College freshmen partied less in high school than their parents, report low emotional health

A new survey of the nation’s college freshmen shows that teenagers across the United States are spending much less time partying and socializing with friends during their last year of high school than their parents’ generation did.

The annual survey released Wednesday, conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, also found that first-year college students’ sense of emotional well-being is at its lowest level since the institute first asked incoming freshmen to rate their mental health in 1985.

Kevin Eagan, the institute’s managing director and an assistant professor at UCLA, says the results indicate the millennial generation faces greater pressure to succeed academically and has less time to have fun.

Other survey trends show that students are increasingly drinking less alcohol as high school seniors, submitting more college applications and reporting they feel overwhelmed.