Trends in mental health, non‐suicidal self‐harm and suicide attempts in 16–24-year old students and non-students in England, 2000–2014

Abstract

There are concerns about high levels of mental ill-health amongst university students, but little is known about the mental health of students compared to non-students over time. Using data on young people (16–24) from three UK National Psychiatric Morbidity Surveys (2000, 2007, and 2014), we found no evidence that the overall prevalence of common mental disorder (CMD), suicide attempts, or non-suicidal self-harm (NSSH) differed between students and non-students, although there was an indication that CMDs rose markedly in female students between 2007 and 2014. A rise in NSSH is apparent in both students and non-students.