Student reports of psychological problems have increased by 20 percent at Boston University in the last year, Student Health Services officials said.
Margaret Ross, director of behavior medicine at BU, said depression and anxiety were among the most common disorders reported.
“There has been a real increase in the stress students have been feeling,” she said.
The 20 percent increase is a “significant jump,” she added.
The rise in cases at BU reflects a national trend of students giving accounts of psychological issues reported in an annual study from the Association for University and College Counseling Center, according to a report published in The Chronicle of Higher Education last April.
Out of the 424 college counseling directors surveyed, 77 percent said they saw an increase in students exhibiting severe psychological problems, The Chronicle reported. The study also highlights anxiety and depression as the two disorders most commonly reported by students, with reports of anxiety surpassing those of depression for the first year.
Victor Barr, coordinator and director of the counseling center at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, told The Chronicle that the rise in accounts of anxiety disorders among students has been a national trend for years.
Ross cited various reasons accounting for the increase academic stress relating to coursework.
“BU is very demanding and a high standard university,” Ross said. “Students don’t always have time to just relax.”
Ross said economic factors play into students’ psychological issues as well.
“There is also a lot of economic stress for students. Many feel pressured to go into more practical fields to get better paying jobs even though it may not be what they’re good at or passionate about,” she said.
Ross added that students’ parents often contribute stress to their children’s lives.
“Many parents are very involved and students don’t have as many opportunities to fail and see what that feels like,” Ross said. “It seems like this generation of students is less equipped to deal with the ups and downs of daily life.”
The AUCCC study said that 75 percent of counseling directors expressed a need for more psychiatric services, The Chronicle reported.
BU also needs to expand its services, Ross said.
“We have a superb staff, but I do feel we could use an increased number of staff,” she said. “We’re consistently working on that, and the administration is very receptive to these needs.”
BU students said they were not surprised at the increase in anxiety and depression, considering the academic pressure and economic hardships many students face.
“This isn’t surprising. BU is a very stressful place,” said College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Courtney Keenan. “I also agree that parents who are too involved create added stress.”
CAS freshman Amy Guan said the statistic makes her a little bit nervous, but that she does not feel like her current course load will cause her too much stress.
“Right now, I feel like my courses are really balanced,” she said.
However, CAS junior Eduardo Rodriguez said factors such as the weather and sense of belonging could affect students’ stress levels.
“I don’t think it’s the course load,” he said. “I mean there are people like medical students who have courses that are difficult … and then there are freshmen, those who don’t find their niche and have trouble finding themselves.”
“Since you’re paying so much to go here, you expect a very positive experience,” said Samantha Zito, a CAS sophomore, “but the harsh grading system can be very demoralizing and it can seem like your hard work goes unnoticed, creating a lot of stress and anxiety.”
Staff writer Steph Solis contributed to the reporting of this article.
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