More than a third of US university students now report having some type of mental health condition, according to a study covering nearly 200 campuses.
An annual internet-based survey of more than 150,000 students found that mental health diagnoses increased from 22 per cent to 36 per cent between 2007 and 2017, according to an early online version of the journal Psychiatric Services.
The share of students obtaining mental health treatment increased from 19 per cent to 34 per cent over the 10-year period, and the proportion thinking about committing suicide increased from 6 per cent to 11 per cent, the report says.
The surveyed students, however, also described lower rates of stigma attached to such conditions. The proportion of students saying that they would think less of a person receiving mental health treatment dropped from 11.4 per cent to 5.7 per cent, and students believing that others felt that way declined from 64 per cent to 46 per cent.
Although the correlation was not directly tested, the decline in stigma may be driving the higher numbers of students seeking help, said Sarah Ketchen Lipson, assistant professor of health law policy and management at Boston University and a co-author of the study.
“We find strong evidence to suggest that both heightened prevalence and lowered stigma explain the increase in these forms of mental health service utilisation,” Professor Lipson said.
Another study published last month in the Journal of American College Health, based on survey responses from more than 454,000 undergraduates over seven years, found sharp increases on US campuses in rates of depression, anxiety and panic attacks.
The increases are straining counselling centres on US campuses, with many operating beyond capacity, Professor Lipson and her co-authors, representing Northwestern University and the University of Michigan, write in their paper.
About 12 per cent of the students in their study reported using such campus counselling centres in the 2016-17 academic year.
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