Trimbos: twice as many psychological issues and problematic substance abuse among students

The number of students struggling with psychological disorders and problematic substance abuse has doubled in the past twelve years. This is revealed in a study published by the Trimbos Institute on Wednesday.

The increase in anxiety, depression, ADHD and alcohol and drug abuse is considerable among students (The latter was investigated by Resource recently). In 2009, 22 per cent of the students reported such issues during that year; This percentage has now increased to 44%. The same issues affect only 21 per cent of working adults.

National trend

The increase is visible among Dutch nationals of all ages but is particularly severe among students. Twelve years ago, 1.9 million citizens reported these issues, against 3.3 million now. An extensive census conducted by the Trimbos institute reports these findings. A total of 6200 participants were interviewed in the last three years.

Professor of psychology Pim Cuijpers is quoted in Trouw daily newspaper as saying the numbers are ‘concerning’. However, he suggests that the higher incidence among students could also be a result of the fact that students are more inclined to admit their issues. In countries where there is a stigma on psychological disorders, the ‘numbers are generally low’. Annemarie Luik, programme director of epidemiology at the Trimbos institute, says that the performance pressure in education may be a reason.

The decline in mental health is not related to the covid crisis, says the study. The trend was already visible in the 1500 interviews conducted before the covid pandemic. Cuijpers is not surprised; he tells Trouw. ‘Previous scientific studies, also conducted before the pandemic, showed similar results.’

Wageningen initiative

At the start of this week, an exhibition to make mental vulnerability among young adults more visible was opened in Wageningen centre: OPEN about depression. WUR latches on with several activities for students.

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