Student mental health is in crisis - here's how to help

"A mental-health emergency is brewing at universities across the world. Anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation and self-harm have all increased among undergraduates in the past decade, straining university resources (see 'Mental illness on the rise'). Almost two-thirds of students in a global survey of 72,288 first-year undergraduates said that they had experienced symptoms at some point in their lives consistent with at least one mental illness. These include mood disorders, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and substance use. More than half had reported symptoms in the past year."

"Yet globally, only 28% of students who have a mental-health problem and who would benefit from support actually access it - with inequities for disadvantaged and at-risk groups. The proportion of students receiving help falls to just 14% in low- and middle-income countries, for example. One study in the United States found that although the proportion of students with symptoms who sought help rose from 40.7% in 2013 to 50.2% in the 2020-21 academic year,"

University students worldwide are experiencing sharp increases in anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation and self-harm, placing heavy demand on campus services. A global survey of 72,288 first-year undergraduates found almost two-thirds had lifetime symptoms consistent with at least one mental disorder and more than half reported symptoms in the past year. Only 28% of students who would benefit access support, falling to 14% in low- and middle-income countries. Help-seeking gains in the United States were concentrated among white students. Untreated disorders can derail psychosocial and academic development, requiring coordinated, sustainable institutional and governmental responses; the WHO reports the fastest increases among 20–29-year-olds.

Read at Nature