Almost half of students have experienced ‘a serious psychological issue’, study finds

Study of 21,000 students discovers that one in five has a current mental health diagnosis

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A study of students at 140 universities across the UK has discovered that almost half have experienced “a serious personal, emotional, behavioural or mental health problem for which they needed professional help”.

In 2019, research into the mental health of students was conducted as part of a collaboration between The Insight Network and Dig-In.

The Insight Network is an organisation of psychologists and psychiatrists who provide treatment and therapy for a variety of mental health problems, while Dig-In is a student business that offers “welcome boxes” to almost half a million new university students every year.

For their investigation, which was titled “Mental Health Report 2019”, the companies assessed more than 21,000 students from 140 universities across the UK.

The recently-released study highlighted several significant findings, including the fact that one in five students has a current mental health diagnosis.

The researchers stated that two-fifths (42.3 per cent) of the respondents reported experiencing a psychological issue for which they needed professional guidance, outlining that this marked an 8 per cent increase on the year before.

“The students who are most likely to report past psychological issues for which they needed professional help identify as non-binary, are in their third year of university, aged between 19 and 20, from the UK, and ethnically white,” the report stated.

“More than one-quarter (26.6 per cent) had received at least one mental health diagnosis in the past.”

The report outlined that the students questioned included “a vast array of nationalities, ethnicities, genders, ages, and academic years”.

It identified “at-risk sub-populations from the student population”, emphasising that second- and third-year students had a greater risk of “experiencing a psychological difficulty”.

The study also found that depression and anxiety disorders were the most common mental health diagnoses reported by the students involved in the research.

Of the respondents, 12 per cent said they were diagnosed with depression and 11.2 per cent said they had anxiety disorders.

The students were also questioned regarding their use of alcohol and drugs in relation to their mental health.

When asked whether they used alcohol or drugs “to cope with the problems in their life”, 2.1 per cent said that they did so “often or always”.

Furthermore, 8.1 per cent said they used drugs or alcohol “in order to be able to fall asleep at night”.

The study also noted that some students in need of mental health support may be unable to obtain it for a variety of reasons.

“Stigma may be a significant barrier for students accessing psychological support,” the report said.

“More than three-quarters (78.1 per cent) reported that they had concealed their symptoms from those around them for fear of stigmatisation. A 3 per cent increase from last year’s report.”

The researchers stated that they hope their findings “can add further evidence to the prevalence of mental health problems and distress in the UK’s university student population, as well as providing information about which sub-populations may be most at risk, and the character of students’ psychological difficulties”.

You can contact mental health charity Mind by calling the infoline on 0300 123 3393. The phone line is open from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday (except on bank holidays).