In 2025, the mental health of students in higher professional and university education will have improved slightly compared to 2021. Nevertheless, a large proportion of students still suffer from psychological complaints. The Trimbos Institute and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) write this in the Mental Health and Substance Use Students’ Monitor for HBO and WO students, which was published on Thursday.
The exact size of the group of students with mental complaints depends on what is asked. For example, varying percentages of students experience feelings of anxiety or depression (83 percent), loneliness (60), emotional exhaustion (56), a lot of stress (54) or often performance pressure (41). A quarter of respondents felt tired of life “occasionally or more often” in the past four weeks.
According to Jolien Dopmeijer, one of the project leaders of the study, social and societal factors influence the mental health and substance use of students. “The high costs of living and room rent cause a lot of stress, as do the unrest in the world and social polarization.”
Also read
Student living in a room feels less mentally well. ‘It seems so nice at first, leaving home’
Cocaine
Yet their mental well-being has also improved somewhat. According to the researchers, fewer students experience emotional exhaustion, loneliness and performance pressure. The improvements mainly occurred between 2021 and 2023, after the corona pandemic.
“The attention that educational institutions now pay to mental well-being seems to be paying off,” says Dopmeijer. “It is important that they continue to do so, because student well-being is conditional on learning. Moreover, there is still a lot to do.”
In 2025, 13 percent of students will use alcohol ‘heavy’
Substance use among students has largely remained the same in recent years. In 2025, 13 percent of students will use alcohol ‘heavy’. As for recent use of psychedelics and cocaine, that percentage is 1 percent.
The Trimbos Institute only saw an increase in “daily or regular” vaping. Where once one in a hundred students did this, it is now three in a hundred. This increase has been visible since 2023 and has remained stable over the past two years.
‘Feeling at home’
Since 2021, more students – within or outside the educational institution – have received help or advice with mental complaints or substance use problems. In 2025, that percentage will be approximately 22 percent. Students with psychological complaints receive even more help: about 66 percent.
According to Dopmeijer, in addition to professional help, support from one’s own environment is important. “Students who feel supported by friends or family feel better about themselves. And this also applies to students who feel more at home with their education or who are affiliated with a student association.”
Also read
A vape under your pillow to take a puff at night
NEW: Give this item as a gift
As an NRC subscriber you can subscribe every month 10 items give as a gift to someone without an NRC subscription. The recipient can read the article directly, without a paywall.