Mental Health in Higher Education

My argument is that there are many factors contributing to the steadily increasing reports of anxiety among college students but that all of them can be linked to the privatization of higher education. The first reason I will be looking at is the increased financial burden students are now facing and how it is linked to privatization because it has caused tuitions to increase over the years leading students to have to work multiple jobs and even take out loans. The second reason I will be looking at is the heightened academic pressure students are now feeling and this is linked to privatization because students feel an added pressure to do well to in order to be competitive in the job market and pay off their student debt. And finally the third factor I will be looking at is dependence on social media and it is linked to privatization because many students no longer have free time to interact with peers   due to this academic pressure and financial burden. Therefore...

The case I will be exploring in order to illustrate by argument is the study "Sick of our loans" (Walsemann et al, 2015) which examines the relationship between loans and early adult mental health. Basically this study looks at how student loans have become increasingly commonplace among college students and that although these loans facilitate the acquisition of human capital in the form of education, they also lead to stress and worries related to repayment. The results of this study found that student loans are associated with poorer psychological functioning while enrolled in school as well as in early adulthood. That is that not only does it increase anxiety during college but this anxiety follows you after graduation as well as the debt. This case speaks to the debate that I have identified in my proposal because it can be used to provide a link between anxiety and privatization. Students are taking out these loans and dealing with large financial burdens b...

The following concepts and theories are what I will be using to make sense of my project and structure my paper: Anxiety: the overarching theme of my project is the impact of anxiety on students, I want to know why anxiety has become the number 1 complaint among college students and has held this spot for over 6 years. I want to know whether the privatization of higher education is the main contributor to this mental health crisis and whether or not universities are doing enough to combat this issue. Privatization: This is another important concept for my project because, as we have been discussing in class this semester, the shift of public to private has caused a spike in tuition. I will be looking at whether this spike is correlated to the spike in anxiety. Student Debt: This is one of the possible reasons for this spike in anxiety among college students that I will be looking at. It is one of the main reasons I will be focusing on because it takes privatization into ...

This visual graphic perfectly illustrates my project because it demonstrates how s ince 2009, when anxiety surpassed depression as the number one mental health concern among college students, the number of students experiencing anxiety has only continued to increase.

“Mental Health on College Campuses: Investments, Accommodations Needed to Address Student Needs.” NCD.gov , National Council of Disability, 21 July 2017, www.ncd.gov/publications/2017/mental-health-college-campuses-investments-accommodations-needed-address-student . This report is all about how the increased demand for mental health support by students isn't being met by colleges and how the nation has reached a "campus mental health crisis". It also examines and assesses the status of college mental health services and policies in the United States, and provides recommendations for Congress, federal agencies, and colleges to improve college mental health services and post-educational outcomes for students with mental health disabilities. This report was published by the National Council of Disability, NCD, which is comprised of a team of Presidential and Congressional appointees, an ...

Primack, Brian A., et al. "Full Length Article: Use of Multiple Social Media Platforms and Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety: A Nationally-Representative Study among U.S. Young Adults."  Computers in Human Behavior , vol. 69, 01 Apr. 2017, pp. 1-9. EBSCO host , doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.013. This reading is a study of how increased time spent on social media is associated with depression and anxiety. This study used a survey on a nationally- representative sample of 1787 U.S. young adults from ages 19 to 32.  The results of the study found a linear association between the number of social platforms used and anxiety, meaning that the more social media sites and time that a person spent the higher the odds of them also having increased levels of anxiety symptoms. Primack, Brian A. a,b,c Shensa, Ariel a,b Escobar-Viera, César G a,d Barrett, Erica L. a,b Sidani, Jaime E. a,b Colditz, Jason B. a...

Beiter, R., et al. "The Prevalence and Correlates of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in a Sample of College Students."  Journal of Affective Disorders , vol. 173, 01 Mar. 2015, p. 90-96. EBSCO host , doi:10.1016/j.jad.2014.10.054. Booth, R., et al. "The Age of Anxiety? It Depends Where You Look: Changes in STAI Trait Anxiety, 1970-2010."  Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology , vol. 51, no. 2, Feb. 2016, pp. 193-202. EBSCO host , doi:10.1007/s00127-015-1096-0. “Mental Health on College Campuses: Investments, Accommodations Needed to Address Student Needs.” NCD.gov , National Council of Disability, 21 July 2017, www.ncd.gov/publications/2017/mental-health-college-campuses-investments-accommodations-needed-address-student. Primack, Brian A., et al. "Full Length Article: Use of Multiple Social Media Platforms and Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety: A Nationally-Representative Study among U.S. Young Adults."  Computers in Hum...