About this Indicator
This indicator tracks the percentage of students experiencing moderate to severe depression or anxiety based on data from the Healthy Minds Study (HMS) survey, which is administered to students at selected institutions across the Midwest and the nation. The HMS survey utilizes validated screening tools and severity thresholds to assess whether students have experienced depression (PHQ-9) or anxiety (GAD-7) during the past two weeks. Moderate to severe depression typically involves persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or emptiness, along with a marked loss of interest or pleasure in activities. Moderate to severe anxiety is characterized by excessive and persistent worry, fear, or apprehension that is difficult to control, which is often accompanied by physical symptoms such as a rapid heartbeat, sweating, trembling, or difficulty breathing. These severity levels are selected as thresholds for this indicator due to the persistence of symptoms and the significant degree of distress or impairment in daily functioning.
Untreated mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, are often associated with poor academic outcomes, including lower GPA and higher dropout rates.1 In addition, students with moderate or severe depressive or anxiety symptoms have a higher prevalence of non-suicidal self-injury (e.g., punching, burning, or cutting oneself without the intent to die), suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts compared to students with no or minimal symptoms of depression or anxiety.2
Data Source
Healthy Minds Network. Healthy Minds Study - Student Survey.
Note. Institutional participation in the HMS is voluntary, self-selected, and periodic, leading to variation in representation across sectors, states, and time. As a result, estimates derived from the HMS survey reflect mental health conditions at specific participating institutions rather than institutions across the entire Midwest or nation. In 2023, 7,346 public four-year students responded to the survey, representing nine public four-year institutions across six Midwest states: Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
This indicator was developed as part of a collaboration between MHEC and the Healthy Minds Network.
[1]Kessler, R. C., Foster, C. L., Saunders, W. B., & Stang, P. E. (1995). Social consequences of psychiatric disorders, I: Educational attainment. The American journal of psychiatry, 152(7), 1026–1032. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.152.7.1026
[2]Casey, S. M., Varela, A., Marriott, J. P., Coleman, C. M., & Harlow, B. L. (2022). The influence of diagnosed mental health conditions and symptoms of depression and/or anxiety on suicide ideation, plan, and attempt among college students: Findings from the Healthy Minds Study, 2018-2019. Journal of affective disorders, 298(Pt A), 464–471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.11.006