Research
- Mental health of students in higher education (College report CR166)
Royal College of Psychiatrists
September 2011
Executive Summary
The main purpose of this report is to provide an update to a previous Royal College of Psychiatrists document, Mental Health of Students in Higher Education, published in 2003. Over the past decade, the demographics of the student population have undergone many changes that are of relevance to the provision of mental healthcare. The numbers of young people in higher education have expanded and they have become more socially and culturally diverse. There have been increasing numbers of students drawn from backgrounds with historically low rates of participation in higher education and growing numbers of international students. Social changes such as the withdrawal of financial support, higher rates of family breakdown and, more recently, economic recession are all having an impact on the well-being of students and other young people.