New Survey Finds Mental Health on College Campuses Has Worsened for Everyone

Updated on January 30, 2023

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More than 2 in 5 student affairs professionals also say that the increased severity in mental health issues is the greatest challenge to improving campus mental health for institutions.

NEW HAVEN, CT - APRIL 3: Pam Shaw, mother of Rachael Shaw Rosenbaum, a Yale student who died by suicide last year in March 2021, attends a candlelight vigil organized by the group Elis for Rachael held on the New Haven Green. Comforting her is current Yale student Willow Sylvester, who met Shaw through Elis for Rachael, a group of Yale students, Yale alumni, and loved ones of Rachael Shaw-Rosenbaum that began meeting weekly via Zoom shortly after Rachael's passing to find a way to get much needed mental health reform on campus. The two had not met in person until the day of the vigil. (Photo by Stan Godlewski for the Washington Post)

Credit: Image Credit: Stan Godlewski / The Washington Post / Getty Images

A majority of survey respondents say financial concerns and personal or family life are causing significant distress to college students.
Burnout, workload, and salary concerns have all worsened for campus staff, according to student affairs professionals.
Seventy-one percent of respondents say the availability of mental health services on campus has increased during the past year.
Eighty-seven percent of survey respondents believe their institution’s president or provost prioritizes campus mental health.

Mental health is continuing to decline on college campuses despite other impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic waning in 2022.

A recent survey of student affairs professionals by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) reveals that 72% describe the trajectory of campus mental health as worsening for students, faculty, and staff during the past year.

More than 2 in 5 student affairs professionals (43%) say their institution’s single greatest challenge to combating campus mental health declines is the increased severity of them.

Other factors that professionals say challenge their ability to improve campus mental health include an inability to meet student demand for mental health services (20%) and a lack of funding to expand these services (12%).

The overwhelming majority of student affairs professionals also say that personal or family life, financial concerns, and diagnosed mental health disorders are the most significant causes of mental distress among college students.

Among college staff, the majority of survey respondents say that burnout, workload, mental health, and concerns related to salary or other compensation have all worsened in the past year.

Despite noted declines and challenges addressing campus mental health, most student affairs professionals believe their schools are on the right track to helping combat the issue.

Approximately 71% of respondents say that the availability of mental health services on campus has increased during the past year. An even larger percentage say their campus has increased its financial commitment to mental health services in the past year (77%) and believe their institution’s president or provost prioritizes campus mental health (87%).

Ninety-three percent of survey respondents also agree that during the past five years students have become more comfortable discussing their mental health.

Still, survey respondents believe there is room for growth. Eighty-four percent believe their campus should increase its financial commitment to mental health services this year.

“What makes the findings of this research stand out is the focus on strengths of our systems. Mental health is too often looked at with only a lens of deficits, and now we have some examples of where campus efforts are strong to replicate and invest more in for successful services and better design,” David M. Arnold, NASPA’s assistant vice president for health, safety, and well-being initiatives, said in the report.