SEO Headline (Max 60 characters)
Study Shows Parents’ Concern for Mental Health
A new study shows that parents are increasingly concerned over their students’ mental health.
The survey, conducted by the Mary Christie Foundation, showed that 76 percent of parents polled believed mental health on college campuses was a very or somewhat serious issue.
Parents of students with mental health conditions emphasized access to resources as a priority. Of the parents who responded, 36 percent thought that mental health issues were a major threat to student safety while on campus.
“Parents play an important role in a large portion of today’s college students, yet there has been little examination of their views or understanding of college student mental health,” said John Howe, chairman and president of the Mary Christie Foundation, in a press release. “We hope this new information is helpful for the practitioners and policy makers who are addressing these issues on their campuses.”
Survey results indicate that parents are concerned about the issue of mental health to the point where available resources play a component in college selection, but they have misconceptions around “disclosure, accountability and campus resources.”
While 68 percent of parents said that they felt responsible for monitoring and reporting their student’s mental health conditions, about 33 percent expected the university staff and faculty to also be responsible. Forty-two percent of respondents said routine mental health screenings for all students should be a major priority for universities.
Additionally, the majority of parent respondents said they felt that universities should be allowed to communicate with parents about their students’ mental health concerns, as an exception to existing privacy laws.
Parents said they thought academic performance was one of the highest student stressors out of a provided list of issues.
Over all, parents felt they were well informed about their students’ mental health status. Over 1,000 parents of students at residential colleges across the nation were polled.
The Mary Christie Foundation is a research organization that focuses on the health and wellness of young adults, particularly college students. The study was sponsored in part by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
Trending Stories
THE Campus
Resources for faculty and staff from our partners at Times Higher Education.
- Building resilience in students: give them roots and wings
- On students’ terms: offering options in assessment to empower learning
- Seven steps to make an effective course quality evaluation instrument
- Your starter for 10: how can a TV quiz format help courses avoid extinction?
- How reverse mentoring helps co-create institutional knowledge
You may also be interested in...
- New presidents or provosts: Altoona Gwynedd Hennepin Holy Cross Mercy Penn St. Cloud Wake Tech
- New presidents or provosts: Atlanta Metro Clayton Columbia DCCC Georgia State Lakehead Mount Union NYIT Whitewater
- New presidents or provosts: American College Cardiff Chicago Eastern Illinois IUS Newport Potomac Sewanee
From Their Professors
to Smooth Transfer Connections