Student mental health has been significantly impacted by lockdowns, curfews, and other methods of separation, but students, who are more susceptible to mental health concerns than the general population, have been particularly hard hit.
According to the National Suicide Observatory (ONS), suicide is the second biggest cause of death among 15-24-year-olds, and France has one of Europe’s highest suicide rates, trailing only Eastern European countries, Finland, and Belgium in terms of suicide deaths.
Scientists from INSERM a and Bordeaux University examined the mental health of students during three key periods of the pandemic, including the first lockdown in March 2020, the lifting of measures that followed, and the second lockdown that began in November of the same year, in order to better understand the scope of the problem among French students.
With 36 percent of pupils expressing depressive symptoms during the first lockdown, and 50 percent reporting the same symptoms during the second lockdown, the findings clearly demonstrated a progressive increase.
According to the findings of the study, 36.6 percent of students surveyed reported having depressive symptoms, compared to 20.1 percent of non-students who claimed the same.
The same pattern was observed in terms of anxiety symptoms, with 27.5 percent of students reporting them, compared to 16.9 percent of non-students who answered the survey questions. In addition, 12.7 percent of students reported having suicidal thoughts, compared to 7.9 percent of non-students in the same survey.
“There is probably no single factor that contributes to students’ vulnerability, but isolation and loneliness were certainly significant factors.” Melissa Macalli, first author of the study, stated in a press release that “material conditions and the difficulty of following studies are also important factors.”
Researchers recruited 3,783 individuals using social media networks between March 2020 and January 2021 for this study, which was published in the journal Scientific Reports. Participants included both students and non-students in the study. Women, those with a history of mental illness, and people who work or are studying in the health industry were all represented in equal proportions in both groups.
We demonstrate in our research that there are statistically significant differences in mental health between these two groups (students and non-students) and that the disparity has grown even worse since the second lockdown,” Macalli further stated.
According to Christophe Tzourio, one of the study’s authors, the end of successive lockdowns does not herald the end of mental health issues among pupils, who continue to be a source of concern.
“Despite the fact that the outbreak has passed, the distress of a huge number of pupils is still extremely apparent and stronger than it was previously. According to a press release, “We must recognize that student mental health problems do not exist in the past but rather exist in the present and that they are extremely widespread.”
As a result, the researchers engaged in the study intend to co-create a smartphone application with students and healthcare professionals in the following weeks and months. The goal is to provide information to anyone who is interested in learning more about mental illnesses and the support systems that are currently available.
As Macalli explains, “it will also enable those who wish to do so to more accurately assess their own level of stress, anxiety, and depression over time.” The majority of the time, she continued, “it will reassure them and assist those who require it in taking the step of seeking help from mental health professionals during a period of distress.”
Despite widespread agreement among scientists, “periods of distress” for pupils remain far from over for those who are “all affected.” According to Tzourio, care is essential during this particularly vulnerable period, during which the chances of dropping out of school, despair, and, in the worst cases, suicidal behavior “are likely to worsen over time.”