Surveillance of Trends in Depression According to Susan R. Furr Article

There have been several active methods of surveillance done by public health officials to describe the trend of depression among college students over the years. Many different aspects are analyzed, beyond the general percentage of students who express symptoms of depression. The following is an exerpt from an article by Susan R. Furr, which details a trend observed in her research:

One of the most extensive analyses of suicide prevalence rates among college students was published by Schwartz and Whitaker (1990), who examined the research on college student suicide rates over a 60-year period (1928–1988) at 12 colleges and universities. From this research, they concluded that the suicide rate among college students was approximately half that of the nonstudent group. However, some professionals working in college counseling center settings have reported an increase in the severity of presenting problems ( Heppner et al., 1994), which suggests that depression and suicide might be becoming increasingly prevalent on college campuses.

- Suicide and Depression Among College Students, A Decade Later, Susan R. Furr

While this data initially seems to support an idea that students exhibit better mental health than non-students because of the apparent greater number of suicides among non-students, it goes on to say that the severity of problems has persisted. While perhaps the rates of suicide have are not as high in this particular case, it appears that it is more prevalent as a whole in the student population and has increased in severity. This information is a direct factor in the prevalence of depression in college students.

An indirect factor that was gathered from that same article was the seriousness of the situation as described by the student population. In a survey that included 1455 students over 4 college campuses, only 37% of the students surveyed reported that depression was a serious problem on campus. Even among the students the students that expressed feelings of depression since coming to college, only about 47% thought it was a serious problem. If even those affected by depression undermine the importance and severity of the situation, it will never reach the proper level of understanding and awareness to the student body as a whole. Measures cannot be taken to combat an issue that is not even presented as one. This could very likely effect the prevalence of depression among students; because so few people express the issue as an actual problem on campuses, it is less likely that the campus will have the means to treat those who express symptoms of depression. As a result, the prevalence will increase without being known to the actual institution, as depression and other mental conditions are not things that can be easily seen like a cold or any other illness.

One other point that this article addressed was the kind of institution from which the different students in the serveys were from. Of the four institutions from wich the pool of students was gathered, two were larger institutions and one was a smaller religious one. The information was analyzed and reported as such:

Students from the community college were less likely to cite loneliness as a factor in depression. When the institution had a large commuter population (comprehensive university and community college), money was more frequently cited as a contributing factor to depression. Students at the community college were more likely to have a local support network because the vast majority of these students lived in the local community and did not have to relocate to attend college. Being a part of the community may be a mitigating factor against depression. The small college in the sample is a religiously affiliated institution. Students may be attracted to this institution because of the opportunities for fellowship, service, and spiritual growth. Research ( Stack, 1998) has found a relationship between low religiosity and increased suicide acceptability. Consequently, students who choose a college with a religious atmosphere may be more inclined to view suicide as less acceptable.

- Suicide and Depression Among College Students, A Decade Later, Susan R. Furr

There are several apparently minor factors that contribute to a person's overall mental health. One would no think that being a commuter vs. non-commuter would have a negative effect on a person's health, but the correlation is present. This is another indirect factor in the surveillence of mental health issues in college students. They are powerful contributing factors when working together but are not exclusively linked to the onset and progression of depression.