Colleges Struggle to Address Growing Mental Health Crisis

Depression and suicidal ideation among students remain stubbornly high despite increased campus services.

Mar. 18, 2026 at 11:19am

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A new analysis of data from over 560,000 college students found large increases in mental health symptoms from 2007 to 2022, including a 154% rise in suicidal ideation, 80% increase in restlessness, and 77% rise in trouble concentrating. Experts say colleges have expanded services but not redesigned the system, still treating mental health as a service rather than a campus-wide strategy focused on prevention and peer support.

Why it matters

The mental health crisis on college campuses has far-reaching implications, impacting academic performance, retention, and overall student well-being. Addressing this issue is critical for supporting the next generation and ensuring they can thrive during a pivotal time of personal and professional development.

The details

While nearly all four-year institutions and the majority of community colleges offer mental health services, it has not been enough to combat the academic stress, increased screen time, rising isolation, and other factors contributing to students' difficulties. A Johns Hopkins analysis found suicidal ideation, restlessness, and trouble concentrating have all spiked in recent years, with women, minority students, and those facing financial hardship most affected.

  • The Healthy Minds Study data was collected from over 560,000 college students from 2007 to 2022.
  • A UnitedHealthcare study found consistent levels of eating disorders, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse among students from 2022-2024.

The players

Pierluigi Mancini

Interim president and CEO of Mental Health America.

Leslie Rith-Najarian

Lecturer in clinical psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Jen Rothman

Director of youth and young adult initiatives for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

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What they’re saying

“We have expanded services in colleges and universities, but we haven't really redesigned the system. We're still treating mental health as a service, instead of making it a campus-wide strategy. We need to invest in prevention and peer support.”

— Pierluigi Mancini, Interim president and CEO of Mental Health America

“If you looked at all these big prevalence studies in 2022, it was approximately, at that time, one-third of university students were reporting clinical anxiety and two-fifths were reporting clinical levels of depression … Using the exact same kind of mental health survey measures, adult population had prevalence rates of 6 to 7 percent. So, even though we are starting to see that there's a little bit of improvement in this anxiety and depression and loneliness, it's still so much higher in college and university student populations relative to if you were an adult not kind of in that setting.”

— Leslie Rith-Najarian, Lecturer in clinical psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

“The state of the world, and just really having all of those unknowns while on top of working hard in their classes and final exams and passing grades and wanting to be top of the class, there's adults who can't even fully handle the stressors, and we typically have more of the skills necessary for handling that.”

— Jen Rothman, Director of youth and young adult initiatives for the National Alliance on Mental Illness

What’s next

Experts say colleges need to move beyond a reactive approach and develop comprehensive prevention strategies to address the root causes of the mental health crisis among students.

The takeaway

The persistent and growing mental health challenges facing college students require a systemic overhaul, with a focus on prevention, peer support, and integrating mental wellness into the overall campus experience, rather than treating it as a siloed service.