AT A GLANCE
Demographic, health, and mental health data from students across 48 U.S. states, born 1971–2003. Includes validated clinical screening instruments (PHQ-9 for depression, GAD-7 for anxiety) alongside detailed demographic and health variables.
Key Highlights:
- Population: Students from 48 U.S. states (birth years 1971–2003)
- Instruments: PHQ-9 (depression), GAD-7 (anxiety)
- Variables: Mental health symptoms, diagnoses, therapy/medication use, medical conditions, student status, demographics
- Strengths: Validated clinical tools, broad geographic coverage
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The dataset details symptom frequency over the preceding two weeks, depression and anxiety severity scores, and experiences of feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and hopeless. Additional variables cover therapy/medication usage, medical conditions, student status (full-time or international), biological sex, and race/ethnicity.
Research Applications:
- Social media impact on student mental health
- Student well-being trajectories and health service utilization
- PHQ-9 and GAD-7 population-level analysis
- Demographic disparities in mental health among students
Subject Terms: social media, mental health, depression, anxiety, PHQ-9, GAD-7, college students, United States
SCOPE & METHODOLOGY
- Geographic Coverage: United States (48 states)
- Smallest Geographic Unit: Individual student
- Time Period: Birth years 1971–2003; survey date — see documentation
- Universe: Students from 48 U.S. states
- Unit of Observation: Individual student
- Data Type: Survey data
Data Collection: Student survey administered across 48 U.S. states. Includes validated mental health screening instruments (PHQ-9 and GAD-7), demographic data, health ratings, treatment history, and medical conditions.
CITATION
University of Maryland, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences [distributor]. Social Media and Mental Health. BSOS Social Science Data Repository, 2026. https://bsos-data.umd.edu/dataset/social-media-and-mental-health
FILES & DOCUMENTATION
Available:
- mental_health2425v8(in).csv (CSV)
- guidebook_mental_health (DOCX)
- student_codebook (DOCX)
Planned Additions:
- Data Dictionary — PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scoring algorithms, demographic variables, medical condition coding
- Blank Questionnaire — Full survey instrument with all screening tool items