College students underestimate their roommates' distress, says study
A recent study published in a journal has found that college students are sensitive to their roommates' distress but tend to underestimate the level of distress being experienced by them. The research suggests that roommates' perception of each other's distress could be useful for monitoring the mental health of college students, but there are ways that students could be trained to be more accurate.
But, they can't decipher the absolute level of distress
"College students can detect certain levels of distress in their roommates and spot changes over a semester, but they nonetheless underestimate the absolute level of distress," said a researcher. "Universal training on how to identify and respond to the distress of peers might have the benefit of encouraging conversations among roommates about what actions each might take if they notice someone experiencing extreme distress."
For the study, researchers studied 187 same-sex roommate pairs
For the study, the researchers studied 187 same-sex undergraduate roommate pairs during an academic year. Each roommate in the pairs reported his or her own distress level as well as that perceived in their roommates.
