While both depression and anxiety are on the rise among college students, anxiety is now the more common mental health diagnosis of the two, reports The New York Times.
As many as one in six college students have received a diagnosis of or been treated for anxiety within the last 12 months, according to a survey by the American College Health Association.
Driving this uptick is a variety of causes, including compulsive engagement with social media and a rise in academic pressure at earlier ages. Students, reports the Times, are arriving at college “preloaded with stress.”
Addressing these mental health issues is critical to students’ academic success, and helping them remain in school. But college mental health centers are struggling to keep up as demand for their services grows, creating a challenge for these often thinly stretched clinics.
Innovative behavioral health technology may play a role in reaching more students by supporting the identification and management of behavioral health issues among students, as well as facilitating outreach.