In 2024, the Steve Fund partnered with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and Healthy Minds Network at the University of Michigan to analyze a survey of students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and predominantly Black institutions (PBIs).
This survey is part of a multiyear collaborative effort between UNCF (United Negro College Fund) and the Steve Fund to improve student mental health and well-being outcomes with a focus on historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and predominantly Black institutions (PBIs).
The purpose of the research effort was to describe the state of mental health among Black college students in order to help respond impactfully to mental health challenges faced by HBCU students and to develop proactive resources and interventions customized for the HBCU community to prioritize mental health.
To better understand and address the mental health challenges faced by students, it’s important to look at the broader environment. HBCU students’ experiences and well-being are significantly influenced by the broad range of societal issues and structural-level issues such as widespread social justice movements and subsequent pushback/reversals, the global COVID-19 pandemic, and geopolitical tensions.
Why is this important?
Mental health challenges among young people, especially, have been increasing for some time and were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic generated a multiplicity of adverse impacts and led to an emerging mental health crisis especially among young Black people in the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Mental health concerns have continued at an elevated level since then.
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in mental health concerns among Black college students. One large national study found that between 2013 and 2021 there was a 45% increase in depression and a 170% increase in anxiety among Black college students.¹
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these already rising rates and in the 2020-21 academic year, over 50% of Black students met the criteria for one or more mental health concerns.¹ The collective trauma of a global pandemic during the transition from adolescence to adulthood may have persistent impacts on some Black students’ mental well-being.