Mental health differences between multiracial and monoracial college students in the United States: Emerging racial disparities

Background: Multiracial individuals appear to be at higher risk for mental health problems; however, more research is needed to confirm these racial disparities among young adult college populations. Methods: We analyzed data from the Health Minds Study (N = 99728 young adult college students aged 18-34), collected online across 140 college campuses from September 2020 to June 2021. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine associations between multiracial identity and several mental health outcomes, including mental and behavioral health (depression, anxiety, languishing, perceived need, loneliness), self-injurious behaviors (non-suicidal self-injury, suicidal ideation, suicide plan, suicide attempt), and history of lifetime psychiatric disorders, adjusting for age and gender. Results: Almost a tenth of the weighted sample were multiracial. Multiracial students had greater odds of all mental and behavioral health outcomes, self-injurious behaviors (though only marginally significant for suicide attempt), and most lifetime psychiatric disorders. Conclusion: Multiracial young adult college students were more likely to have mental health problems than their monoracial counterparts, calling for targeted preventive interventions on college campuses to address these mental health disparities.