Daniel Eisenberg

• University of Michigan

OBJECTIVE: Eating disorders (EDs) are prevalent in college students, yet limited research on EDs across racial/ethnic groups in population-based samples exists. This study aimed to examine differences in prevalence/presentations of EDs by race/ethnicity in a national college sample. METHOD: Students at 26 U.S. colleges/universities (N=29,951) compl...

BACKGROUND: As use of guided digitally-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy (GdCBT) grows, pragmatic analytic tools are needed to evaluate coaches’ implementation fidelity. Aims: We evaluated how natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) methods might automate the monitoring of coaches’ implementation fidelity to a guided GdCBT...

Objective: This study explored the perspectives of key campus stakeholders on the status of college mental health services and digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) as a strategy to address mental health disorders among college students. Methods: A nationwide online survey (N = 615) was conducted, including clinicians (n = 87) and campus lead...

Importance: Given the rising prevalence of anxiety, depression, and eating disorders among college students, optimizing population treatment outcomes for the college population is needed. Objective: To validate a machine learning model using baseline sociodemographic and clinical information to predict which college students would show long-term be...

Purpose of Review We evaluated the impact of digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) for college students. We organized findings using the RE-AIM framework to include reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance. Recent Findings We conducted a systematic literature review of recent findings from 2019–2024. Our search identif...

Background A better understanding of the relationships between insomnia and anxiety, mood, eating, and alcohol-use disorders is needed given its prevalence among young adults. Supervised machine learning provides the ability to evaluate which mental disorder is most associated with heightened insomnia among U.S. college students. Combined with Baye...

BACKGROUND: Previous studies showed that comorbidity and demographic factors added to burden on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Only one study explored the relationship between HRQoL and comorbidity in college students with mental disorders, leaving generalizability of findings uncertain. Less is known about the association of demographics...

This Virtual Issue of the International Journal of Eating Disorders honors the legacy of the late Dr. C. Barr Taylor in the eating disorders (EDs) field. For decades, Dr. Taylor led the way in not only conducting the research needed to achieve the ultimate goal of making affordable, accessible, evidence-based care for EDs available to all, but also...

Mental health disparities experienced by sexual and gender diverse (SGD) young adults are well documented. Yet, few studies have examined mental health disparities between SGD subgroups. Even fewer have investigated disparities that may exist for individuals whose SGD identities are nonmonosexual (i.e., diverse sexual orientations besides gay/lesbi...

OBJECTIVES: In a national sample of college students, this study aimed to evaluate whether barriers to mental health treatment varied by race and ethnicity. METHODS: Data were drawn from a large multicampus study conducted across 26 US colleges and universities. The sample (n = 5841) included students who screened positive for at least one mental...

Background: A better understanding of the structure of relations among insomnia and anxiety, mood, eating, and alcohol-use disorders is needed, given its prevalence among young adults. Supervised machine learning provides the ability to evaluate the discriminative accuracy of psychiatric disorders associated with insomnia. Combined with Bayesian ne...

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence suggests that multiple emotional disorders may be better assessed using dimensional models of psychopathology. The current study utilized a cross-sectional population survey of college students (N = 8,613 participants) to examine the extent to which broad psychopathology factors account for specific associations between...

Accessible, low-cost intervention options are necessary to address the rise in mental health problems among college students. Digital guided self-help, or coached, programs have been developed to provide such services, with many commercially available. As such, there are a large and growing number of individuals coaching these programs. However, an...

Objective: We examined whether meaningful subgroups of self-injurious behaviors (SIBs) would emerge within a pool of first-year college students already deemed at elevated risk. Participants: First-year undergraduates (N = 1,068) recruited in 2015-2018 Fall terms. Methods: Past-year nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) frequency, past-year number of NSSI...

Objective To examine the mental health problems that college students with eating disorders (EDs) and comorbid depression and/or anxiety disorders preferred to target first in a digital treatment program and explore correlates of preferred treatment focus. Methods Four hundred and eighty nine college student users of a digital cognitive‐behavioral...

OBJECTIVE: We studied current psychotherapy utilization rates among college students with mental health problems and identified characteristics associated with differential utilization. PARTICIPANTS: Nationwide online survey of students screening positive for at least one clinical mental health problem (N = 18,435). METHODS: Rates and correlates of...

Online surveys are routinely used in mental health screening and treatment follow-up assessment, though they can yield low response rates. We tested the effects of social psychology-informed influence strategies for increasing rates of participation in an online mental health screening survey (Experiment 1) and a treatment follow-up survey (Experim...

