Transitioning to college during COVID-19: A brief report on incoming students' self-reports of mental health from 2020 to 2022.

Objective : Depression and anxiety have been identified as growing concerns for many populations in the United States, including young adults. We investigated how internalizing symptoms may have changed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic among students transitioning to college. Participants : Participants were incoming undergraduates in Fall 2020, 2021, and 2022 at Northeastern Universities ( N  = 263). Methods: Participants completed self-reports of mood, repetitive thinking, and social satisfaction within two weeks of beginning their first college semester. Results : Depression and anxiety symptoms appear to differ by year, such that both have increased over time. These results seem to be co-occurring with an increase in repetitive negative thinking - a known predictor of depression and anxiety. Conclusions : These preliminary results suggest that mental health concerns in young adults may be worsening despite the resumption of in-person activities post-initial pandemic onset. This highlights the need to monitor and intervene on mental health in students transitioning to college.