Mental Health In College-Age Students

In the United States, suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 10 to 14-year-olds (CDC, 2015) and for 15 to 19-year-olds (Friedman, 2008). In 2013, 17.0% of students grades 9 to 12 in the United States seriously thought about committing suicide; 13.6% made a suicide plan; 8.0% attempted suicide; and 2.7% attempted suicide in which required medical attention (CDC, 2015). These alarming statistics show that there is something wrong with the way suicide is handled in today’s society. In order to alleviate the devastating consequences of teenage suicide, it is important to get at the root of what causes it all: mental illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (2013), mental illness is the imbalance of thinking, state of mind, and mood. Approximately 90% of all suicides are committed by people with mental illnesses (NAMI, n.d.). This shows that there is a correlation between mental illness and suicide. If mental illnesses are not treated, deadly consequences could occur. It would make sense that if there is a correlation between mental illness and suicide across all ages, the same should be thought for adolescents. Approximately 21% of all teenagers have a treatable mental illness (Friedman, 2008), although 60% do not receive the help that they need (Horowitz, Ballard, & Pao, 2009). If mental illnesses are not found and treated in teenagers, some of them may pay the ultimate price.

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.

The primary purpose of this paper is to review literature and studies regarding mental health issues in college students and on college campuses. An overwhelming trend of mental health concerns have been raised in this population. There are many variables and factors involved in the well-being of college age individuals. Stressors and triggers often disrupt the optimal daily functioning of this group. The college environment brings unique barriers to mental health wellness as well as an excellent untapped potential for prevention and education initiatives and programming. This review was focused on the complex nature of mental health issues in the specificity of college age students and in the unique college campus environment.

Suicide has become the second leading cause of death among teens in the United States. American youth have more risk to mental disorders due to race, sexuality, family, and stress of fitting in with their surroundings. Many mental illnesses will lead to suicidal thoughts or eventually to an attempt at suicide. Anxiety and the pressure to fit in contributes greatly to depression and suicide, particularly in high school. During youth, it's especially hard to find who you are, and still have the risk of getting made fun of or being bullied. Mental disorders along with substance abuse can also increase suicidal tendencies commodiously.All of these factors lead to the most common mental disorder, depression. Depression in young adults is the most

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.

According to Fowler, Crosby, Parks, and Ivey (2013), suicide and nonfatal suicidal ideations are significant public health concerns for adolescents and young adults. While the onset of suicidal behaviors is observed as young as six years of age, rates of death and nonfatal injury resulting from suicidal behavior are moderately low until 15 years of age (Fowler et al., 2013). According to Fowler et al (2013), the most current available statistics in the United States (U. S.) reported suicide as the third leading cause of death among youth aged 10-14 and 15-19 years, and it was the second leading cause of death among persons aged 20-24 years.

The current suicide rate among 15- to 24-year olds is quite disturbing. Growing in numbers since 2007, the latest toll taken in 2013 on suicide within college settings is 11.1 deaths per 100,000 people (Scelfo, 2015). According to the article Suicide on Campus and the Pressure of Perfection, Pennsylvania State University had six students commit suicide in a 13-month stretch (Scelfo, 2015). Suicide within college settings are usually linked with severe depression. As mentioned by Kevin Breel in the Confessions of a Depressed Comic Ted Talk, depression is not sadness, real depression is being sad when everything in your life is going right and this, this I can personally relate to.

Andy’s story is just one of many examples as to how the issue of ignoring mental illnesses can negatively affect individuals, especially the youth. One of the biggest issues related to these unchecked mental illnesses is suicide. Between the ages of 15 to 24, suicide is the second leading cause of death. The Center for Disease Control estimates that: “17% of students seriously considered attempting suicide in the previous 12 months, 13.6% of students made a plan about how they would attempt suicide in the

Generally, people who are diagnosed with specific psychological disorders are at higher risk of suicide and statistics show that nine out of ten people who commit suicide were suffering with a mental disorder. Psychological risk factors can be associated with an individual’s psychiatric disorders, with their environmental factors, or both. (Larson, Lutes, Orgera, & Suplick Benton). The main suicide risk factors are hostile life events and a lack of mental health care treatment. The American Association of Suicidology states that if depression is left untreated it can lead to comorbid (occurring at the same time) mental disorders, recurrent episodes and higher rates of

Suicide is the intentional act of killing oneself. Typically individuals who commit suicide act out of despair. Common suicide triggers are mental disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and alcoholism and drug abuse. Personal issues such as financial problems or poor interpersonal relationships play a significant role in the cause of suicide (Gross, 2006).In the U.S suicide is the 6th cause of death. Suicide is also the leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults, more men commit suicide than women (Gelder et al, 2005).Leenar and Lester article mention important information about the general knowledge about suicide in college students. However relevant information is missing.

Mental health is a serious topic that is often not taken seriously. Due to my own struggles with depression, I have experienced the impact mental illness can have on a student’s life. Mental illness can make everyday life feel unbearable and can have just as serious of an effect on a person as a physical illness. The causes of increasing mental health problems in college students are numerous, and it will take work from both students and universities to overcome this problem, but change is necessary for the health of U.S. college students.

According to “USA Today College”, approximately 42,773 Americans commit suicide each year. The Foundation for Suicide Prevention statistics shows that the majority of this number comes from college students on campus. Suicide is the third leading cause of death of the 15 to 24 year old demographic. In fact, one in every 12 U.S. college students considers suicide, and the “National Data on Campus Suicide and Depression” finds that nearly half (49.5%) of the student body has reported feelings of hopelessness in the past year (2016). Enough said.

Depression in college students is one of the main factors of suicide Some of the triggers of college depression include being away from home, lack of a normal social support group, and a history of depression. According to the article, Suicide Ideation Among College Students Evidencing Subclinical Depression students who thought about suicide more often were more depressed. Almost half of students who have reported suicidal behavior never received psychiatric help. This shows that past attempts at suicide could lead to future attempts at suicide. Being away from home is another major factor in depression. Most people agree that for the first month away from home they are depressed about being in college. People do not realize that when they go to college they are leaving behind most of their social

Only in the past two decades, have depression and suicide been taken seriously. Depression is an illness that involves the body, mood and thoughts. Depression affects the way a person eats and sleeps, feels about themselves, and the way they think of the things around them. It comes as no surprise to discover that adolescent depression is strongly linked to teen suicide. Adolescent suicide is now responsible for more deaths

Depression and anxiety among college students is something that experts have focused on for the past twenty years. The information they have been gathering ranges from the different stressors of college life to the effects of one's culture on how they deal with depression or anxiety symptoms. They have identified a few core characteristics of depression and thoughts of suicide. These are both serious concepts in which people need to seek help for. It is important for students to reach out to friends, family, or professionals to support them during this time. Many campuses offer counseling centers which are seeing many more people over the past few years.