At any given point in the school year, a college student could have an array of things going through her mind: How can I finish this 10-page paper between classes, practice, and work? Do I have enough activities on my résumé? Do I have enough money in the bank? What will my major be? These seem to be some of the most pressing ones – and the most common. The amount of pressure that students are under is undeniable; it seems as though the weight of the world is on their shoulders. Society’s expectations have changed so much that a recent study suggests that students’ mental health has drastically changed along with global changes in economics and cultural norms. In fact, they have uncovered something disturbing – high school and college students today are more depressed than students during the Great Depression.
The study, led by Jean Twenge of San Diego State University, analyzed over 77,000 high school and college students from 1938 to 2007. The students took the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, or MMPI, which uses ten scales to measure characteristics and activities associated with different mental health disorders.
Although the full study has yet to be published, some preliminary results have been released in a recent Associated Press article. The study concludes that an average of five times as many students in 2007 showed significant signs of a mental health issue as compared to students studied in 1938. On some of the MMPI scales, students scored six times higher in 2007 compared to scores recorded for 1938. For example, 5% of students in 1938 scored high on the hypomania scale, measuring excitability and anxiety, compared to 31% of students in 2007. Also, depression in students increased from 1% in 1938 to 6% in 2007.
These numbers may be astonishing, but the greater task that experts now face is to determine why students are more depressed and anxious today than during the worst economic period in American history.
Twenge already has some theories. She suggests that the increase in the poor mental health of students is the result of “cultural shifts toward extrinsic goals, such as materialism and status and away from intrinsic goals, such as community, meaning in life, and affiliation.”
Students and experts alike also feel that monetary pressures have contributed to increased stress and anxiety. A 2008 study, conducted by UCLA, showed that 77% of college freshman find it necessary to be financially secure in life. This reflects the increasingly popular and possibly harmful view that money equals security.
In addition, the role of the family seems to have a significant effect on mental health. Divorce rates have rapidly increased since 1938, simultaneously decreasing the stability that students have in their lives. Many experts also suspect that overprotective parents are hindering their children’s independence, leaving them with few real-world skills. Dr. Elizabeth Alderman, a pediatric medicine specialist, says that, "If you don’t have these skills, then it’s very normal to become anxious."
However, the study is not without its skeptics. Richard Shadick, a psychologist at Pace University, believes that the increase in students seeking professional psychiatric help is simply due to a higher awareness of mental health disorders. Certainly, it is possible that students in 1938 did not know enough about mental well-being to realize that theirs might have been in danger.
Hopefully both students and parents will begin to understand that happiness lies in good relationships with friends and family and the freedom to follow your heart and do what you love. No one can necessarily deny the role that money and popularity play in today’s society, but no one should ever sacrifice their happiness for it.
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