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Mental Health in College Students

Lily Dashiell

Introduction to Psychology

Research Paper

Chesapeake College

April 4, 2022
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Introduction

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and the functions of the human mind. This

branch of science allows for us to look deeper into the human mind and discover the meaning

and processes behind our thoughts and feelings. A complex part of the human psyche is the

impact and causes of mental illness. Many people suffer from mental illnesses, approximately

26% of adults in America, that's about 1 in 4 adults. This project will take a deeper look into how

education impacts the mental health of college students. The goal is to see what specifically

causes or worsens these illnesses and how they can be prevented or reduced. In order to

achieve this, ten college aged students will be given a survey. My hypothesis is that higher

education leads to an increase in mental illnesses.

Method

The number of subjects I'll be surveying will be ten. Each subject is currently enrolled in

college and will give their unbiased opinion on the subject matter. This survey takes into

account the gender identity and age of the subjects. It will also ask how many classes are being

taken by each subject. All of the people surveyed were found through school or previous friends

from high school that also go to college. The gender identity is very broad, ranging from male

and female to non binary and trans.The ages consist of 17-22.

The survey questions are as follows:

How old are you?

What is your gender Identity

Do you experience daily stress

Do you believe your education is a reason for any stress you feel

If you weren't in school do you believe your anxiety would be easier to manage

Do you believe college students are more susceptible to mental health problems

Describe why or why not you believe college students are at a higher risk for mental health

problems
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Is there a specific issue in education that needs to be addressed by administrators?

Give an example of a situation (regarding education) that has caused an issue with mental

health, depression, anxiety, etc..

Has mental health impacted your grades? If so, how and why.

Describe any changes you've seen in mental health for you or others since enrolling in higher

education.

If you have anything more to add please write here! *not required*

Results

The results I got from this survey were very eye opening. A majority of the responses

were somewhat predictable based on my own college experience. However, getting to see other

people's perspectives was very interesting. Each subject claimed they experience daily stress in

some form. This wasn't surprising to me considering the state of the world right now. The most

surprising thing was what the student believed to be a major root of the stress. I was expecting it

to only be due dates and amount of course load, however there were a few things different.

Subjects mentioned not feeling confident they're taking the right path, having trouble

maintaining relationships, issues with respect and inclusion, especially LGBTQ+ members and

people of color. These issues are present in all genders. Something mentioned a lot was not

having mental health support. Students feel there isn't an easily accessible way to reach out for

support. Something that piqued my interest was the fact that each subject was able to give a

specific response when asked if they can provide an example of something that has affected

their mental health. A majority of the subjects also stated their mental health has impacted their

grades. The responses were mostly similar but differed slightly just by the person's experience.

For instance those taking heavier course loads experienced a higher difficulty to keep up with

work.

Current Research
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Mental health in college students is an issue that's experienced around the country, and

even around the world. Looking into scholarly articles about this issue brought up many other

issues that can affect the mental wellbeing of college students. The National Library of Medicine

published a paper on this, they brought to light the non traditional college student. When

thinking of students in college, oftentimes the traditional student comes to mind, young adults

fresh out of high school. College is full of older adults who are married or have children. These

situations can present a whole other world of mental stressors. Having to take care of a child

while also balancing education and most likely a full time job can be extremely taxing on your

mental health. According to the National Library of Medicine, 11.9% of college students suffer

from an anxiety disorder. Depression rates in college students are 7 to 9%. Suicide is also

stated to be very prevelent in college students, with 6.7% saying they had suicidal intentions.

This paper goes into detail on all the different mental health issues that are prevalent in some

college students, including autism, ADHD, eating disorders, and substance abuse. There's also

a section on identifying behaviors in these illnesses, and treatments that can be beneficial. The

Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds also wrote an article on college students mental health. In

this article, the authors make a point of suicide prevention, specifically for those in college. The

article gives some scary statistics, for example how 73% of students experience some sort of

mental health crisis during college. Or how ⅓ of college students felt so depressed they report

having trouble functioning. There is also a focus on how little services are offered for students

with mental health issues. In small to moderate sized campuses the ratio of counselors to

students is 1:1000-2000, and on large campuses it's 1:2000-3500. It's important to remember

before we can take steps to fix these issues we need to identify what's causing these issues. A

study was performed by a researcher at Boston University, she found the findings to indicate a

need for accommodations to be put in place for students who are struggling with mental health.

Specifically she mentioned the idea of creating more flexible deadlines, and understanding that

the students talent shouldnt be solely dependent on their grade in the class. Lipton, the
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researcher, explained how there was a major gap between students who were suffering from

mental health problems, and the amount of students receiving treatment. Lipton suggested

adding mental health education into the curriculum, allowing people to better understand it and

create less stigma around mental illness.

Conclusion

This survey was very eye opening. It really showed the extent of how many college

students are struggling in terms of their mental wellness. It's even more compelling with the

issues that are causing these mental stressors. The fact that students don't feel safe or

welcomed on campus is a problem that certainly needs to be addressed by administrators.

There are also issues that professors themselves can work on, such as reaching out to students

in the form of weekly emails, simply letting them know that they're on your side would be a

major boost for students. As a student knowing a professor is looking out for you can be

something that provides a lot of comfort. The research I conducted only made this issue seem

more important. Students are suffering around the world with these issues, and oftentimes it can

lead to them taking their own lives. Research should be continued in order to truly understand

the struggle of the modern day student and everything affecting them. Administrators and

professors should be studied as well. It's important to involve all parties within this study, that

way a solution can be found that works for everyone. There needs to be an understanding that

mental health is way more important than getting perfect grades. Overall I feel that my

hypothesis was accurate. The responses I collected confirmed suspicions and the research

conducted only solidifies it. This issue needs to be taken more seriously and most importantly,

college students need more resources for mental health.

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References:

Pedrelli, P., Nyer, M., Yeung, A., Zulauf, C., & Wilens, T. (2015, October). College
students: Mental Health Problems and treatment considerations. Academic psychiatry :
the journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and
the Association for Academic Psychiatry. Retrieved April 3, 2022, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4527955/

studnet, B. U., George, Student, B., Student, B. U., Maio, H. A., Alessandra K of BU
Parents United, Student, D., Faculty, C., Parent, B. U. U., alani, S., Parent, Abagail,
Gulyn, L. M. K., Sandy, Schwartzkopff, D. L., Chester, L., Annoyed, McAlpine, K. J.,
Again, A., … friend, A. (2021, February 17). Depression, anxiety, loneliness are peaking
in college students. The Brink. Retrieved April 3, 2022, from
https://www.bu.edu/articles/2021/depression-anxiety-loneliness-are-peaking-in-college-
students/

The College Mental Health Crisis: A call for cultural ... Clay Center For Young Healthy
Minds . (2017, February 7). Retrieved April 3, 2022, from
https://www.mghclaycenter.org/parenting-concerns/college-mental-health-crisis-call-
cultural-change-part-2/

Appendix:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/18hD5nls34fnMcLSXKPzc7GlkpO6F42FsfOXXqEltNLw/
edit#responses