Image: The percentage of students that have reported having a mental health condition at some point in their lives on the Boynton Health Survey has increased every cycle for the past 14 years. The percentage has doubled from 25 percent of students in 2007 to 52 percent in 2021. (Matthew Voigt)
Boynton Health surveys show that a quarter of students reported a diagnosed mental health condition in 2007— a figure that rose to 50% by 2021.
By Matthew Voigt
The percentage of University of Minnesota – Twin Cities students reporting a mental health diagnosis has doubled within the past 15 years.
In 2007, 25% of students said they had received a mental health diagnosis in their lives, according to Boynton’s College Health Survey that year. By 2021, the figure had grown to 50%.
The Boynton survey is conducted every three years on the Twin Cities campus to assess the physical and mental health of its undergraduate and graduate students.
Increases were seen across all diagnoses included in the survey, though some saw greater rises than others, according to a review of the surveys from that 15-year period conducted by AccessU: More than Stress.
The percentage of respondents who reported a diagnosis of depression increased from 17% in 2007 to 33% in 2021. Anxiety increased far more, jumping from 13% to 42% over the same period.
Colleges across the country have seen similar rises in student reports of anxiety during the past decade.
The Center for Collegiate Mental Health annual survey, which surveys 180 U.S. colleges and universities, has shown a 17% increase among those who report a diagnosis of anxiety since 2010. Meanwhile, rates of depression have stayed stable during the same period.