Coventry university students’ experience of mental health problems

Abstract

Growing numbers of university students are reporting mental health problems and using counselling services. The purpose of this study was to examine Coventry University students’ experience of mental health problems. The Department of Health (DoH) Mental Health Survey questionnaire (2003) was used to examine the experience of mental health problems and help seeking behaviour. Within the last 12 months nearly three quarters of students had experienced anxious or depressed moods, or, personal, mental, nervous or emotional problems, with a third of students failing to seek help. Ethnic minority students were more likely to report problems and less likely to seek help when compared to white students. Male students were less likely to seek help compared to female students. There are few existing studies that have focused on the mental health of students at universities established after 1992 from existing polytechnics. Coventry University exceeds the Government benchmark targets for recruiting students from non-traditional backgrounds. Our results show that it is these groups of students who are more likely to experience mental health problems.

Keywords:

• Mental health
• university students

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to extend their thanks to all the students who completed the questionnaire, Stephen Sangar who assisted with the design of the online questionnaire and all Coventry University staff in student services, student counselling and the Management Information Unit.