Over a third of students say their mental health has worsened since the start of first term

Over a third of students say their mental health has got worse since Autumn 2021, according to new research conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Responding to a survey, 25 per cent of students said their wellbeing and mental health had got slightly worse since the start of first term, while 11 per cent said it had got much worse.

A further 17 per cent of students said they often or always feel lonely, much higher than the average for the adult population of the United Kingdom (seven per cent).

Using data collected from 25th February to 7th March 2022, the Student Covid-19 Insights Survey sought to analyse the behaviour of students during the pandemic.

Researchers found that the the average life satisfaction for students was 6.6, lower than the national average for the general population (7.0).

The survey also suggested that those who received more in-person teaching, were generally more satisfied with their lives.

Just over a quarter of students said they had zero hours of in-person teaching over the previous seven days. 51 per cent of those students reported high or very high life satisfaction.

Of the students who had more than zero hours of in-person teaching, 63 per cent reported high or very high life satisfaction.

Tim Gibbs, Head of the Student Covid-19 Insights Survey, said: “Latest insights from our students survey reveal more about the impact of the pandemic on this group.

“More than a third of students reported that their mental health and wellbeing had worsened since the start of the Autumn 2021 term. This is significantly higher compared to results from November 2021.”

Featured image: Shutterstock / Marcos Mesa Sam Wordley (Edited)

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• One in four university students have less than £50 to live on every month

• The UK universities supporting Ukrainian students and academics caught up in the war

• The Russell Group universities that HAVE NOT pledged to stop the use of NDAs