BACKGROUND: Mental health problems are increasing in prevalence among college students, yet few students receive treatment due to barriers such as insufficient resources in college counseling centers. Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) have potential to overcome barriers and offer accessible, evidence-based care to college students. Howeve...

Background Adolescents increasingly access mental health services in schools. School mental health professionals (SPs; school counselors, social workers, etc.) can offer evidence-based mental health practices (EBPs) in schools, which may address access gaps and improve clinical outcomes. Although some studies have assessed factors associated with E...

Introduction We examine mental health outcomes in a national sample of Arab/Middle Eastern college students using the Healthy Minds Study (HMS) from 2015–2018 and assess the modifying roles of religion and discrimination. Methods HMS is an annual web-based survey administered to random samples of undergraduate and graduate students at participatin...

Aims There has been a marked increase in suicide fatalities among college-age students in recent years. Moreover, heavy alcohol use, a well-known risk factor for suicide, is present on most campuses. Yet, no prospective studies have examined alcohol use patterns among college students as predictors of suicidal behaviors. Methods Online of 40,335 s...

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/174101/1/13012_2022_Article_1229.pdf

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the need for mental healthcare that can be delivered remotely and at scale to college students. This study evaluated the efficacy of online self-help for stress among students during the pandemic. Method: College students with moderate or higher stress (N = 585) were recruited between November 2020 a...

Objective: This study examined joint trends over time in associations between substance use (heavy drinking, cannabis, and cigarette smoking) and mental health concerns (depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation) among US post-secondary students. Participants: Data came from 323,896 students participating in the Healthy Minds Study from 2009 to 20...

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students, yet many students with elevated suicide risk do not seek professional help. This study identified suicide risk profiles among college students and examined these in relation to students' perceived barriers to professional help-seeking. Data were obtained from college students (n =...

Objective The need for clinical services in U.S. colleges exceeds the supply. Digital Mental health Interventions (DMHIs) are a potential solution, but successful implementation depends on stakeholder acceptance. This study investigated the relevance of DMHIs from students' perspectives. Methods In 2020–2021, an online cross-sectional survey using...

School professionals (SPs) are increasingly tasked with providing mental health treatment for students. Successful implementation of school-based mental health evidence-based practices (EBPs) can reduce students’ depression and anxiety, but requires identification of appropriate students to benefit from these interventions. We examined the ability...

Background A considerable gap in knowledge exists around mental health trends in diverse racial and ethnic adolescent and young adult populations. The purpose of this study is to examine annual trends for mental health and help-seeking by race/ethnicity in a national sample of college students. Methods Survey data come from >350,000 students at 37...

Objective: Despite the increasing prevalence of psychological distress in university and college students, little is known about their use of coping strategies. This study explored healthy and unhealthy coping strategies in this population. Participants: A representative sample of 509 students at a large public university in the US. Methods: This s...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic could affect college students’ mental health. We examined screening rates for psychological disorders before and during the pandemic.Methods Undergraduates were surveyed before (n = 3643) or during the pandemic (n = 4970). Logistic regression adjusting for participant demographics was conducted.ResultsFrequencies of...

Objective: Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students in the United States, and the percentage of students reporting suicidal thoughts is increasing. Nevertheless, many students at risk do not seek mental health (MH) services. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) examined the efficacy of Electronic Bridge to Mental Healt...

Depression and suicidal ideation have substantially increased among college students, yet many students with clinically significant symptoms do not perceive their distress as warranting mental health services. Personalized feedback (PF) interventions deliver objective data, often electronically, comparing an individual’s reported symptoms or behavi...

Objective Heavy alcohol use has been clearly linked to risk for suicidal behaviors and is also prevalent on many American college campuses. This report uses a large sample of college students to explore relationships between alcohol use, depressive symptoms, and suicidality. Methods: A brief suicide screen was completed by 40,335 university student...

Background Strong positive relationships between dietary self-monitoring and eating disorder risk are seen in population-based, observational studies. However, current evidence cannot establish causality. Furthermore, little is known about other mental and behavioral health consequences of dietary self-monitoring among college women, a population v...

Objective In a national sample of college students, the current study aimed to: 1) examine differences in probable diagnoses of EDs (i.e., anorexia nervosa (AN), clinical/subthreshold bulimia nervosa (BN), or binge eating disorder (BED)) and weight and shape concerns by sexual orientation and gender identity, and 2) examine differences in ED chroni...

