Diagnosis and treatment in mental health are rising, stigma is decreasing among students

Mental health diagnoses and treatment of college students increased significantly between 2007 and 2017. More than one-third of students reported being diagnosed with an illness in 2016-17, according to a study published online today. In Psychiatric Services in Advance.

The comprehensive national study builds on 10 years of data from the Healthy Minds Study, an annual web-based survey of more than 150,000 students from 196 US campuses. The authors of the study, led by Sarah Ketchen Lipson, Ph.D., EdM, with the School of Public Health at Boston University, found that from 2007 to 2017:

• Mental health diagnoses increased from 22% to 36%
• Treatment increased from 19% to 34%, with similar patterns for therapy / counseling and the use of drugs
• Suicidal ideation increased from 6% to 11%
• Stigma related to mental health has decreased

Rates of perceived and personal stigma decreased over time, from 64% to 46% and from 11% to 6% respectively. Perceived stigma was measured in agreement with the statement "most people think less about a person who received mental health treatment", and personal stigma was measured in agreement with "I would think less about a person who received mental health treatment ". Although the authors point out that the stigma and worsening of mental health problems contribute to an increased use of services, they did not examine the reasons for these changes.

The most common location for receiving services was on campus. Almost 12% of students reported using their campus counseling center in 2016/17, about 9% used other mental health services, and about 1% used services. psychiatric emergency.

"The trends revealed in this study have strained counseling centers across the country because many lack resources and operate at full capacity with waiting lists much of the year," according to the authors. They suggest that in addition to increasing capacity, the increasing use of "preventive and digital mental health services, such as those provided via mobile applications," could help meet this need.