Depression is becoming more common for college freshmen according to a recent national survey.
The Cooperative Institutional Research Program at UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute has conducted the survey for the last 50 years and this year's version, "The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2014," had 9.5 percent of freshmen say that they had "felt depressed" within the last year.
This was a 3.4 percent rise from just five years prior. The same students also said they "felt overwhelmed" by schoolwork in larger numbers, going from 27.1 percent to 34.6 percent. Respondents to the survey also watched less television than five years prior while drinking among high school students is also down.
As to the issue of depression, Penn Director of Education for the Department of Psychiatry Anthony Rostain spoke to the New York Times about the trend.
“It’s a public health issue,” said Rostain, who co-chairs Penn's mental health task force. “We’re expecting more of students: There’s a sense of having to compete in a global economy, and they think they have to be on top of their game all the time. It’s no wonder they feel overwhelmed.”
Penn's mental health task force made its preliminary recommendations this fall. For more on the growing trend of depression among college freshmen, check here.
