Running head: GLOBAL ISSUES REPORT 1

Global Issues Report:

Mental Health Issues and Persistence

Karina Alvarez

The University of Texas at El Paso

RWS 1301

Dr. Vierra

April 4, 2019
GLOBAL ISSUES REPORT 2

Abstract

How do mental health issues in students affect persistence in higher education?

This report examines in depth the issue of mental health problems amongst students in college

and university populations globally that may affect their persistence in higher education. With

the help of many resources, it is easy to see how big of a problem mental health issues on

campuses are and what can be done by institutions to decrease the rising numbers of mental

health issues affecting a student academically. It is imperative that this issue is discussed and

prioritized for the successful future of persistence in higher education for the students enrolled in

universities.
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Global Issues Report:

Mental Health Issues and Persistence

Anyone can suffer from a mental illness. Universities are filled with very stressful

situations for students. The workload may be overwhelming for some more than others as well as

managing their personal and work time. In order for someone to manage so much, they must

have good mental health. If students do not have good mental health, they may suffer from

mental health issues and illness that can negatively impact their performances anywhere, but

especially where most of the stress happens, universities. These issues may negatively affect and

impact a students’ education. Mental health issues affect persistence in higher education

worldwide since mental health is how a student thinks and performs which can impact academic

performance.

Discussion

Student mental health issues are a problem across the globe and have become a critical

and important problem to address given that it can severely impact a students’ persistence in

higher education. According to Giamos, Lee, Suleiman, Stuart, and Chen (2017), mental illness

stigma can be a reason why students may keep quiet about their problems and not see a

counselor, however, even when students seek counseling services on campuses, many

institutions lack long-term therapy for students (p. 122). If institutions are not offering their

students the therapy they need, how do they expect for students to pursue persistence in higher

education? It is imperative that universities and colleges offer long term services to students so

that way they can stay enrolled and not have to withdraw in order to seek help off campus. This

will help them succeed and be persistent with their higher education globally.
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Mental health is an important part of a students’ life no matter where they live, that

affects how they think, feel, act, build relationships, and make decisions, which if they suffer

from mental health issues following them through college, it could really affect them

academically. According to Sutton (2011), at least one in five children and adolescents in any

year, express a mental health problem in the United States (p. 351). This is a very high number

of young people who experience mental health issues. If left untreated, it can harm their

development and academic performance. Sutton (2011) states that approximately one in five of

the young people with a mental disorder are not receiving treatment whatsoever (p. 353). If

students are not receiving treatment early on, it will affect persistence in higher education as they

grow older. Therefore, it should be of priority to help those with mental health issues to better

train and educate the world’s future leaders.

Institutions should offer long term therapy for students while enrolled. According to

Giamos, Lee, Suleiman, Stuart, and Chen (2017), mental illness stigma can be a reason why

students may keep quiet about their problems and not see a counselor, however, even when

students seek counseling services on campuses, many institutions lack long-term therapy for

students (p. 122). If institutions are not offering their students the therapy they need, how do they

expect for students to pursue persistence in higher education? It is imperative that universities

and colleges offer long term services to students so that way they can stay enrolled and not have

to withdraw in order to seek help off campus.

Students with mental health issues struggle more academically than students with no

mental health issues, which may have varying impacts on persistence in higher education for

students. According to Kutscher and Tuckwiller (2018), postsecondary education populations

consist of 11% of students with disabilities (para 1). It is important that more attention and help
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is given to this issue and students with disabilities, so they are able to proceed in life and

education with persistence. Making resources for these types of students more available and

helpful in the institution which they attend, can make a significant difference to persistence in

higher education for students with disabilities that may struggle because of their mental health

issues.

Institutions should have voluntary mental health screenings offered more often in schools

and university campuses to help teenagers and young adults. According to Friedman (2012), half

of all adult mental illness cases start by the age of 14 and three-fourths are present at age 25,

leaving most of the mental illnesses in young people untreated and unrecognized (p. 113). These

illnesses could have been caught sooner and treated with the mental health screenings. Columbia

University has a large school-based mental health screening program for students that is very

helpful. Friedman (2012) explains how in 2005, 50,000 young adults were screened and one-

third of them got back positive results for some sort of mental illness, where one-half of them

were referred for further evaluations by medical professionals (p. 115). This is important to the

topic of mental health screenings because it shows how people can get help sooner rather than

later with the results they get and have support during the process. Figure 3 shows just how often

children and teens can develop a mental illness in their lifetime, which can follow them into

adulthood, and is the reason why it is important for students to get screenings, voluntarily of

course, if they are available to them. They could help prevent suffering and suicidal thoughts

leading to death. It would be a great help for them in case they ever needed to get treated by

medical professionals in order for their education to not be put on hold and be persistent.

Students with mental health issues have lower graduation rates due to the fact that some

may be forced to withdraw and many colleges do not have enough resources for these students,
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which can lead to the withdrawal in the first place. According to Castillo and Schwartz (2013),

one female student was forced to withdraw from her school due to a lack of resources for sexual

assault victims (p. 291). This can cause students not to pursue persistence in higher education.

Castillo and Schwartz (2013) also mentioned how over the past decade, the staff of universities

have noted an increase in the number of students seeking psychological services (p. 291). This is

important because as these issues in mental health increase, students will be seeking help and if

colleges do not have enough resources necessary to help these students, it may cause fatalities as

well as a decrease in graduation rates and persistence to their education.

