(PS4-D81) Cognitive Functions Among College Students with and Without Psychopathology

Introduction: Recent studies have found that mental health has been in decline among the general population, and particularly among college students. For example, in a large study examining 196 college campuses in the US, the prevalence of psychological disorders increased from 22% to 36% from 2007 to 2017 (Lipson et al., 2019). Additionally, all forms of psychopathology have been linked to deficient cognitive functioning across cognitive domains, as evidenced by a recent systematic review of meta-analyses (Abramovitch, 2021). However, little is known about the impact of psychopathology on cognitive function among college students. Interestingly, research suggests that attending college is positively correlated with cognitive functioning, and some research suggests that higher education should be viewed “as a training program that develops particular intellectual abilities” (Ritchie et al., 2015). Thus, it is unclear whether selection bias (cognitively stronger individuals are accepted and remain in college), and/or the notion of college as a cognitive training program may obscure the effect of psychopathology on cognitive function seen in clinical populations. The present study was aimed at examining cognitive functioning, self-report symptoms, and functional impairment in a large sample of college students.

Methods: The study included a diverse sample of 265 students that were clinically screened via semi structured clinical interview (MINI) and completed multiple self-report measures, including self-efficacy and functional impairments. Participants also completed an extensive, gold-standard, neuropsychological battery that assessed all cognitive domains. Subsequently we compared the sample of students currently meeting criteria for at least one DSM disorder (n = 93) and those that did not currently meet criteria for any DSM disorder (n = 172) across outcome measures while employing statistical corrections for multiplicity.

Results: Across all neuropsychological outcome measures, no significant group differences emerged. There were no significant differences on any self-report measure, albeit numerically, the psychopathology group scored numerically higher on most self-reported measures. 


Conclusion: The presence of DSM disorders alone in college students may not predict cognitive deficits as observed in non-college samples.  Possible reasons include selection bias, ceiling effect, and the notion that college entails cognitive training. Students are regularly required to maintain a schedule, study for exams, plan to submit papers on time, and independently manage their daily life. However, given the trend of increased burden of mental health among college students and the lack of impact on cognitive functioning, there is a need for further research including examining the impact of specific disorders on cognitive functions in this population, and to further understand the complex interplay between cognitive functions and psychopathology. Finally, most participants that met criteria for DSM disorders were not formally diagnosed prior to this study, and the impact of knowing one ‘has’ a disorder may have a meaningful impact on self-perceptions (i.e., self-stigma) and possibly cognitive functions.