Mental health and University students

For all that university attendees are adults, the majority are late teens and early 20s in age; young in the grand scheme of things and still developing both physically and mentally.

Below is a variety of key student mental health statistics, detailing the levels of impact mental health is having on university attendees.

• 39% of people found a decline in their mental health after starting university  
  [Cibyl Mental Health Study]
• “Almost 1 in 5 (17%) students said they have no friends at university.”
• “58% of students say robust support provision is important to them when they choose a university”  [Further Education News]
• “Between the 2016/17 and 2022/23 academic years, the share of undergraduate students at universities across the UK who said they had experienced mental health difficulties rose from 6% to 16%.”
  [King’s College London, September 2023]
• "Among students considering dropping out of university, the proportion citing financial distress as the main reason has risen from 3.5% to 8% between 2022 and 2023."
• 69% of students surveyed have ever suffered with a mental health illness
  [The Tab, 2022/23 - youth culture + student news site]
• "85% of students struggling with mental health have had to miss a lecture or seminar because of it, and 51% have had to seek extenuating circumstances."
• “Students aren’t happy with how uni handles mental health. Just 12% said they think their uni handles the issue well.”
• The majority of students don’t want to tell their universities about their mental health. Less than half of those struggling have done so – and of those who have, 65% were not happy with the help they’d received.
• Only 10.8% of students who committed suicide [between January 2010 and July 2018] had disclosed a mental health issue at university entry.
  [Consensus - science research application]
• "4.5% of full-time students and 5.3% of part-time students reported a mental health condition to their university or college when entering higher education in England in 2021-22."
  [Office for Students, October 2023]

It should be no surprise to see that amidst all of these concerns comes money worries; particularly relevant with a cost of living crisis. The new Labour government claims there’s a ‘black hole’ in the public finances, and economic confidence in the UK is fragile. Inflation has risen sharply off the back of the Covid pandemic – with leaders and experts arguing over the impact of Brexit, the war on Ukraine, and other issues as to what has caused it.

What can’t be denied though is that costs have risen markedly. Rent is up, utility bills are up, and the cost of food is up. This is a problem for those studying at university – especially when reliant on student loans and bursaries – because beyond scraping to meet the bills, there’s also the issue of purchasing study materials for their course but more importantly the social side of things.

Not many people wish to be isolated and avoid interaction, but if you can’t afford a meal out, a pint at the pub, a ticket for the local football team, or even a few quid to go to the cinema then it becomes a serious problem where a student’s personal development is going to be hampered – with a knock-on effect then on their mood, focus, and ultimately academic achievement.

The concerns over university students mental health have gotten so concerning that there is now a university mental health day. This year’s day of awareness was on Thursday March 14th, 2024, and next year’s event will be at roughly the same time – Thursday March 13th, 2025.

In more recent years we’ve seen mental health support for students expand, to encourage engagement and usage from all manner of age ranges and all manner of concerns, and this day of awareness is just another tool in the arsenal of combating mental health issues – or at least raising awareness and the wherewithal to discuss problems and avoid isolation and serious decline.

The goal is prevention: to provide answers and alternative approaches to those anguished by poor mental health and to provide resolution – the swifter the better. For many it’s the common issues of anxiety and depression, but in more serious cases there may be a stronger need for intervention – so that a person avoids harm to themselves and potentially harm to others in their distressed state.

Universities and other charities are taking this seriously however, and have instated a university charter to act as a promise and a framework.

Published in 2019, the University Mental Health Charter was created by Student Minds – the UK’s student mental health charity – and funded to the tune of £100,000 by the UPP Foundation (University Partnerships Programme) and £145,000 from the Office for Students respectively.

The charter is relatively simple: it is a framework of principles that universities should adhere to when accounting for the mental wellbeing of students. This means considerations should be made for aspiring or prospective students looking at their university, through to the application and admission stages, and beyond for those who gain admission and attend the university.

A key line in the charter refers to the goal to “promote wellbeing, efficacy, academic integration and social connectedness”, but the overarching themes are flexibility in education delivery, compassion in the face of adversity, and support services that are effective, resourced, and safe.

For more information you can read University UK’s page on Stepchange: Mentally Health Universities. Alternatively, to read the charter directly, please visit the Student Minds Charter Framework page.

Student wellbeing services are the conclusion that many if not all universities have come to, thanks to the intervention of medical experts and welfare charities.

The mental health website MIND has a strategy page on young people and mental health. In their words: “School or college is where they’d like to go for help first. And when they do, young people want clear information on the help they get. But at the same time, many told us that they usually hold back on what they’re going through at first. That’s because they don’t want to scare people or have their independence taken away.”

Student counselling and wellbeing is both warranted and wanted, but we throw back to the point about services being safe. A student wellbeing advisor isn’t improving wellbeing for students if they lack warmth, compassion, and the ability to listen and advise.

Oxford CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) has a handy article on student mental health statistics for 2024. This reinforces the data we have already provided at the top of this article, but they offer guidance akin to the university charter:

• Fully funded mental health services, with counselling available and staff trained in mental health first aid.
• Workshops on study skills and time management.
• Seminars/programmes on workplace challenges.

The next step could be for local authorities and universities to partner though. Local authorities and NHS trusts already deliver social prescribing services to help people alleviate mental anguish and other problems through community activities and action. Things like funded fun football sessions, photography classes, and gardening are just some examples of social opportunities being provided so that people can find a safe place to lower their guard and relax.

In our article on why student mental health is important we showcase our Access Elemental Social Prescribing solution. This software is a way for universities and other institutions to coordinate social prescribing and link it to their existing (student) records. You empower students to manage their own health and wellbeing through opportunities available on campus or in the local area, and in return you have the safety of monitoring their wellbeing and reasons for referral in case of further decline and NHS involvement.

This then gives the university great insights into what works and what doesn’t for improving mental health, meaning better targeting of spending to guarantee results, rather than a broad, scattered approach. These improvements are results that the uni can then use in their own self-promotion; proof that they are going above and beyond their duty of care.