Objective To identify patterns of technology-based weight-related self-monitoring (WRSM) and assess associations between identified patterns and eating disorder behaviors among first year university students. Methods First year university students (n=647) completed a web-based survey to assess their use of technology-based WRSM and eating disorder...

Objective: This study estimated the prevalence of self-reported symptoms of mental health problems and treatment utilization in a U.S. national sample of community college students and made comparisons with data from a sample of students at 4-year educational institutions. Methods: The study used data for 2016-2019 from the Healthy Minds Study,...

About a third of college students struggle with anxiety, depression, or an eating disorder, and only 20-40% of college students with mental disorders receive treatment. Inadequacies in mental health care delivery result in prolonged illness, disease progression, poorer prognosis, and greater likelihood of relapse, highlighting the need for a new ap...

Objective To characterize patterns of weight‐related self‐monitoring (WRSM) among US undergraduate and graduate students and examine associations between identified patterns of WRSM and eating disorder symptomology. Method Undergraduate and graduate students from 12 US colleges and universities (N = 10,010) reported the frequency with which they u...

Background People use healthy and unhealthy coping strategies to reduce distress. Understanding the relationship between healthy and unhealthy coping strategies and overwhelming distress is essential to inform formulation and intervention. This study explored the interdependencies between healthy and unhealthy coping strategies using Bayesian netwo...

Population health is affected by sociopolitical events, particularly in groups specifically threatened by those events.¹ The 2016 presidential election was associated with a rise in anti-Muslim rhetoric, policy, and hate crimes.²,3 Donald Trump called for banning Muslim immigrants.³ We assessed whether the election was associated with changes in th...

U.S. college students are a distinct population facing major challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, students were already experiencing substantial mental health concerns, putting both their health and academic success in jeopardy. College students now face increasing housing and food insecurity, financial hardships, a lack of...

Objective Despite the increasing prevalence of psychological distress in university and college students, little is known about their use of coping strategies. This study explored healthy and unhealthy coping strategies in this population. Participants: A representative sample of 509 students at a large public university in the US. Methods: This st...

Objective: To assess mental health symptoms, suicidal ideation/behaviors, and treatment among a nationally representative probability sample of student veterans. Participants: Student veterans enrolled in post-secondary educational institutions and matched comparison students. Methods: Sampled participants completed an online survey (n = 1,838). An...

Objective Sexual and gender minorities are at elevated risk for suicide, yet few studies have examined differences in risk within many sexual and gender minority subgroups. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in prevalence for suicide risk factors among a wide range of sexual orientations and gender identities. Method Forty‐one th...

Background : College student mental health (MH) problems and suicide risk have steadily increased over the past decade and a significant number of students with MH problems do not seek treatment. While some barriers to mental health care service utilization (MHSU) have been identified, very little is known regarding how these barriers differ among...

UNSTRUCTURED Background: Digital technology, which includes the collection, analysis, and use of data from a variety of digital devices, has the potential for reducing the prevalence of disorders and improving mental health in populations. Among the many advantages of digital technology is that it allows preventive and clinical interventions, both...

Digital technology, which includes the collection, analysis, and use of data from a variety of digital devices, has the potential to reduce the prevalence of disorders and improve mental health in populations. Among the many advantages of digital technology is that it allows preventive and clinical interventions, both of which are needed to reduce...

Background: Little is known about how victimization and discrimination relate to suicide risk among sexual and gender minority (SGM) college students, or what is protective for these students. The current study will: 1.) determine the extent to which interpersonal victimization, discrimination, identity affirmation, and social connectedness are as...

Background Implementation strategies are essential for promoting the uptake of evidence-based practices and for patients to receive optimal care. Yet strategies differ substantially in their intensity and feasibility. Lower-intensity strategies (eg, training and technical support) are commonly used but may be insufficient for all clinics. Limited r...

In recent years, there has been an increase in symptoms of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and other mental illnesses in college student populations. Simultaneously, there has been a steady rise in the demand for counseling services. These trends have been viewed by some as a mental health crisis requiring prompt investigation and the genera...

Objective:: This study aimed to document population-level trends in mental health service utilization by college students. Methods:: The study drew on 10 years of data from the Healthy Minds Study, an annual Web-based survey, with a sample comprising 155,026 students from 196 campuses. Analyses focused on past-year mental health treatment and li...

Purpose: Understanding the mental health needs of students of color is a growing priority on college and university campuses nationwide. This study aims to capture the state of mental health among students of color, including the prevalence of mental health problems and treatment utilization. Methods: The sample is comprised of 43,375 undergradu...

