Studies
Survey: More students complain about health problems
According to a survey, 68 percent of the students were “exhausted by stress” within the past twelve months or currently. photo
© Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
Students increasingly state that they have health problems. Many feel exhausted by stress. Psychological counseling centers at universities “are literally overrun”.
Two out of three students (68 percent) stated that they had been “exhausted by stress” within the past twelve months or currently. In the comparative survey in 2015, it was significantly less (44 percent). 59 percent (2015: 47) complained of headaches and 55 percent (2015: 40) of back pain. Concentration disorders and sleep problems have also increased accordingly.
State of health is rated worse
The student respondents rated their overall health worse than they did eight years ago. At that time, 84 percent of students generally described their state of health as good or very good. In the current survey, it was only 61 percent.
Respondents cited exams, the multiple burdens of studying and working, and the fear of bad grades as the cause of stress. A little more than a third of those surveyed (35 percent) feel very heavily or heavily burdened by the consequences of the corona pandemic. A good one in four (24 percent), on the other hand, does not feel burdened at all.
The study shows that the health of the students has deteriorated significantly and is now at the level of all adults, said TK CEO Jens Baas. “We have to take a closer look. Tomorrow’s specialists and executives should start their professional life healthy – an important basis for remaining satisfied and efficient in the job in the long term.”
More mental stress
The student unions are also noticing that the mental stress on students is increasing. In view of “multiple crises”, the demand for psychological support services has increased sharply, said the chairman of the board of the German student union, Matthias Anbuhl, when asked by the dpa.
“The psychological counseling centers are literally overrun; at some locations, the waiting time has multiplied,” said Anbuhl. The length of stress is now “much more existential” and “more serious” than before the pandemic. “It’s about social isolation and loneliness, the fundamental questioning of your studies, and to a large extent also about depressive moods, hopelessness, and even suicidal thoughts.”