A recent study of American college students conducted by researchers from Boston University shows that depression among them has more than doubled over the last eight years.
Published in the journal ‘Affective Disorders’, the study that was carried out using data from 350,000 students at 300 US schools revealed a 135 percent increase in the number of students who reportedly suffered from depression between 2013 and 2021.
School closings, lockdowns, and disruptions to everyday life caused by the pandemic were determined to be some of the causes of this situation but the experts indicated that there are more related concerns. In addition to a 110 percent increase in anxiety cases during the period, the researchers observed a year-over-year increase in mental health problems even before the pandemic.
They explained that college years coincide with the period years when a youth is most prone to developing lifelong mental health problems.
Sarah K. Lipson, an assistant professor at Boston University, elaborated that “college is a key developmental time; the age of onset for lifetime mental health problems also directly coincides with traditional college years — 75 percent of lifetime mental health problems will onset by age 24”.
Although more students are seeking help and accessing mental health support on college campuses now than in 2013, which is encouraging, according to Lipson, the rate of mental health issues appears to be surpassing the number of students seeking and receiving help.
Despite the above, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers noticed a yearly increase in mental health problems.