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National survey of student mental health launched
Author: Corporate Communication / Korporatiewe Kommunikasie [Alec Basson]
Published: 16/04/2020

Students often face many mental health problems and don't always get the support they need. And with the disruptions and uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, chances are their mental disorders could get worse.

To assess the mental health and support needs of South Africa's undergraduate students, a national survey, initiated by Universities South Africa, was launched on April 9. Funded by the South African Medical Research Council, the project has been endorsed by vice-chancellors and deans of students at a number of universities. The research forms part of the World Health Organization's World Mental Health International College Student Initiative, an international network of experts working to promote the mental health of university students across the globe.

“The nationally co-ordinated student survey is a response to the growing awareness locally and internationally of the need for campus-based programmes to promote the psychosocial health of students and close the treatment gap," says Prof Jason Bantjes from the Department of Psychology at Stellenbosch University (SU), and principal investigator of the national student survey. He and colleagues from SU's Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry worked on the project together with researchers from the University of Cape Town and Harvard University.

“The national student survey is important, particularly at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic when many students will be feeling stressed about the disruption of their studies and anxious about the social and economic implications of the current international health crises."

Bantjes says invitations to participate in the survey have already been sent via email to students at the University of Johannesburg, Stellenbosch University, Rhodes University and Mangosuthu University of Technology. Students at Wits University were enrolled this week and other universities will be added over the next two weeks, with the hopes of reaching all undergraduate students studying at publicly funded universities in the country.

According to Bantjes, the anonymous online survey is about more than just establishing current levels of distress. It has been designed to assess student support needs, their history of psycho-social problems, and mental health risk and protective factors.

“The survey also measures exposure to trauma, food insecurity and gender-based violence on university campuses. Crucially, the survey will provide information about students' resilience, access to treatment, as well as their preferences for and attitudes towards psychosocial services and interventions. The data collected will help mount appropriate public mental health strategies to promote student wellness and to plan and test campus-based interventions."

Highlighting the need for such a survey, Bantjes points to studies which have shown that as many as 31% of students reported a common mental disorder in the past 12 months. He adds that the most frequent problems faced by students are depression, anxiety and attention difficulties. 

“Data from a recent South African study shows that in the past 12 months, 20,8% of first-year students had clinically significant problems with anxiety, and 13,6% had problems with depression. These mental health problems have a range of adverse effects including impaired social functioning, academic failure and suicide."

“Data recently collected from first-year students at two large South African universities showed that 30,6% had thoughts of suicide in the past 12 months, while 16,6% had made a suicide plan, and 2,4% attempted suicide."

According to Bantjes, these rates are markedly higher than those typically found in the country's general population.  He says there are no accurate data about the number of students in South Africa who complete suicide, but anecdotal evidence suggests that suicide deaths among students are also a cause for serious concern. “While rates of psychological distress are high among students, treatment rates are low. Between 20 and 30% of students with mental health problems receive treatment." 

Bantjes says these low rates of treatment are partly due to a lack of access to services, but undergraduate students are also often strongly disinclined to seek formal treatment from a mental health professional, preferring instead to access psychosocial support from friends, family or via self-help.

“Patterns of mental health service utilisation among students are also shaped by the cultural appropriateness of services and students' perception of their need for services." 

Bantjies says research of this kind is needed to ensure that prevention strategies are correctly tailored and sharply focused to reach students most at risk. “This is particularly important given that mental health resources in South Africa are scarce and universities in the country face considerable resource constraints."

He encourages all undergraduate students to participate in the survey, adding that the details will be posted on internal electronic student forums.

FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES ONLY

Prof Jason Bantjes

Principal Investigator: Caring Universities Research Project

Department of Psychology

Stellenbosch University

Email: jbantjes@sun.ac.za 

ISSUED BY

Martin Viljoen

Manager: Media

Corporate Communication

Stellenbosch University

Tel: 021 808 4921

Email: viljoenm@sun.ac.za