Background: The ubiquity of smartphones and the development of mental health apps (MHAs) calls for evaluation of consumers' attitudes towards and usage of MHAs. Due to the increasing demand for mental health services on college campuses, research is especially needed to evaluate MHAs as a potentially viable treatment modality in that setting. Met...

Background: Mental health problems are highly prevalent in university populations and have been shown to impair academic performance. Yet little is known about the ways in which mental health influences academic outcomes in higher education. Aims: This study seeks to offer new insight into the relationship between mental health and academic perform...

This chapter describes why resilience and mental health deserve more attention in efforts to increase student retention. The chapter offers practical suggestions for campus administrators and others.

Objective: Although major depressive disorder (MDD) and heavy episodic drinking (HED, 4+/5+ drinks in a single sitting for women/men) are common among young adults in college, the relationship between the two remains unclear. This study examined the association between MDD and HED in this population, the effect of gender on this association, and w...

This article explores variations in mental health and service utilization across academic disciplines using a random sample of undergraduate and graduate students (N = 64,519) at 81 colleges and universities. We report prevalence of depression, anxiety, suicidality, and self-injury, and rates of help-seeking across disciplines, including results fr...

On US college campuses, mental health problems are highly prevalent, appear to be increasing, and are often untreated. Concerns about student mental health are well-documented, but little is known about potential variations across the diversity of institutions of higher education. 43,210 undergraduates at 72 campuses that participated in the Health...

Objective: This pilot randomized controlled trial examined the effect of an online intervention for college students at risk for suicide, Electronic Bridge to Mental Health Services (eBridge), which included personalized feedback and optional online counseling delivered in accordance with motivational interviewing principles. Primary outcomes were...

We investigate peer effects in weight gain by exploiting a natural experiment, roommate assignments of 751 male and 845 female first-year college students. Results indicate that females are subject to peer influence in weight gain, with little evidence of peer effects for males. Peer influences appear to be heterogeneous as heavier and thinner fema...

AM:STARs is the official publication of the AAP Section on Adolescent Health. Published 2 times per year, it offers adolescent specialists and primary care physicians timely information on matters relating to adolescent health and wellness.

Purpose Gatekeeper training (GKT) programs are an increasingly popular approach to addressing access to mental health care in adolescent and young adult populations. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a widely used GKT program, Mental Health First Aid, in college student populations. Methods A randomized control trial was conducted on 32 co...

Spillover effects in health service use may represent an important externality of individual treatment decisions and are important for understanding the consequences of interventions to improve access to health care. This study is the first to our knowledge to examine causal spillover effects for mental health service use. We exploit the natural ex...

This randomized controlled implementation study compared the effectiveness of a standard versus enhanced version of the replicating effective programs (REP) implementation strategy to improve the uptake of the life goals-collaborative care model (LG-CC) for bipolar disorder. Seven community-based practices (384 patient participants) were randomized...

AM:STARs: Adolescent Medicine: State of the Art Reviews is the official publication of the AAP Section on Adolescent Health. Published 3 times per year, the journal offers adolescent medicine specialists and other primary care physicians who treat adolescent patients with state of the art information on all matters relating to adolescent health and...

This article reviews knowledge about mental health among young adults (ages 18-29) from both a population-level and a clinical perspective. Mental disorders account for a larger burden of disease than any other class of conditions for this age group in the United States. Although most clinical evidence is based on either children (younger than age...

Social scientists continue to devote considerable attention to spillover effects for risky behaviors because of the important policy implications and the persistent challenges in identifying unbiased causal effects. We use the natural experiment of assigned college roommates to estimate peer effects for several measures of health risks: binge drink...

Objectives: This study sought to describe self-reported barriers to professional help seeking among college students who are at elevated suicide risk and determine if these barriers vary by demographic and clinical characteristics. Participants: Participants were 165 non-treatment seekers recruited as part of a Web-based treatment linkage interv...

From a policy standpoint, the spread of health conditions in social networks is important to quantify, because it implies externalities and possible market failures in the consumption of health interventions. Recent studies conclude that happiness and depression may be highly contagious across social ties. The results may be biased, however, becaus...

This study utilizes a natural experiment-conditionally random dormitory assignments of first-year US college students-to investigate the influence of obesogenic environmental factors in explaining changes in weight and exercise behavior during the 2009-2010 academic year. The design addresses potential selection biases resulting from the likelihood...

Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) have potential to improve care for chronic conditions through incentives for better performance and bundled payments that promote care coordination. The Chronic Care Model (CCM) is a framework for providing health services for chronic conditions in primary care settings consistent with the organizational and fi...

