By Katie Freter
College students struggle with mental health as they’ve seen declines the past year during the pandemic in which they dealt with depression, anxiety and stress.
A study of 200 college students published June 8 by BioMed Central Psychology, a peer-reviewed academic journal, revealed that 60.8% of students faced increases in anxiety, 54.1% had feelings of loneliness and 59.8% said they were depressed.
College of Southern Nevada found results in a recent survey that mimicked those.
According to a student demographic survey conducted by CSN’s Counseling and Psychological Services from April to October, Lorilee Sutton, program manager for CAPS, provided data that showed negative side effects students experienced due to the pandemic.
Leading the numbers is 55% of CSN students dealt with mental-health issues. There were 54% dealing with loneliness and isolation and 48% with lack of motivation and focus, the survey showed. More than a third of respondents dealt with depression, anxiety and stress during this past year.
CSN student Kayla Paz stated, “I feel like it is harder to build connections with people, for example, finding study buddies, or even being able to talk to my professors in person. I sometimes feel secluded and in my own world.”
CSN academic Counselor Gabriel Rodriguez said, “I would say that students had to deal with a sense of isolation, which was even more apparent in those students who were not working all the way through the pandemic or had their work hours cut back. It made it harder for those students to remain motivated, to put in the work and the grades needed to move forward towards graduation or their specific academic goals.”
Most would agree that outside interactions and connections are crucial for academic success.
“I can say that mental health has been a new addition to the things I monitor,” CSN student Maximus Shambaugh said. “There were few times where I felt a decline.”
Educations, a study-abroad recruiter who surveys students, recently conducted a survey of over 1,400 students to observe emerging trends in how mental-health services inform university choice. The survey finds that 60% of prospective students said that mental-health services are a very important factor in their search for a university.
Fortunately, CSN offers counseling services for free for current students through CAPS. Click this link for more information CSN – Counseling and Psychological Services | CSN.
Coyote Student News at the College of Southern Nevada 