Anxiety "epidemic" on college campuses, researchers find

The number of students aged 18 to 26 who report suffering from an anxiety disorder has doubled since 2008, possibly due to increasing financial stress and time spent on digital devices, according to Preliminary Findings published Thursday by a team of UC Berkeley Researchers.

According to the findings of a team of researchers led by Richard Scheffler, a professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy, the percentage of students who reported being diagnosed or treated for an anxiety disorder rose from 10% in 2008 at 20% in 2008 and School of Public Health.

Rates of anxiety disorder increased faster among students identified as transgender, Latin and black, and they increased as all students approached graduation.

"This is what I call a" new epidemic "and the data suggests that this term is used on university campuses," Scheffler said. "We need to raise the country's awareness of this very serious epidemic."

Scheffler and his team examined nine years of data from the annual Health Assessment Survey conducted by National College Students and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth – two national examinations of the property -being students. The group also conducted 45-minute interviews with 30 students from Berkeley University identified as suffering from anxiety.

Although Scheffler stated that he was unable to establish with certainty the causes of the rise in anxiety, he found strong correlations between anxiety and financial instability, leisure time devoted to digital devices and the level of anxiety. education of the mother of a young adult.

"Correlations and data are quite powerful," he said.

More specifically, the results show that:

• Young adults from families who have difficulty paying their bills are 2.7 times more likely to be anxious than students from families who have no problem paying their bills.
• Young adults who spend more than 20 hours a week on digital devices were 53% more likely to be anxious than young adults who spend less than 5 hours a week using digital devices.
• Young adults whose mother had at least an undergraduate degree were 45% more likely to suffer from anxiety than young adults whose mothers had less than a university degree. The surveys used in the badysis did not focus on the level of education of fathers.

Scheffler also found that anxiety was badociated with other serious problems, in addition to overwhelming feelings of anxiety or nervousness badociated with the disorder.

The results show that a student with anxiety is 3.2 times more likely to consume alcohol or drugs. Other negative outcomes correlated with anxiety include the increased likelihood of being badually badaulted or having attempted suicide.

All factors being equal, Scheffler also found that between 2008 and 2014, anxious young adults earned 11% less than those without anxiety.

"The concern has very serious consequences for these students," Scheffler said. "It's a lot of pain and suffering."

Scheffler, who joined the Berkeley faculty in 1981, said that he had begun to think about student anxiety 10 years ago, when he had observed the 100 students in his room of conference and had seen troubled faces.

"More than half of the students did not look at me, they were looking at their phones or computers," Scheffler said. "I told everyone to turn off his phone and put away his computer.I had four or five students so addicted that they could not do it.I really needed them." take their phone. "

"I thought," You know, there's something going on here, "he added." It was the beginning. And then I watched for several years. "

Although Scheffler does not make policy recommendations in his preliminary findings, he said the first step in dealing with rising anxiety is to increase awareness among faculty and college administrators.

"I want teachers and university officials here in Berkeley and across the country to know that this epidemic exists and that they need to understand it," he said. "Students need help."

To this end, the Institute for the Future of Young Americans in Berkeley, a research center affiliated with the Goldman School of Public Policy, is holding a roundtable discussion on Thursday afternoon's findings that will bring together Chancellor Carol Christ, leaders UC Berkeley's students and health system. administrators.

"We know the Millennials and GenZ are experiencing unparalleled anxiety for previous generations," said Sarah Swanbeck, executive director of the institute. "Although we still do not know what is causing the skyrocketing anxiety disorder, this report points out that the problem actually worsens.It is an important sign for college administrators that it need to do a lot more to solve this problem. "

Scheffler will present his findings and hope that the audience of deans, counselors, students and program coordinators will take his message to heart.