Student Mental Health: Life in a Pandemic

Student Mental Health: Life in a Pandemic

Wave II findings (September 2021)

In August 2021, we shared our report University Mental Health: Life in a Pandemic, which included the findings of our first wave of research conducted in April/May 2021. Since then, all coronavirus restrictions in England have been lifted and a new academic year has begun. We have therefore undertaken a second wave of research to better understand how students feel, what their concerns are for this academic year and how they can best be supported. 

The research aimed to capture a snapshot of how students were feeling ahead of the 2021/22 academic year, whilst also looking to the future and considering what the key issues may be and importantly what support students may need. Just over 1000 students completed the survey, which was conducted by Alterline in early September 2021. 

Our research found:

  • Students’ mental health has improved since May, but large proportions of students continue to face challenges and barriers to support.
  • The impacts of Covid-19 are ongoing - in September, 63% of students felt the pandemic continued to negatively impact their mental health. 
  • Two-thirds of students with a current or previous mental health issue have not disclosed this to their university. The most common reason for non-disclosure was ‘I don’t think it’s serious enough’.
  • 1 in 4 students expected the start of the new academic year to have a negative impact on their mental health.
  • Just 58% of returning students felt ready to take the next step up academically ahead of the 2021/22 academic year.

The pandemic continues to shape students’ experiences and there is still a long way to go before all students can truly thrive at university without facing barriers.
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