Objective: This study investigated rates and predictors of mental health issues (e.g., depression and anxiety) in a sample of college students currently attending a historically Black college/university (HBCU) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants/Methods: 98 undergraduate students (81 female and 17 male) completed an online survey containing questions about demographics, socioeconomic status (SES), academic characteristics, and pandemic-related concerns. The survey also included PHQ-9 and GAD-7 questionnaires to evaluate depression and anxiety, respectively. Results: 49% of the students met the clinical cutoff for depression, 39% for anxiety, and 52% for depression and/or anxiety. Significant predictors of meeting the cutoffs included parental job loss/hour reduction, being a senior, and feeling that the pandemic negatively impacted daily life, among other factors. Demographic variables (age, gender, etc.) had no effect. Conclusion: HBCU students show high rates of depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may be predicted based on the student’s academic, socioeconomic, and pandemic-related concerns.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a surge in mental health problems across the United States, and some reports suggest a more severe impact for racial and ethnic minorities. The present study was conducted to gain a preliminary understanding of the mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic specifically for dreamers, i.e., undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. as minors. A population of about 150 dreamers currently enrolled at a public university in Delaware were invited to participate in an online survey. The survey contained questions about demographics, mental health, academics, immigration, COVID-19 infection, and unemployment, in addition to mental health screens for anxiety (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-9), and stress (PSS-10). In total, 109 dreamers completed the survey. We observed remarkably high clinical levels of anxiety and depression: 47% of the dreamers met the clinical cutoff for anxiety, 63% met the cutoff for depression, and 67% (2 in 3) met the cutoff for anxiety and/or depression. Rates of anxiety and depression in our sample were significantly higher than those recently reported for college students overall, suggesting that dreamers may be experiencing a more severe mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also found that pandemic-induced concerns about finances, COVID-19 infection, immigration, and unemployment (among other factors) were associated with greater anxiety, stress, and depression among the dreamers in our sample. The present findings are consistent with recent predictions by social scientists that the COVID-19 pandemic would have a disproportionately negative impact on the mental health of undocumented immigrants. Highlights: Nearly half the dreamers (47%) met the clinical cutoff for anxiety, and 62% met the clinical cutoff for depression. 2 in 3 dreamers met the clinical cutoff for anxiety and/or depression. The percentage of dreamers meeting the cutoff for anxiety (47%) and depression (63%) were significantly higher than observed for college students overall during the pandemic (31% and 41%, respectively). The percentage of dreamers meeting the cutoff for anxiety was also significantly higher than previously observed for undocumented college students in a 2015 survey (35%). 60% of dreamers said the pandemic had a serious negative impact on their mental health, while 90% said the pandemic made them more anxious about finances. 90% of dreamers said the pandemic made it harder for them to concentrate on coursework, and 2 in 3 said pandemic-related anxiety hurt their academic performance. About 1 in 3 dreamers are “extremely worried” that the pandemic will prevent them from achieving their academic and professional goals. 76% of dreamers said the pandemic increased their fears of DACA termination. 10% of dreamers said they or an immediate family member suspected COVID-19 infection at some point but did not get tested for fear of detainment or deportation. About 1 in 5 dreamers said they would be “extremely worried” to seek treatment or have a family member seek treatment for COVID-19 due to fears of detainment or deportation. Dreamers who reported one or both parents lost their job due to the pandemic had significantly greater anxiety and depression scores and were more likely to meet clinical cutoffs for anxiety and depression.

In this study, we analyze the relationship between the development of occupational structure and income inequality in Brazil and the U.S. While both Brazil and the U.S. face high levels of inequality, low socioeconomic development in Brazil notably reduces the proportion of total income that accrues in the bottom two quintiles of the income distribution. In the U.S., inequality is mostly due to unobserved differences within occupations and has grown in large part because of higher earnings among high-skilled workers. Our results highlight that the effects of occupational structure are generally more pronounced at lower levels of economic development. At the higher level of economic development found in the U.S., inequality appears to increase largely due to rising inequality among high-skilled employees, which may be a function of unobserved organizational variables such as firm productivity and market advantage.

Hispanics are the largest minority group in the United States, but quantitative research on the various components of this population has not received extensive investigation. College-educated Hispanics have been particularly neglected due to exaggerated and negative stereotypes. This present study uses data from the 2010 National Survey of College Graduates to investigate wage attainments among college-educated Hispanics. Hispanic Americans are categorized based on their place of birth and age in which they entered the U.S. education system. Results indicate that native-born and foreign-born Hispanic women who have at least a college degree have reached approximate wage parity with comparable native-born non-Hispanic White women. By contrast, native-born Hispanic men face a 10% wage penalty relative to comparable native-born non-Hispanic White men. In addition, foreign-born Hispanic men who immigrated as adults and obtained their college degree outside of the United States face larger wage penalties that are augmented by a lack of citizenship. Theoretical and empirical implications are discussed.

Intergenerational education mobility is one of the key dimensions of social mobility. Educational mobility is defined as the association between parents and children’s educational attainment. Children born to parents with a college degree are more likely to graduate from college. On the other hand, first generation college students (i.e., students who have parents without a college degree) are less likely to go to college and are more likely to drop out of college compared to students with college-educated parents. Previous literature has suggested that parental involvement in higher education leads to improved student performance. Parents who did not attend college, on the other hand, might not have the knowledge to help their children navigate college. College students, especially in their freshman year, face many challenges, such as a heavier workload than is typical for high school and a distracting peer culture. At our Historically Black University, we developed a year-long communication plan targeted at parents of first-year students and aimed at boosting the educational cultural capital of parents and cultivating a supportive environment to enhance students’ educational experiences and outcomes. One of our main goals was to help retain students in the academic pipeline in majors related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), as well as the health sciences, while also motivating students to pursue graduate school or obtain a job in the field. The program has graduated 3 cohorts of parents of first year students. Applying a mixed method approach, including an online survey method and in-depth qualitative interviews, our results indicated that parents in the Parent University program benefited from the information acquired. Details about the intervention, the implications of our findings, and the lessons learned from program implementation are discussed.