Your Mental Health: College student interventions for suicide prevention
The story was originally published by Spectrum News with support from our 2024 National Fellowship.
TEXAS — A forecasted record number of Americans will be traveling during the holidays, including many college students returning home from life on campus across the country. It’s a unique opportunity for many families to reconnect. Spectrum News National Mental Health Correspondent Dr. Nicole Clark spoke to one expert who emphasized the need for checking in on college students’ mental health.
“College-age students often are facing added stressors like academic pressure. For a lot of them, this is their first time away from home. Many of them are experiencing new relationships,” said Victor Armstrong, vice president of health equity and engagement with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Along with the anticipated stressors many college students face across the country, there is an alarming mental health trend among young Americans.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 10-35, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
College-aged adults are bearing a large portion of the mental health crisis with nearly 14% of 18- to 25-year-olds experiencing serious thoughts of suicide in the past year, according to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Vic Armstrong, vice president of health equity and engagement with the foundation for suicide prevention, notes college is a particularly difficult time for many young adults to navigate their mental health struggles.
“There’s a lot of stress for that age group and it can be more difficult to handle those changes if you already have mental health conditions. Experiences with isolation, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, past suicidal thoughts and access to lethal means may lead of periods of increased risk,” Armstrong said.
Addressing the issue will take a multi-front approach.
“We should think of college campuses like a community. It is a that student’s community. Schools can address these challenges around suicide using strategic, sustained, and fully supported public health approaches that prioritize equity, just like in the real world, there’s no one size fits all. That’s also true for college campuses,” Armstrong added.