Psychological distress and related disturbances are on the rise on college campuses throughout the country, according to a study conducted by Dean of Students Helen Matusow-Ayres and other members of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Task Force on Psychological Disturbance. A story about the study is featured on the front page of the April 2002 Student Affairs Today.

The survey results, based on responses from 493 NASPA member institutions, revealed that 83 percent of colleges and universities have seen an increase in the number of students experiencing psychological distress. Matusow-Ayres said the results support the suspicion by student affairs professionals over the past two years that more students with psychological problems are attending college.

In the study, distress was measured based on counseling visits, behavioral incidents, students self-identification, students registered with disabilities services and students visiting health services from August 1996 through August 2001. (Click here for a summary of the preliminary results Matusow-Ayres presented at the 2001 National NASPA Conference.)

Matusow-Ayres said the increase could be attributed to several factors, including the complexity of society, the ongoing frequency of adolescent onset of psychological problems, improvements in identification and diagnoses, and the availability of medication. "As long as they are on medication, students who wouldn't have succeeded in high school or college can now succeed," she said.

Todd Weinman, director of Montclair State's Counseling and Psychological Services, agrees. "Thanks to medication, more students [with psychological illnesses] are making it through high school and on to college," he said.

It's when students stop taking medication or cease receiving professional help that campuses see an increase in psychological disturbances such as violent threats, disciplinary cases, inappropriate e-mails, psychiatric hospitalizations, suicide attempts and suicides.

The good news is that colleges are responding. "In general, most campuses have increased and improved counseling services," Matusow-Ayres said. For instance, 94 percent of the respondents have a counseling center and more than half have at least one and as many as four licensed psychologists.

At Montclair State, the number of staff has grown over the past decade, Weinman said, to five full-time, licensed psychologists, and a consulting psychiatrist also is available one day a week. Several years ago, Counseling and Psychological Services became part of Wellness Services, which also includes the Health and Wellness Center, Services for Students with Disabilities, Wellness Education and Emergency Medical Services. "We want to be able to provide students with a continuum of care," Weinman said. "The number of students we see has increased, and it includes a broad range of students -- from those with minor stress-related problems to those with more severe illnesses."

Based on the survey findings, Matusow-Ayres and other members of the Task Force offer recommendations for addressing psychological issues on campus that include, among others, developing policies that outline sanctions for disorderly behavior; providing stress management support and training for staff; and increasing collaborative efforts between disability services and student affairs.

"The most important things I learned from this study are that psychological illness is just another form of diversity, and the need for student affairs personnel to partner with disability services to get students in contact with appropriate resources," Matusow-Ayres said. "We need to address this issue and we have a moral obligation to learn how to help these students be successful."

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