Lessons from College

When students go away to college a variety of stresses, both new and old, make depression a growing trend on campuses across the country.

By Hara Estroff Marano, published on May 01, 2002 - last reviewed on May 21, 2007

Says the Art Institute's Dr. Behan. "Lots of students learned pathological ways of relating to others, not only in their families but in their peer groups. Healthy connections to others are for most students the primary way to work out their problems, to solve the isolation and loneliness students feel that precipitate their crises."

"Many students lack acceptance of internal events like sadness, anger and anxiety," says Jacqueline Pistorello, Ph.D., of the University of Nevada at Reno. She sees such widespread problem behaviors as drinking and self-cutting as attempts by students to dissipate sadness and anxiety.

College mental health directors report that the last four years has seen a "huge upswing" in students engaging in self-mutilating behavior, cutting their wrists or burning their hands. Says Rivier's Graesser. " It's the best coping mechanism they can come up with. Most are seeking relief from unpleasant affect."

Family Failings

College counselors identify backgrounds of family dysfunction as a prime factor contributing to the increasing severity of student's psychological problems. Many students come to college lacking a supportive family base. "You have to have an internalized sense of stability to draw on when under stress," points out Carleton's Dr. Hellmich. "Otherwise you become overwhelmed and the bottom drops out."

Large numbers of students come from families marked by alcohol abuse. The breakdown of family life following divorce takes a toll on kids, too.

For those coming out of abusive families, college presents distinctive internal challenges. "It's confusing, says Rivier's Graesser. Living with nonfamily they suddenly realize "there's a whole other way of being in the world. Once out of the unhealthy system they get a good look at it for the first time. And they typically have crises around going home, beginning with just before or just after Thanksgiving. It's not easy for them to break free of a whole system of thinking that made it normal for them to clean up their mother's vomit after school every day."

Coming in for counseling can itself be stressful. Parents sometimes expressly forbid their children to talk about what goes on at home. This is especially likely where the student represents the first generation to attend college.

Because They're There

Changes in the medical system play a big role in displacing the burden of mental illness onto colleges. "There is a big economic component to what we are seeing," says Austin's Dr. Rothmeier.

Adds Loyola Marymount's Dr. Doyle, "many families regard college as a residential treatment facility. They are unwilling to challenge their kids, or to take them out of school."