Australian university students a ‘stressed out’ bunch: Study

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDNov 22 2010

According to the latest findings the rates of serious mental illness are more than five times higher among university students than in the general population. The study conducted by researchers at University of Queensland was published in the latest issue of Australian Psychologist. It also found that rate of psychological distress among university students is almost three times higher than in the general population.

Study author Helen Stallman, a clinical psychologist and researcher with the university's Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy, said that the level of distress among students was surprising and worrying. Also worrying was that only one-third of those most seriously affected reported consulting a health professional. She said, “It’s making it more difficult for students to actually get the work done they need to get done, and so for some students they’ll actually drop out…University is stressful in that you’ve got the normal stresses that everybody else has in their life and, on top of that, you’ve got academic stress as well.”

For the study they conducted an online survey of almost 6,500 students from two Australian universities to screen for anxiety and mood disorders.

• 83.9 per cent of students reported psychological distress, compared with 29 per cent of the general population.
• More than 19 per cent of students surveyed suffered from a serious mental illness. In the general population, the rate of serious mental illness is about 3 per cent.
• Females suffered more commonly than males and full-time students reported more distress than part-time students.
• There was no significant difference in the levels of distress reported by international and Australian students.
• Those below 34 reported more distress than older students.
• Undergraduate students, particularly those in their second, third or fourth year of study, reported more distress than postgraduate students.
• Students living in university residential accommodation or with their parents, partner or children reported less distress than those living alone or in other shared accommodation.
• Financial stress made students twice as likely to suffer mental illness as students with no financial stress.

According to Dr Stallman this study brought to light a need for universities to take a broad and proactive approach to the mental health and wellbeing of students, in addition to targeting specific problems such as alcohol abuse. She said, “Universities and governments need to focus on the idea of promoting resilience as a key aspect of developing really capable graduates… They’re going to go out into the world and get jobs. There’s a huge social cost there if some of our best and brightest are hindered by these sorts of things.”

National Union of Students president Carla Drakeford said the findings were not a surprise. She said, “This is unsurprising given the enormous stress that university students are under, not only with study but with the pressures of modern life… NUS is concerned about the number of students who are mentally stressed, which is why we have always advocated for more students to receive youth allowance… Studying full-time and having to work to support yourself puts unrealistic pressures on students, and more needs to be done to ensure their mental health and that they stay in our universities.”