Research

Severe Depression, Anxiety, Suicidal Thoughts Continue to Decrease Among College Students 

Compared to 2022 data, severe depression among students dropped from 23 to 18 percent and suicidal thoughts decreased from 15 to 11 percent in the 2024-2025 Healthy Minds Study.

For the third year in a row, college students are reporting lower rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, according to the 2024-2025 Healthy Minds Study, the nation’s largest survey of student mental health.

The annual study is conducted by the Healthy Minds Network led by researchers at Boston University School of Public Health, the University of Michigan School of Public Health, the University of California, Los Angeles Fielding School of Public Health, and Wayne State University.

The 2024-2025 study received responses from more than 84,000 students from 135 colleges and universities and 9,000-plus faculty and staff members from 22 institutions—the second year of surveying campus employees.

Students’ results showing continuing declines include severe depression dropping to 18 percent in 2025 from 23 percent in 2022 and suicidal thoughts decreasing to 11 percent this year from 15 percent three years ago. 

“I’m encouraged by the national trends we’ve seen over the past three years, but at the same time, prevalence remains high,” says Sarah Lipson, associate professor of health law, policy & management at BUSPH and a co-principal investigator of the study. “Over one-third of students screened positive for clinically-significant symptoms of depression, for example. We still need to recognize the ongoing challenges students face, including loneliness and financial stress.”

She emphasizes that continued attention and investment in public health approaches to student mental health are essential, “not only for student wellbeing, but for other key outcomes such as academic performance and persistence to graduation.”

The study, which began in 2007, is web-based, confidential and tracks mental health trends and students’ behaviors over time through questions about mental and emotional health, habits with alcohol and substances, use of mental health care and more.

While positive trends continue, levels of flourishing, or psychological well-being marked by self-esteem, purpose and optimism, dropped slightly to 36 percent after reaching 38 percent in 2024. Yet, while decreasing, more than half of students still reported loneliness.

The study is funded by partnerships and participating universities and colleges. It provides comprehensive data to help institutions identify student mental health priorities, benchmark performance against peers, and evaluate programs while informing new services and advocacy efforts. The findings also support national analysis by researchers and policymakers working to understand trends and improve campus mental health systems, ultimately benefiting students, staff, families and broader communities.

Key findings for students demonstrating improvement over time include:

• Moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms dropped from 44 percent in 2022 to 37 percent in 2025 while reports of severe depression decreased from 23 percent to 18 percent.
• Moderate-to-severe anxiety symptoms fell from 37 percent in 2022 to 32 percent in 2025.
• Students who seriously considered suicide in the past year dropped from 15 percent in 2022 to 11 percent in 2025.
• Students reporting high levels of loneliness decreased from 58 percent in 2022 to 52 percent in 2025.

“These sustained reductions tell me this is not a blip,” says Justin Heinze, associate professor of health behavior and health equity at U-M’s School of Public Health and a co-principal investigator of the study. “Whether it’s distance from the pandemic, better institutional support or something else driving the change, I think this is a promising counter-narrative to what seems like constant headlines around young people’s struggles with mental health.”

Mental health service use has remained stable over the last four years with about 37 percent of students receiving therapy or counseling in the past year, and 30 percent taking psychiatric medication. Among students showing depression or anxiety symptoms, 60 percent received clinical mental health treatment. The top barriers to mental health treatment remain lack of time, financial reasons, and preferring to handle issues independently or with family support.

“While overall access to mental health services seems to be similar to previous years, the good news is that students are accessing an increasingly diverse array of resources,” says Daniel Eisenberg, professor of health policy and management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and a co-principal investigator.

“Digital and mobile services are evolving rapidly and are now popular among students. An important challenge in the coming years will be to help students make sense of their many options and help them access something that will be a good fit for their needs and preferences,” Eisenberg says.

Findings in the study’s report on faculty and staff include:

• 16 percent met criteria for depression and 17 percent showed signs of anxiety. 
• 27 percent reported feeling burned out by work to a high or very high degree.
• 47 percent reported having one-on-one conversations with students about mental health in the past year.
• 81 percent say student mental health is significantly worse now compared to the start of their careers.
• 37 percent received therapy or counseling in the past year, 35% took psychiatric 
• medication, and 71% received some form of clinical treatment.

The faculty data reveals broader implications for campus mental health climate, says Lipson.

About half of faculty and staff surveyed said they have conversations with students about mental health, and most recognize worsening trends. However, about half are not confident recognizing a student in distress.

“These findings underscore both the critical role that faculty and staff are playing in supporting students and the opportunity for institutions to provide training and resources that will strengthen their capacity to respond,” Lipson says. “Bringing training into existing spaces where faculty and staff time is required also sends an important message by the institution that mental health is integral to the overall mission.”

Sasha Zhou, assistant professor in the Department of Public Health at Wayne State and a co-principal investigator, says that while student mental health is improving overall, some groups still struggle more and use treatment services less.

“These disparities have been persistent in the last decade and underscore that there’s more work to be done to close the gap in mental health support,” she says. “Emerging research suggests that affinity-based peer support programs, curriculum-integrated psychoeducation and adaptations of social/emotional learning approaches show promise in supporting the mental health of underrepresented or overlooked students.”