College and University Blog
Mental Health Crisis Among College Students: What's the Cause?
Years ago, attending college seemed a vibrant time of learning, growing, socializing, and networking among students. Mental health among the college youth was not a cause for growing concern. Now, with the rising issues of violence, unexpected academic pressures and substance abuse, college life could be described by some as the pathway to adolescent anxiety, depression and even suicide and in increasing measures.
Crisis Defined:
A study done by the Student Advisory Committee to the Illinois Board of Higher Education uncovered that based on the 94,000 students they surveyed in 2006, 67% of women and 55% of men reported feelings of hopelessness; 47% of women and 38% of men reported feelings of depression so severe they could not function and 10% of women and 8% of men considered suicide. Another survey conducted by the American College Health Association reported that nearly half of all college students reported feelings of depression so severe they could not function. This marked a 4.6% increase in a 4 year span, according to the study.
Students have been reported to be suffering from a whole slew of mental illness afflictions ranging from the aforesaid depression issues to eating disorders, bipolar disorders, etc. As a result, campuses have seen a range of severe psychological behavior in increasing proportions. Issues such as learning disabilities, self-injury incidents, alcohol and drug abuse, violent acts against peers (notably the Virginia Tech incident), sexual assault and rise of sexual promiscuity, and suicide attempts are becoming more and more common on campus.