GOV"T research on suicide and college

EXCERPTS from: Promoting Mental Health and Preventing
Suicide in College and University SettingsPrepared for Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuseand Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesSupported by Grant No. 1 U79 SM55029-01
October 21, 2004

http://www.sprc.org/library/college_sp_whitepaper.pdf
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“The statistics shift dramatically for the older students. The Big Ten study revealed that students 25 and over (regardless of whether they are undergraduate or graduate students) had a significantly higher risk of suicide than younger students. Although women’s suicide rates were roughly half those of men throughout the undergraduate years, women in graduate school died by suicide at rates not significantly different from their male counterparts (9.1/100,000 for women and 11.6/100,000 for men) (Silverman et al., 1997).

This suggests that the suicide rate among female students in their mid- to late-20s and older is higher than the national rate, and higher than the rate among female students of typical undergraduate age (18–23 years). The Big Ten data also suggest that the suicide rate for female college students is below the national rate during the first two years of college, about even during the junior and senior years, and above the national rate during graduate school.”

“Furthermore, as discussed above, suicide is the tip of an iceberg of mental health issues. Studies point to serious mental health problems among college students. A research consortium of 36 counseling centers estimated recent increases in anxiety, fear, and worries, as well as dysfunctional behavior including eating disorders, alcohol and substance abuse, and anger/hostility among college students. These studies also reported increases in the impact of violence, family dynamics, depression, and bipolar disorder (as reported by Louise Douce, Ph.D., to the Subcommittee Hearings for the Campus Care and Counseling Act, April 28, 2004).”