College Students Have Seen a 15-Year Increase in Depression, Thoughts of Suicide. Here's How Parents Can Help.

Among my friends and acquaintances with kids in college, several are battling depression, often to a debilitating degree that is heart wrenching. They miss classes, isolate in their dorm rooms for days on end, sleep until late afternoon, and, for some, eventually leave or fail out of school altogether.

So as rattled as I was by a new study that found a steep rise in depression and suicidal ideation among college students over a 15-year period (especially since my own kid heads to college in the fall), I was not very surprised.

The analysis of data from the long running Healthy Minds Study of more than 560,000 college students (collected between 2007 and 2022) was led by researchers at John Hopkins Children’s Center. It found a rise in suicidal ideation across all demographic groups, and a steady increase in depression symptoms, particularly among women, minorities, and students under financial stress, “with recent averages approaching levels of clinical concern,” the study, published this week in the Journal of Affective Disorders, noted.

The findings jibe with those of recent years, including the 2025 Healthy Minds data which found that only 36% of college students are thriving, down from 38% the previous year. Reports describing the “mental health crisis” on American campuses, and the overwhelm felt by college counselors, have come at a steady clip for several years, even before the pandemic.

It’s driven, say experts, by intense academic pressures, financial stress (especially over skyrocketing tuitions), a lot of change at once, new responsibilities, lack of structure, lingering effects of pandemic isolation, and social media, something social psychologist Jonathan Haidt addressed recently while kicking off an effort to decrease phone use on campuses.

“We are never fully present in what we’re doing. And that is an incredibly dehumanizing effect of technology, especially on an institution like the University,” Haidt said.

“People are not hanging out and making connections like they used to,” agrees Barbara Greenberg, a Connecticut-based psychologist who works with adolescents, families, and young adults, including college students.

“It can be a lot more pressure than they anticipated, or else they thought college was going to be so much more fabulous than high school, and they can feel let down,” she says.

Plus, she adds, going away to school and facing independence for perhaps the first time is a huge change “on so many levels.”

How to Keep Tabs on Your College Kid and Spot Signs of Trouble

Roy Boorady, MD, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Child Mind Institute, said in a CMI guide recently that he gets a lot of calls from first-semester college students who are struggling. Many might have already been at a higher genetic risk of depression, he said, and the environmental stressor of college could flip that switch. “Leaving home is a huge transition for kids,” he said, “and I think we underestimate the difficulty that a lot of kids have.”

He says to check in regularly and keep an eye out for signs of struggle. Greenberg suggests making an actual check-in schedule and sticking to it to get a clear sense of what college life is like for your kid, since “you can’t rely on social media to assess how your kid is doing.”

Then ask lots of questions — about their roommate, their friends, their professors, how they are sleeping, what the food is like and how they are eating. “Usually any problem is about friends, dating, how they’re performing in classes, and how they’re balancing social life with academic life, which is really hard,” says Greenberg. “Use FaceTime to get a look at them. Do they look healthy? Exhausted? Are they spending all their time in their room or are they getting out?”

Most of all, she advises, make sure they’re not isolating, as it’s that behavior in particular that’s often associated with increased depression. If they are spending too much time alone, it’s important that they don’t feel isolated from you, too, which is why regular check-ins are vital.

When you do check in, Boorady says, be aware that while sadness and crying are telltale signs of depression, others, like trouble concentrating, irritability, quitting things that used to make them happy, abusing alcohol or drugs, and isolation are less straightforward. So, keep your antennae up for those behaviors.

How to Help Your College Kid From Afar

If your child has already struggled with depression, Boorady advises reaching out to campus therapists ahead of time and letting your kid know who you spoke to, and that they are there for them to turn to.

He also advises against having your teen go off anti-depressants before starting college — something some students want so they can get a “fresh start,” he said. But “the first year is so stressful, so I want kids to have a successful first year. Then when they come back we can discuss if it’s a good idea to go off medication.” Then it’s important to go about it in a gradual, supervised way.

If your college student is dealing with a new issue and has not been to the campus mental health center, getting your kid to go can be “a feat in itself,” he warns. But in some cases, you may be able to make the appointment for them.

Finally, suggests Greenberg, “If you’re really suspicious that they are out of sorts, go visit them. Get there and get a look at your kid.” If your hunch was right and they are having issues, urge them to get to the mental health center. “Don’t only give them permission,” she says, “but walk them over.”