Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression in Autistic and Non-autistic College Students: A Brief Report.
Two-thirds of autistic college students say they are anxious and half feel depressed—screen every client and link to help fast.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Jackson et al. (2025) ran an online survey at one U.S. university. They asked autistic and non-autistic students the same short mental-health questions.
About 1 in 3 students who replied said they had an autism diagnosis. Everyone self-reported anxiety and depression symptoms.
What they found
Autistic students answered yes to clinical anxiety items 64.5% of the time. Non-autistic students said yes about 10% of the time.
Depression showed the same gap: 48% of autistic students vs. 8% of non-autistic students. That is roughly six times higher.
How this fits with other research
Gundeslioglu et al. (2025) asked the same questions in the U.K. and got the same six-fold gap. The two 2025 surveys are direct replications across the Atlantic.
Greene et al. (2019) found almost half of younger autistic students were already anxious according to teacher ratings. The new college data show the problem sticks around.
Soto et al. (2024) added sexual and gender minority status. Their autistic LGBTQ+ students scored even higher than the already high rates seen here. The target paper sets the baseline; F et al. show where risk piles up.
Why it matters
If you work with teens or adults, expect anxiety or depression to be the rule, not the exception. Add two quick evidence-based questions to your intake: “Do you feel anxious most days?” and “Have you felt down for two weeks straight?” If the client says yes, walk them to campus or community mental-health services. Do not wait for a crisis.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
PURPOSE: As more autistic individuals transition into young adulthood, it is crucial to explore factors relevant to success in this period of life, including success in post-secondary education. Mental health challenges have been identified as a significant concern in post-secondary education; however, the majority of research only includes non-autistic students. METHODS: The current study utilized data from the 2021 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to compare rates of anxiety and depression, as well as gender differences, in autistic and non-autistic students. The sample included 1399 autistic and 146,220 non-autistic students from 342 universities in the US and Canada. RESULTS: Autistic students reported significantly higher rates of anxiety (64.5%), and depression (48.2%) compared to their non-autistic peers (9.4% and 7.6%, respectively). Female students reported elevated rates of depression and anxiety compared to male students in both the autistic and non-autistic samples. CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the elevated mental health challenges faced by autistic students and underscore the need for increased research and support in post-secondary settings. Future research on risk factors for mental health challenges of autistic post-secondary students might elucidate opportunities and timing for support and screening.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2025 · doi:10.1080/07448481.2022.2040515