Student mental health problems almost tripled in recent years – study | UK News

Reported mental health problems have nearly tripled among university students, according to new analysis.

Over the past six years, the percentage of undergraduate students across UK universities who said they had experienced mental health problems has risen from 6% to 16%.

Much of this increase happened over the past 12 months, when the cost of living crisis worsened.

The analysis, by the Policy Institute at King’s College London and the Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in Higher Education (TASO), shows poor mental health is by far the most common reason for wanting to drop out.

Among those thinking about quitting, the proportion citing financial distress as the main reason has risen from 3.5% to 8% between 2022 and 2023.

TASO’s chief executive, Dr Omar Khan, said the report highlights the “persistent and widespread mental health challenges faced by students”.

“We’re working with the higher education sector to better understand what works to improve mental health outcomes for all students,” he added.

While COVID and the cost of living crisis have exacerbated the issue, he said the upward trend is not new.

The increase in mental health problems predates both the rise in inflation and the COVID pandemic, suggesting other factors are likely to be at play, researchers said.

Some groups worse off

The report is based on 82,682 full-time undergraduate students over seven years and shows some groups are more affected than others.

From the non-binary respondents, 42% said they have been affected by poor mental health – along with 30% of trans people.

Bisexual people have the highest average level of mental health difficulties among LGBT+ groups at 28%.

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Gay men (14%) have the lowest, but this is still greater than the level seen among straight people (7%).

White students (12%), meanwhile, have on average worse mental health than their peers from other ethnicities, but those with a “mixed” ethnicity (12%) are just as likely to have mental health difficulties.

Author of the study and professor of public policy at the Policy Institute, Michael Sanders, said: “It’s clear the experiences of mental ill-health among students are deeply unequal, and exist along much the same lines as in society at large, with those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds or who often face discrimination being most likely in general to report struggles with their mental health.

“The findings suggest further action should be taken to prevent mental health difficulties arising wherever possible, and that services are adequately resourced to support students quickly when they need help.”