Interventions should be short, accessible, and combine online and face-to-face services.

Crisis and advice contact options should be more prominent.