Mental health problems have increasingly trended among university students over the past eight years.
A researcher from Boston University collaborated with those at the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Michigan, and Wayne State University, among others, to conduct the first long-term multicampus study of its kind, examining over 350,000 students from 2013-2021. Across the 373 campuses, the prevalence of at least one mental illness increased by 50%. There was a 135% increase in depression alone and a 110% increase in anxiety.
Sarah K. Lipson, a Boston University School of Public Health assistant professor and co-author of the study, said 75% of lifetime mental health problems will begin by the age of 24.
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In addition to tracking the mental health of students, the study also recorded self-reported data on race and ethnicity. Among white students, nonsuicidal self-injury and symptoms of eating disorders increased more than in any other group over the eight-year span. Depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and other mental health problems increased the most among nonwhite students.
Yet even the highest rate of treatment among nonwhite students over the time period was at or below the lowest rate at which white students sought treatment over the same period. In particular, Arab American students experienced a 22% jump in mental health problems but sought treatment at a decrease of 18%.
“There has not been nearly enough research on this population,” Lipson said. “My hope is that these data document the urgency around understanding some of the unique factors shaping these students’ mental health.”
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