Peace at Home Blog

Challenges Facing College Students: Are the Kids Alright?

April 2026 | Tanika Eaves

In today’s world, coming of age is more complex than ever. Adolescents and young adults of the 21^st century have grown up navigating technological advancements that influence how they learn, think and develop relationships. They have been exposed to increased school violence and a global pandemic that shaped their social and emotional health during a crucial time in their own life course development. 

As elders, we need to take care with our expectations of young people. Statements like “When I was her age, I…” or “Kids these days” can be insensitive and dismiss the very real and unprecedented challenges teens and young adults are facing.

We did not grow up in the same world and the benchmarks for launching into adulthood are harder to reach largely due to economic and political choices that young people did not make.

As a faculty member, I have the pleasure of spending my days with 18-22-year-olds. They can be curious, passionate and eager to learn. However, I also observe

• high levels of disengagement with academic course material,
• a lack of intellectual curiosity,
• a low tolerance for change or the unexpected, along with
• difficulty navigating interpersonal and social connections.

There’s a general sense of uncertainty about the future and a cynicism that is sad to witness. 

Some ways we can support the young people in our lives are to

• listen more than we give advice,
• affirm their strengths,
• challenge them to take risks, to make mistakes and to embrace change and
• trust them with their choices, whenever it makes sense.

In a world that pressures young people to have their future planned by the time they turn 18, let’s interrogate that narrative and give them permission to engage in trial and error and change their mind. After all, the average person has switched careers at least once or twice and made many pivots in life by the time they reach middle adulthood!

I invite you to watch a previously hosted discussion with Tanika Eaves PhD, LCSW, IMH-E®, Peace at Home Founder Ruth Freeman, LCSW, and expert Jonathan Beazley LADC, LMFT for Peace at Home’s discussion on How Parents Can Support College Student Mental Health.

Here are a few other resources to help you navigate supporting the teens and young adults in your life: 

• Pew Research – Parents, Young Adult Children and the Transition to Adulthood
• Parenting a young adult: your changing role from headspace.org
• You’re Not Done Yet: Parenting Young Adults in an Age of Uncertainty By Dr. B. Janet Hibbs and Dr. Anthony Rostain

Tanika, Ph.D, LCSW, IMH-E® is an Assistant Professor of Social Work, Fairfield University Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies. Tanika has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Fairfield University, a Master of Social Work from Rutgers University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Human Development and Family Science from the University of Connecticut. Tanika has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for over 20 years, and holds the CT Association for Infant Mental Health Endorsement as an Infant Mental Health Specialist. Her professional experience includes: child and family guidance clinics, early intervention programs, early childhood mental health consultation, policy work, parent-infant psychotherapy, and training/consultation with home visiting clinicians. Her research investigates individual and organizational factors related to work-related stress management amongst frontline and supervising infant mental health practitioners.

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