Persistence of mental health problems and needs in a college student population
Received 25 August 2008; received in revised form 30 December 2008; accepted 4 January 2009.
Abstract
Background
Cross-sectional studies indicate a high prevalence of mental health problems among college students, but there are fewer longitudinal data on these problems and related help-seeking behavior.
Methods
We conducted a baseline web-based survey of students attending a large public university in fall 2005 and a two-year follow-up survey in fall 2007. We used brief screening instruments to measure symptoms of mental disorders (anxiety, depression, eating disorders), as well as self-injury and suicidal ideation. We estimated the persistence of these mental health problems between the two time points, and determined to what extent students with mental health problems perceived a need for or used mental health services (medication or therapy). We conducted logistic regression analyses examining how baseline predictors were associated with mental health and help-seeking two years later.
Results
Over half of students suffered from at least one mental health problem at baseline or follow-up. Among students with at least one mental health problem at baseline, 60% had at least one mental health problem two years later. Among students with a mental health problem at both time points, fewer than half received treatment between those time points.
Limitations
Mental health problems are based on self-report to brief screens, and the sample is from a single university.
Conclusions
These findings indicate that mental disorders are prevalent and persistent in a student population. While the majority of students with probable disorders are aware of the need for treatment, most of these students do not receive treatment, even over a two-year period.
aDepartment of Veterans Affairs, Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D) Center of Excellence, Serious Mental Illness Treatment Research and Evaluation Center (SMITREC), Ann Arbor, MI, United States
bDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
cDepartment of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
dRobert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar program, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
eDepartment of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
Corresponding author. University of Michigan Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Rachel Upjohn Building, 4250 Plymouth Road, Box 5765, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States. Tel.: +1 734 769 7100x56009; fax: +1 734 845 3249.
ABSTRACT