College Student Statistics in Regards to Stress

A Survey from CSU-LA College Students

The target population of our blog is undergraduate college students. College students are faced with role changes, life adjustments, and stressful situations. Studies have shown that unmanaged stress can lead to mental illnesses and suicide.

According to the National Health Ministries:
- One third of college students report high amounts of stress
- One tenth of students suffer from depression
- 7% of college students have anxiety
- In comparison to the general female population, college women struggle the most with eating disorders.


According to Hirsch’s study on suicide:
- Suicide is the third leading cause of death with late adolescents and early adults
- Suicide is the fifth leading cause of potential years of life lost before age 65
- Suicidal thoughts and behavior are greatly increased in individuals with stressful, negative, or traumatic events in their lives


Common stressors for college students include:
- Academic success places stress on college students who struggle to meet expectations of others, as well as expectations placed by the student
- Being on your own for the first time is a difficult transition for college students who are used to living at home with their parents
- Change in relationships is complicated because college students often become distant from friends from home, significant others, and family
- Financial struggles are placed on college students who do not have support from their parents to pay for college. Some students are dependent on grants, scholarships, and financial aid and still struggle to pay for expenses
- Experience with new friends, ideas, and environments clashes with what the college student was taught to value.
- Becoming the decision-maker in one’s life is a transition that college students encounter and often causes stress
- Drugs and alcohol are prevalent in the college environment and places peer pressure on students to engage in dangerous behavior
- Discovering one’s sexual identity is a life changing process that college students go through as they discover their identities
- Life choices after graduation are hard to make when college students prepare for their careers and life after college


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