Insight briefings
At Student Minds, we regularly engage in listening activity to understand what issues are affecting students and what more we can be doing to support their mental wellbeing. We conduct or commission primary research, to develop our understanding of students’ concerns, needs and preferences for support. We also collect insights from the different programmes and areas across our charity to help build a fuller, more informed picture.
February 2023: new research findings on student mental health
Findings from research we conducted in November 2022 in partnership with Alterline. Key themes include students’ mental health, the cost of living crisis, and wellbeing support. Headline findings:
- 1 in 3 have poor mental wellbeing, according to the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS).
- One quarter of students surveyed said they have a current, diagnosed mental health issue.
- 30% of students surveyed said their mental health had got worse since beginning university.
- 59% of students surveyed said that managing money was a cause of stress ‘often’ or ‘all of the time’ - an increase of thirteen percentage points compared to 2020/21.
- 1 in 4 students surveyed would not know where to go to get mental health support at university if they needed it.
July 2022 Research Findings
Findings from our July 2022 survey with 500 university students. Key themes include students’ mental health, support, financial wellbeing and social life. Headline findings:
This research was funded by Office for Students and Higher Education Funding Council for Wales as part of Student Space.
- The rising cost of living is the number one issue impacting students’ mental health - above studying, loneliness and Covid.
- Almost 1 in 3 students surveyed said that being at university has a negative impact on their mental health
- Over half of students surveyed said that they were currently experiencing a mental health issue.
This research was funded by Office for Students and Higher Education Funding Council for Wales as part of Student Space.
Student Mental Health: Life in a Pandemic
Listening to students needs following the lifting of coronavirus restrictions in England and the new academic year.
We have 2 waves of research from January 2022 and September 2021.
We have 2 waves of research from January 2022 and September 2021.
Student Space Insights May 2021
This research was funded by Office for Students and Higher Education Funding Council for Wales as part of Student Space.
