College students’ mental health improving, more finding support

[Link]Concept photo of a group of college students. Image credit: Nicole Smith, made with Midjourney

The latest annual Healthy Minds Study, which surveyed 100,000-plus college students from 200 universities across the United States, has good news to report: There are decreases in symptoms of anxiety, depression and thoughts of suicide, and increases in receiving mental health care and support.

In general, the latest report from the Healthy Minds Network found that college students seem to be flourishing more but mental illness and related issues for this age group remain a pressing concern.

"Mental health problems continue to be highly prevalent in college student populations, but the reports from students for this year's study are promising," said Justin Heinze of the University of Michigan, one of four principal investigators along with Daniel Eisenberg of UCLA, Sarah Ketchen Lipson of Boston University and Sasha Zhou of Wayne State University.

The study data, which was gathered through confidential online surveys taken by undergraduate and graduate students randomly selected by each school's administrations, boiled down the students' responses on: depressive symptoms, anxiety, eating disorders, diagnoses of mental illness, suicidal thoughts and nonsuicidal self-injury, history of mental illness, use of therapy or counseling, and stigma.

Some 104,000 students' responses were used for the 2023-24 study. The emailed, web-based surveys are timed to avoid the first two weeks of the term, the final week of the term and holidays. This is the 15th year of the study and report, which is produced by the Healthy Minds Network. More than 850,000 students at 600-plus colleges and universities have participated.

Relative to previous years, students' responses this year showed:

• A decrease in severe depressive symptoms from 23% in 2022 and 20% in 2023 to 19% in 2024.
• Moderate depressive symptoms decreased from 44% in 2022 and 42% in 2023 to 38% in 2024.
• After remaining unchanged at 14% in 2022 and 2023, reports of eating disorders dropped 1%.
• Nonsuicidal self-injury dropped to 13% in 2024, 2% less than 2022 and 1% less than last year.
• Among students with depressive or anxiety symptoms, more students (61%) are using mental health therapy or counseling. In 2022, the number was 60% and in 2023 the number dropped to 59%.
• More students reported taking psychiatric medication: 31% this year vs. 29% in 2022 and 2023.
• Attitudes about mental health remain generally positive. Only 7% of students agree that they would think less of someone who has received mental health treatment, a slight uptick from 6% in prior years. However, the number who reported that others would think less of someone who received mental health treatment was 41%, the same as last year and a percentage point higher than two years ago.

"For the first time in roughly 15 years of collecting Healthy Minds data, we have seen two consecutive years of improved outcomes from fall 2022 through spring 2024," said Ketchen Lipson, BU associate professor of health law, policy and management.

The improvements might also be related to students bouncing back from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This positive trend probably reflects more stability and social connection after the pandemic, as well as institutions' greater efforts to support student mental health," said Eisenberg, UCLA professor of health policy and management. "One of our major goals in the coming years is to help clarify which population-level strategies are most effective for supporting student mental health."

The detailed picture of mental health and related issues provided by the Healthy Minds Study is typically used by schools to identify needs and priorities, benchmark against peer institutions, evaluate programs and policies, plan for services and programs, and advocate for resources.

"The Healthy Minds Study serves as a barometer for student mental health across the nation," said Heinze, associate professor of health behavior and health equity in U-M's School of Public Health. "While we're excited to see this progress, higher education institutions need to continue to prioritize their students' mental well-being and ensure they have the support services they need to succeed."

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