Mental health issues should be spoken about more on campuses to break the mental

health stigma. According to Giamos, Lee, Suleiman, Stuart, & Chen (2017) students set out

expectations for themselves in college academic environments and when they fail to reach those

expectations, it is possible for anxiety, depression, and disappointment to develop and college

campuses stigma on mental illness causes students to stay silent about these issues (p.122).

College students may be more at risk for mental health issues and if they are not able to speak

out because of the stigma around campus, it can negatively affect their persistence in higher

education. Therefore, it is imperative that universities are more outspoken on this issue to break

the stigma attached to mental illness and help students who need it while aiding their future

success.

Students with mental health issues, which can affect a person’s learning ability and cause

concern to persistence in higher education, are a rising concern in college and university

campuses that affect learning. According to VanderLind (2017), more support at institutions for

the student population should be offered, given the rising number of research that shows how

mental illness can negatively affect student success and degree persistence (p. 39). This is an
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important observation made by VanderLind. If institutions do not provide helpful resources for

students struggling with mental health issues, how can they expect their students to graduate and

be successful? Shown in Figure 2 are statistics of the amount of students who have experienced

mental health problems during college and how it affects their education. These numbers

themselves are very concerning. VanderLind (2017) states that approximately 1.3% to 92% of a

random sample of college students in a study performed, reported some kind of mental health

concern (p. 41). Therefore, it is imperative that these issues among college and university

students is addressed to help them further their education and succeed in their career field.

Institutions should offer positions to the adequate professionals, such as psychiatrists and

psychologists, instead of just regular counselors because university populations have unique

mental health needs that universities need to prioritize for the student’s persistence in higher

education. According to Iarovici (2014), there has been an uneven application of goals within the

last 60 years, including the psychiatrist’s role on campus to collaborate with other personnel to

provide psychological support, preventative services, and clinical services to provide aid to

students who need treatment (p. 5). Students who struggle with mental health issues may

underperform academically, severely impacting their persistence in higher education. As shown

in Figure 1, we can see how some of the resources on campus were only somewhat helpful or not

helpful at all to students, which can have a lot to do with the counselors and if they are

appropriately trained for these specific mental health issues. Therefore, it is imperative that

institutions have the proper resources and personnel on campus to provide help to students who

may need it.

Conclusion
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Mental health issues affect persistence in higher education worldwide since mental health

is how a student thinks and performs which can impact academic performance. UTEP should

expand resources and prioritize mental health issues in college and university students, in a way

that motivates other institutions to do the same and students to enroll in big numbers. When a

student notices that the universities are doing this, they know the institution cares about their

wellbeing and persistence to higher education. This kind of action may attract a large population

to enroll in the university as well as motivate other institutions to start caring about these

students. It is imperative that this issue is discussed and prioritized for the successful future of

persistence in higher education for the students enrolled in universities.

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References

Castillo, L. G., & Schwartz, S. J. (2013). Introduction to the special issue on college student

mental health. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69(4), 291-297. doi:10.1002/jclp.21972

Friedman, R. A. (2012). Mental Health Screenings in Schools Help Children. In R. Espejo (Ed.),

Opposing Viewpoints Mental Illness, 112-118. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press. Retrieved

from http://0-

link.galegroup.com.lib.utep.edu/apps/doc/EJ3010154271/OVIC?u=txshracd2603&sid=O

VIC&xid=8743e5af

Giamos, D., Lee, A. Y. S., Suleiman, A., Stuart, H., & Chen, S. (2017). Understanding campus c

ulture and student coping strategies for mental health issues in five Canadian colleges and

universities. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 47(3), 120-135. Retrieved from http

://0-search.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1165046

&site=eds-live&scope=site

Iarovici, D. (2014). Mental health issues and the university student. Retrieved from

https://0-ebookcentral-proquest-com.lib.utep.edu/reader.action?docID=3318797

Kutscher, E. L., & Tuckwiller, E. D. (2018). Persistence in higher education for students with

disabilities: A mixed systematic review. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.

Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000088

Sutton, A. L. (2011). Facts about mental health disorders in youth. (Ed.), Health Reference

Series. Adolescent Health Sourcebook (3rd ed) 351-35. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics.

Retrieved from http://0-

link.galegroup.com.lib.utep.edu/apps/doc/CX1727600109/GVRL?u=txshracd2603&sid=

GVRL&xid=614a3fb0
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VanderLind, R. (2017). Effects of mental health on student learning. Learning Assistance

Review, 22(2), 39-58. Retrieved from http://0-

ebscohost.com.lib.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1154566&site=eds-

live&scope=site
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Figures

Figure 1. Number of student reviews who answered how helpful campus mental health resources

were.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/matthew-smith3/student-mental-

health_b_11446642.html
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Figure 2. Ratio and percentages of students who report experiencing mental health problems and

how it affects their education.

Source: http://loyolaphoenix.com/2015/11/dialogue-needed-to-fight-stigma-surrounding-mental-

illness/
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Figure 3. Facts about the number of children and teenagers have a mental illness and the impacts

they have in their lives.

Source: NAMI
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CBFA #3 4/20/19 +2
• Two revision sessions since last CBFA
• Be aware of the page length requirement
• Thesis and first topic sentence claim need to address a global issue
• Very close to being an A paper already. Well done!

CBFA 4/14/19 +2