College Students and Depression

The mental stability of college students has dropped to a staggering low, so low that 1 in 4 college students have reported that the have had suicidal thoughts and actions. That's just the amount that have reported that they are feeling suicidal. So many college students struggle with mental illness and receive no help or guidance in curing and dealing with their illnesses.

Mental health among college students has been proven to be a relevant social issue that our society faces. There are certainly a few different institutions that play a large role within the development of this social issue. The first institution, and the primary institution at play with this issue, is the higher education system. In terms of mental health and having access to resources, college students haven’t always been as lucky as they are today. One study in 2007 explains the story of Junior at Syracuse University (Kravets, 3081). Anita Rutman had a history of mental health issues; she even found herself being admitted to a mental health hospital. One morning in February, she threw herself off of the eighth floor of Boland Hall and landed on a patio and fortunately lived. However, her attempt stemmed from the university sending her letter three days prior that informed Anita that the school was planning to dismiss her because of her suicidal tendencies (Kravets, 3081). Anita later sued Syracuse for ten million dollars for malpractice and negligence in handling her condition.

Student debt can socially affect a person’s life for years after graduation. Taking out thousands of dollars in loans causes a negative effect in student’s lives. In reference to Natasha Yurk Quadlin and Daniel Rudel, who has a Ph.D. in sociology and both work at Indiana State University, student loans affect persistence and completion for undergraduates. There is a correlation between how students do in their classes, the amount of time spent on their work, and the amount of time working in a job to pay off debt. Students become so stressed that they do not complete their college courses and enter their path of a new career. (Quadlin, Rudel, 2015). When students do not perform well in their classes, they tend to want to compensate for it. However, they cannot because they have to go to their jobs, to help pay off the thousands of debt that they owe and for their everyday necessities. Due to the amount of stress that they have to handle, it affects their personal health. Katrina Walsemann, in a representative study on student loans and early adult mental health, argues that “We are speculating that part of the reason that these types of loans are so stressful is the fact that you cannot defer them, they follow you for the rest of your life until you pay them off,” (Blake, 2015). It also mentions that the students with higher levels of debt incurred, have had higher levels of depressive symptoms. A college student’s overall health is

College can be extremely hard, emotionally and intellectually. Students are thrown into an environment where they have to become completely self-sufficient, if they weren’t already, and find out who they want to be. Classes are harder and the homework is more involved, and we are expected know what right and wrong is, in a world full of completely wrong choices happening around us. Simply put, college is stressful and confusing, but wonderful at that. Some students find themselves struggling with alcohol, or dating. My struggle over the past year has been my inability to ask for help with depression.

The use of distressed college students as analogues for depression research, however, is not sufficient in meaningfully advancing our current knowledge of depression and its treatment. Due to ease of access and convenience, the excessive reliance on this sample has made some researchers neglect crucial and noteworthy differences. This paper will address these critical differences including severity and symptomatology, issues of generalizability and problems with the psychometrics. Lastly, this paper will illustrate how research of college students as analogue samples does not need to be discontinued; rather, several suggestions to improve this research will be explored. Currently, there are two views in the literature regarding depression:

Depression, anxiety, and suicide are relatively common phenomena among college students (Klerman & Weissman, 1989; Twenge et al., 2010).

Over the years, it has been evident that many scholars, researchers, and mental health professionals in the psychology field are heavily relying on college/university students when studying mental health conditions.  More specifically, a prominent mental condition that has dramatically risen over the years in its prevalence is what most people encounter at least once in their lifetime but the extreme aspects of this disorder causes excruciating emotional pain and is highly debilitating. This disorder is depression. Depression is a disorder on a spectrum and the more extreme the illness is, the higher level of damaging effects it has,

College students who can’t afford to pay for their education are forced to take out loans that have negative impacts on their health. They tend to worry about their financial situations constantly which is unhealthy for their bodies and mind. There is a connection between the loans students take out and the mental health problems, like anxiety and depression that are the outcomes. Many student have financial problems that cause them stress, even something as simple as paying bills (Kristy). Students are overwhelmed by the thousands of dollars they owe and no matter what they do there’s always that thought in back of their mind reminding them that they are in debt. Most of these students don’t get to

Relate to Audience: A lot of college students suffers from depression daily. The stress from being in an unfamiliar environment, working and going to school at the same time can be a very heavy load to deal with. On

College represents a form of higher learning. For many, it is also a time for personal growth as we transition into adulthood. This in itself is a stressful situation as one must make drastic adjustments to a new role, environment, and demands. Stress is a major contributor to the development of mental and emotional issues (Rodgers, L., Tennison, L. 2009). Research has been done to determine the impact of depression and anxiety on university students. It has been

"College Mental Health Fact Sheet: Depression." Healthy Minds. Healthy Lives. American Psychiatric Association. 2 Apr. 2008 .

Secondly, Colleges are businesses and so they require a tremendous heap of money. Various students have issues financially paying for a college education. Therefore, students stress over the financial aspect of college. John Kelly says “The reasons given under financial factors were commonly that they received too little financial aid or they mismanaged their personal finances”(1). Some college students don't receive enough financial support to attend college. So collegiants take out loans to pay for tuition. For students it is tough to maintain an income while in college;so, students debts are increasing while they attend school. Students have pay for housing, food, water and other things the students need. Some students select not to attend college because of the overbearing cost. For college students they constantly worry about producing money to pay back loans. These worries can cohere a student to have anxiety and depression affecting the ability to perform in their academics. According to a survey “Those that listed employment issues as a factor either found that they did not have time to balance both college and work or that they needed to work”(Kelly 1). With increasing debt and no income stress rises. Even if a student graduates, the financial pressure of college remains with students after they graduate. Financial debt will pressure students and harp on their success and goals.

Before the main problems for college students were homesickness and relationships. Now the majority of students struggle with depression, anxiety, and self-harm.

   Today a college education can overload students with too many stressful situations. Not only does Stress overload today's college students, but it is also the leading cause of personality disorders. In her essay, Cathy Bell explains that major depressive disorder strikes 5-12% of men and 10-20% of women; half of these people will have more than one occurrence and 15% of them will commit suicide ("Depression for the young"). For instance, many depressives are first recognized and treated during their years in college. For a large amount of people, depression exposes itself because of traumatizing experiences, such as leaving home and/or academic stress. For other students alcohol and drugs become a

With more and more college students becoming depressed and anxious, researchers have been working hard to try and improve college student lifestyles. According to Therese Borchard, associate editor of World of Psychology, at least 44 percent of American college students reported feeling symptoms of depression this past year (Borchard).