Mental health of students in higher education

College Report CR166driving, unsafe sex and use of stimulant drugs. They were less likely to bephysically active, had a higher body mass index and were more likely toreport symptoms of depression.On the other hand, Cooke et al (2004) found no significant relationshipbetween third-year UK students’ levels of anticipated debt and mental wellbeing.Ross et al (2006) examined the relationships between student debt,mental health (assessed by the GHQ) and academic performance in a cohortof UK medical students. There was no direct correlation between debt, classranking or GHQ score. A subgroup of 125 students (37.7% of the cohort)who said that worrying about money affected their studies, had higher debtsand were ranked lower in their classes. Overall, students who scored as‘cases’ on the GHQ had lower levels of debt and lower class ranking.The relationship between money worries and poor mental health wasalso found in a study by Jessop et al (2005) that assessed 187 British andFinnish students using the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36).Higher ‘financial concern’ scores, but not actual amounts of current debt,were significantly associated with lower mental health scores.Roberts et al (1999) carried out a survey of 360 students at Britishuniversities in which they examined the relationships between financialcircumstances and physical and mental well-being. Poorer mental healthwas related to longer working hours outside the university and difficultyin paying bills. Students who had considered abandoning their studies forfinancial reasons had poorer mental health, lower levels of social functioningand vitality, and poorer physical health. They also reported heavy smoking.High levels of debt may lead to psychological distress either by raisingthe possibility of withdrawing from university for financial reasons or bynecessitating a high level of paid work in addition to academic study.The relationship between physical exercise and psychological wellbeingwas examined in a cohort of Canadian students coming to the endof the first year of their studies (Bray & Kwan, 2006). Those students whoengaged in physical activity defined as vigorous (61%) scored higher onmeasures of psychological well-being and were less likely to consult a doctorfor symptoms of physical ill health than their less active peers.Armstrong & Oomen-Early (2009) compared college athletes withnon-athletes to test whether there were differences in self-esteem, socialconnectedness and depression. The setting was a small private universityin the USA. Just fewer than half the sample qualified as ‘athletes’ by wayof participation in a university athletics team. Athletes are sometimesthought to be subject to pressures arising from competitiveness and thedemands of training. They may also be exposed to a culture in which highlevels of alcohol use are the norm (Neal & Fromme, 2007). Overall, a thirdof the sample was found to be experiencing clinically significant depressivesymptoms, with depression being more common in women. Depressionwas related inversely to self-esteem and social connectedness. It was lessprevalent in athletes but this was attributable to the higher levels of selfesteemand social connectedness in this group. These factors also correlatedwith the amount of training undertaken by athletes, suggesting that physicalactivity itself may provide some protection against depression.Lack of social support as a risk factor for mental disorder in studentsin the USA was analysed by Hefner & Eisenberg (2009). They obtaineddata by means of an internet-based survey. Students with demographiccharacteristics that differentiated them from most other students (e.g.minority race or ethnicity, international status, low socioeconomic status)were at greater risk of social isolation. Students who lacked social support28 http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk