Title: College Stress | Harvard Medical School
Headings: College Stress
College Stress
Study finds 1 in 5 students surveyed reported thoughts of suicide in last year
Get more HMS news here

Content: College Stress | Harvard Medical School





College Stress
Study finds 1 in 5 students surveyed reported thoughts of suicide in last year
By JOHANNA YOUNGHANS September 10, 2018 Research Education
For college-bound students and their families, the start of the school year can be a time of excitement and optimism, but a new study brings to light that the college years are also a time of increased risk of stressful events and a wide range of accompanying mental health challenges, including risk of suicide. Published online in Depression and Anxiety, study by Harvard Medical School researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital that looked at more than 67,000 college students from across more than 100 institutions found that while racial or ethnic and sexual or gender minorities are especially vulnerable, high rates for stress events, mental health diagnoses and the risk of suicide or suicidal thoughts were reported among all students surveyed. Get more HMS news here
“Colleges and family members who are sending students off to college need to remember that this is a phase of life where young people are confronted with expectations from new relationships and living situations and other encounters that are stressful,” said lead author Cindy Liu, HMS assistant professor of pediatrics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “Some stressful events cannot be prevented and, in some cases, are completely normal. But for others, a plan should be in place for family, friends and colleges to provide support. Our study highlights an urgent need to help students reduce their experience of overwhelming levels of stress during college,” Liu said. Liu and her colleagues analyzed results from a survey conducted in the spring of 2015 by the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment. The survey asked students a variety of questions related to depression and anxiety, including whether they had been diagnosed or treated for a mental health issue; if they had engaged in self harm, considered suicide or attempted suicide; and how many stressful events they had experienced in the last year.