Healthy Minds Study: College student depression, anxiety decline for third consecutive year
Nation's largest student mental health study finds sustained improvements across key measures
For the third year in a row, college students are reporting lower rates of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and suicidal thoughts, according to new findings from the nation's largest study of student mental health.
The 2024-2025 Healthy Minds Study, based on responses from more than 84,000 students across 135 colleges and universities, shows severe depression symptoms have dropped to 18%—down from 23% in 2022. Suicidal ideation has fallen to 11%, down from 15% in 2022.
"These sustained reductions tell me this is not a blip,” said Justin Heinze, associate professor of Health Behavior and Health Equity at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and co-principal investigator of the study. “Whether it's distance from the pandemic, better institutional support, or something else driving the change, I think this is a promising counternarrative to what seems like constant headlines around young people's struggles with mental health.”
The study, funded by organizational partnerships and participating universities and colleges, provides comprehensive data that helps institutions identify student mental health priorities, benchmark performance against peers, and evaluate existing programs while informing new services and advocacy efforts. The findings also support national analysis by researchers and policymakers working to understand trends and improve campus mental health systems, ultimately benefiting students, staff, families and broader communities.
Key findings show broad improvements
The annual study, administered since 2007 by the Healthy Minds Network and based at the University of Michigan, tracks mental health trends through confidential online surveys. This year's findings show improvements across multiple measures:
- Depression: Students reporting moderate to severe depressive symptoms (based on the brief PHQ-9 questionnaire) dropped from 44% in 2022 to 37% in 2025, with severe depression falling from 23% to 18%.
- Anxiety: Moderate to severe anxiety symptoms (based on the brief GAD-7 questionnaire) fell from 37% in 2022 to 32% in 2025.
- Suicidal thoughts: Students who seriously considered suicide in the past year dropped from 15% in 2022 to 11% in 2025.
- Loneliness: Students reporting high levels of loneliness decreased from 58% in 2022 to 52% in 2025.
While those measures show positive trends, reported levels of "flourishing"—psychological well-being including self-esteem, purpose, and optimism—dropped to 36% after reaching 38% in 2024. This shows that while fewer students are struggling with depression and anxiety, they aren't necessarily experiencing higher levels of well-being, meaning these are separate aspects of mental health that can move independently.
Treatment access remains consistent
Mental health service use has remained stable over recent years. About 37% of students received therapy or counseling in the past year, and 30% took psychiatric medication—rates that have held consistent over the past four years.
Among students showing depression or anxiety symptoms, 60% received clinical mental health treatment. The top barriers to mental health treatment remain lack of time (23%), financial reasons (22%), and preferring to handle issues independently or with family support (18%).
"While overall access to mental health services seems to be similar to previous years, the good news is that students are accessing an increasingly diverse array of resources," said Daniel Eisenberg, professor of Health Policy and Management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and co-principal investigator. "Digital and mobile services are evolving rapidly and are now popular among students. An important challenge in the coming years will be to help students make sense of their many options and help them access something that will be a good fit for their needs and preferences."
Understanding diverse student needs
The study continues to track mental health outcomes across different student populations to understand where targeted support may be needed most. Researchers emphasize that effective campus mental health strategies must account for the varied experiences and needs of all students.
Sasha Zhou, assistant professor in the Department of Public Health at Wayne State University and co-principal investigator, notes that while overall mental health symptoms are improving, disparities persist among different student groups. Some students continue to struggle more and access treatment services less compared to their peers.
"These disparities have been persistent in the last decade of our study, and underscore that there's more work to be done to close the gap in mental health support," Zhou said.
Beyond increasing cultural competency and diversity of counseling staff, she emphasizes the need for alternative evidence-based interventions.
"Emerging research suggests that affinity-based peer support programs, curriculum-integrated psychoeducation, and adaptations of social/emotional learning approaches show promise in supporting the mental health of underrepresented or overlooked students."
College faculty and staff face mental health challenges
For the second year, the Healthy Minds Network team released a report examining mental health among college faculty and staff. Based on responses from more than 9,000 faculty and staff at 22 institutions, 16% met criteria for depression and 17% showed signs of anxiety.
Additionally, 27% reported feeling burnt out from their work to a high or very high degree. Among faculty and staff, 47% reported having one-on-one conversations with students about mental health in the past year, and 81% agree that student mental health problems are significantly worse now compared to when they began their careers.
Faculty and staff reported relatively high rates of accessing mental health care, with 37% receiving therapy or counseling in the past year and 35% taking psychiatric medication. Among those with depression or anxiety symptoms, 71% received some form of clinical treatment.
The faculty data reveals broader implications for campus mental health climate, notes Sarah Ketchen Lipson, co-principal investigator and associate professor of Health Law, Policy and Management at the Boston University School of Public Health. While about half of faculty and staff are having conversations with students about mental health and most recognize the worsening trends, only about half feel confident recognizing when a student is in distress.
"These findings underscore both the critical role that faculty and staff are playing in supporting students and the opportunity for institutions to provide training and resources that will strengthen their capacity to respond," Lipson said.
She suggests that effective training should meet faculty where they are. "Bringing training into existing spaces where faculty and staff time is required also sends an important message by the institution that mental health is integral to the overall mission."
The Healthy Minds Study has surveyed more than 850,000 students at over 600 colleges and universities since its national launch. As institutions use these findings to shape mental health strategies, the data continues to inform efforts to create supportive campus environments that benefit students, faculty, staff, and the broader academic community.
The 2024-2025 Healthy Minds Study was conducted by principal investigators Justin Heinze (University of Michigan), Daniel Eisenberg (UCLA), Sarah Ketchen Lipson (Boston University), and Sasha Zhou (Wayne State University). Study coordinators include Brenda Vyletel, Haley Henry, Juliana Fucinari, Erin Voichoski, and Julia Bell (University of Michigan). Report automation by Andy Inscore.
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