We estimated the prevalence and correlates of mental health problems among college students in the United States. In 2007 and 2009, we administered online surveys with brief mental health screens to random samples of students at 26 campuses nationwide. We used sample probability weights to adjust for survey nonresponse. A total of 14,175 students c...

Given the significant burden of mental illness among young adults, colleges offer a promising venue for prevention and treatment, which can help set late adolescents and young adults on a path to success and wellbeing. Despite the potential benefits, there have been no published studies of how campuses decide about allocating resources for mental h...

This study estimated attitudes and beliefs about treatment in a national sample of college students with untreated mental health problems. A retrospective analysis of the 2007 and 2009 Healthy Minds Study, an online survey of college students in the United States, was conducted. The random sample included 13,105 survey participants from 26 institut...

This article reviews what is known about help-seeking behavior for mental health problems in college populations and offers suggestions for the next steps that could be undertaken to improve knowledge and practice in this area. Our review suggests that traditional barriers, such as stigma, can only partially explain the high prevalence of untreated...

Mental illness stigma refers to negative stereotypes and prejudices about people with mental illness, and is a widespread phenomenon with damaging social, psychological, and economic consequences. Despite considerable policy attention, mental illness stigma does not appear to have declined significantly in recent years. Interpersonal contact with p...

Studies report mixed findings regarding antidepressant agents and suicide risks, and few examine suicide deaths. Studies using observational data can accrue the large sample sizes needed to examine suicide death, but selection biases must be addressed. We assessed associations between suicide death and treatment with the 7 most commonly used antide...

There is no published evidence on the adequacy of depression care among college students and how this varies by subpopulations and provider types. We estimated the prevalence of minimally adequate treatment among students with significant past-year depressive symptoms. Data were collected via a confidential online survey of a random sample of 8488...

Many suicidal college students do not receive mental health treatment, and the reasons for this are not fully understood. This study examines how attitudes, beliefs, and social network factors relate to help seeking among suicidal students. A random sample of 8,487 undergraduate and graduate students from 15 US universities participated. A Web-base...

To examine the prevalence, correlates, persistence, and treatment-seeking related to symptoms of eating disorders (EDs) in a random sample of college students. A random sample of students at a large university were recruited for an Internet survey in Fall 2005 and a follow-up survey in Fall 2007. ED symptoms were measured using the SCOFF screen and...

This study utilized a quasi-natural experiment – randomized dormitory assignment of freshmen college students – to investigate the influence of obesogenic factors in explaining changes in weight and exercise behavior. This design addresses potential selection biases resulting from the likelihood that individuals sort into physical environments that...

Evidence about how people value health gains for different age groups is controversial and incomplete, despite the significance of this issue for priority setting in health policy. The aim of this study was to collect and analyse nationally representative data in the US regarding how people prioritize health programmes for children versus older adu...

We aimed to provide the most comprehensive picture, to date, of service utilization and help-seeking behavior for mental health problems among college students in the United States. We conducted online surveys in 2007 and 2009 of random samples of students in 26 campuses nationwide. Among students with an apparent mental health problem (32% of the...

To assess the relationship between closer monitoring of depressed patients during high-risk treatment periods and death from suicide, using two analytic approaches. VA patients receiving depression treatment between 1999 and 2004. First, a case-control design was used, adjusting for age, gender, and high-risk days (1,032 cases and 2,058 controls)....

The natural experiment in which first-year college roommates are randomly assigned has been used primarily to provide credible estimates of peer effects in academic outcomes. The application of this identification strategy to examine health-related variables has been limited, however, due to reliance on administrative data and pre-existing surveys...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the independent associations between DSM-IV psychiatric disorders and the failure to complete college among college entrants. Data were from the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). The sample included 15,800 adults, aged 22 years and older, who at least entere...

This research examined two questions: (1) What is the prevalence of self-injurious behavior (SIB) among college students, overall and by gender, academic level, and sexual orientation? (2) To what extent is SIB associated with different forms of substance use and other risk behaviors? A probability sample of 5,689 students completed an Internet sur...

Mental disorders are as prevalent among college students as same-aged non-students, and these disorders appear to be increasing in number and severity. The purpose of this report is to review the research literature on college student mental health, while also drawing comparisons to the parallel literature on the broader adolescent and young adult...

Despite considerable policy interest in the association between perceived public stigmatization of mental illness and use of mental health services, limited empirical evidence, particularly from longitudinal data, documents this relationship. This study used longitudinal data to estimate the association between perceived public stigmatization and s...