Mental Health in Higher Education

I want to know more about mental health in higher education.
 

The context of higher education presents different challenges for students, including adapting to new interpersonal environments, changes in teaching methodologies and work pace, higher demands from various academic curricula, expectations regarding their future professional life, possible separation from family and friends, and financial issues (e.g., Barbosa et al., 2020; Costa & Leal, 2008; Guedes et al., 2019; Guisande & Almeida, 2007; Leal et al., 2019; Moutinho et al., 2019; Oliveira et al., 2016; Rodrigues et al., 2020; Toti et al., 2018).

"Associated with these challenges, research highlights that these students are more vulnerable to developing mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and stress (Almeida, 2014; Bohry, 2007; Bayram & Bilgel, 2008; Campbell et al., 2022; Eisenberg et al., 2007), exhibiting higher levels of symptomatology compared to the general population (Adlaf et al., 2001; Ibrahim et al., 2013).

It is estimated that between 15% and 25% of university students experience some type of mental health problem or disorder during their academic studies (Chan & Sun, 2020; Harrer et al., 2019). In Portugal, a study conducted with 1,174 students from 53 higher education institutions (Silva et al., 2024) revealed that 46% showed significant depressive symptoms, 39% showed anxiety symptoms, and 31% showed stress symptoms.

"Scientific evidence shows that depression and accumulated stress increase the vulnerability to suicide among university students (Li et al., 2020; O’Neill et al., 2018). Physical distance from family, resulting from moving to university, also contributes to this risk (O’Neill et al., 2018). Access to alcohol and other drugs is another factor that heightens vulnerability (O’Neill et al., 2018). These risks are particularly high during the periods immediately after entering university (Gandhi et al., 2018; Mortier et al., 2018). Globally, suicide is a public health issue, being the fourth leading cause of death among young people aged 15 to 29 (WHO, 2019).