Action urged as students suffer high levels of depression and food poverty
dailyrecord.co.ukA leading mental health charity has called on the Scottish Government to provide more support to colleges after a survey found “alarming” levels of depression and food poverty among students .The Mental Health Foundation (MHF) Scotland interviewed 2,086 college students in what is said to be the largest study of its kind to understand their mental health and wellbeing.
The results, published in a report called Thriving Learners on Thursday, showed more than half of students surveyed (54%) reported having moderate, moderately severe, or severe symptoms of depression .Meanwhile, 37% experienced food insecurity in the previous 12 months.
Among the students who have experienced food insecurity, 25% had severe symptoms of depression . The research also found one in six (17%) of the participants lived in a household that ran out of food in the previous 12 months.Despite the prevalence of mental health problems among the college student population, more than half (55%) said they have concealed a mental health problem due to fear of stigmatisation.
The data was collected between February and May this year, before the harshest impacts of the cost- of -living crisis were taking hold.Julie Cameron, associate director at MHF in Scotland, said the results show the system is failing the country’s quarter of a million college students .
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