The Facts
1 in 5 young adults have a mental health condition.
Prevalence Statistics
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
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Within the past year, approximately 30% of college students disclosed that intense feelings of depression hindered their ability to function.
American Psychological Association
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As of 2013, Anxiety (41.6%) and Depression (36.4%) are the two most common psychological problems experienced by college students.
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From 2013 to 2014 there was 8% increase in the number of clients had severe mental health concerns in College Counseling Centers around the country.
75%
of mental illnesses appear before the age of 24.
American College Health Association: National College Health Assessment
Spring 2018
In the Mental Health section of the survey, respondents were asked to rate various emotions felt within the last 12 months.
The results from the 73,912 respondents can be seen below.
Within the last 12 months students:
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Felt feelings of hopelessness- 55%
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Felt overwhelmed by workload- 88.1%
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Felt extreme exhaustion (not from physical activity)- 84.4%
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Felt too depressed to function- 42.9%
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Felt intense feelings of anxiety- 64.3%
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Felt sad- 69.9%
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Felt lonely- 64.4%
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Considered Suicide- 13.0%
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Engaged in Self-harm- 8.5%
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Attempted Suicide- 1.9%
Other Findings:
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Over the past year, 51.7% of college students disclosed that their mental health conditions significantly impacted their academic performance.
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9.6% of respondents were diagnosed with 2 or more psychological conditions.
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15% of participants had both Anxiety and Depression.
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44% reported feeling more stress than the “average” college student and 12.4% felt a tremendous amount stress.
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College Students Speak
The following information is from College Students Speak: A Survey Report on Mental released by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in 2012; a national survey that consisted of 765 participants with mental health conditions who were still in college or were enrolled in college courses within the last five years.
Types of Illnesses Reported
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27%- Depression
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24%- Bipolar
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12%- other
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11%- Anxiety
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6%- Schizophrenia
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6%- PTSD
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5%- ADHD
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1%- Substance Abuse
College Dropout Rates
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64% of respondents left college due to mental health reasons.
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45% of the individuals who dropped out did not receive accommodations.
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50% of these respondents also did not seek help or access counseling services.
Disclosure Rates
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Half of the respondents did not disclose their mental illness to their colleges/universities.
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Some of the reasons students did not disclose:
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Fear that students, professors, and other college faculty members would have a different perception of them.
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The institution did not provide opportunities for students to disclose
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Was not aware that disclosure can lead to student accommodations
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Confidentiality concerns
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Diagnosis did not impact academic performance
Student Accommodations
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62% of students did not know how to access accommodations at their institutions
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57% of the respondents did not contact their Disability Resource Centers (DRC) or access accommodations
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Of the 43% who did access accommodations, only 18% found their school’s DRC helpful and accommodating.
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Reasons why respondents did not access accommodations
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Students were not aware that accommodations were available
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They did not know that Disability Resource Centers offered accommodations to students with mental health conditions.
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Fear of stigma
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Taxing and burdensome application process
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Obtaining documentation for accommodations was too expensive
College/University Support
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Only 14% of respondents reported that their colleges/universities were very supportive of their mental health conditions.
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31% found their colleges supportive and 32% reported that their institution was somewhat supportive.
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16% of the participants reported that their school was not very supportive and 7% found that their college was not supportive at all when it came to their mental health.