Dartmouth researchers tracked more than 200 undergraduates for all four years of college to capture the most in-depth data yet on how students’ self-esteem and mental health fluctuates during their years in academia. The researchers identify key populations and stressors they say administrators could target to improve student well-being. The study — conducted from 2017 to 2022 — also provides among the first real-time accounts of how the coronavirus pandemic affected students and resulted in long-lasting behavioral changes that persisted even as the pandemic diminished.
