The Real-U Follow-Up Study

The Real Experiences And Lives of University Students (REAL-U) study surveyed 854 UNC-CH college students in 2014-2015 as part of an NIH-funded study to advance data harmonization methods in the study of substance use and related mental health concerns. A subsample also completed a pilot protocol to collect two-weeks of previously sent and received text messages (n=267) to better understand how private digital communication patterns contribute to the social lives of college students. In the summer of 2021, we conducted a follow-up online survey of this subsample to assess post-college substance use and mental health within the context of transitioning to adulthood and the COVID-19 pandemic (resulting n=142). The sample composition reflects efforts to oversample African American students and males and we include more nuanced measures of sexual and gender identity at follow-up. In addition, the follow-up survey assess COVID stress exposures and coping strategies.