Comparing the mental health of Australian university students with that of young people who are not in higher education.

Autor/inn/en	Crisp, Dimity; Albrecht, Sabina; Rickwood, Debra
Titel	Comparing the mental health of Australian university students with that of young people who are not in higher education.
Quelle	In: Higher education, 90 (2025) 6, S. 1731-1742Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; gedruckt; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0018-1560; 1573-174X
DOI	10.1007/s10734-025-01399-y
Schlagwörter	Lehre; Gesundheitszustand; Studium; Hochschule; Studentenschaft; Student; Ausland; Australien
Abstract	Compared with their non-student counterparts, young adults engaged in higher education are often reported to be at greater risk for mental health concerns. However, research directly comparing university student and non-student populations is limited. This study uses a community sample to investigate differences in the mental health and wellbeing of young Australians (17-25 years) engaged in university study (n = 828) compared with their age-matched non-studying peers (n = 880). Comparisons are made on mean levels of psychological distress, wellbeing, resilience, and loneliness, as well as the proportion of individuals meeting commonly used classifications for mental health and wellbeing. We then examine the role of employment on reported distress and wellbeing. While a substantial proportion of the sample reported high to very high distress, our study found no overall substantive difference in levels of distress or wellbeing between students and non-students. An examination of employment status revealed a more nuanced result. Full-time employment was associated with greater psychological distress in students, where otherwise students reported better wellbeing and lower distress than their non-student peers. These findings challenge the common discourse of tertiary students as having a greater risk of distress than the general community. However, attempting to combine full-time work with full-time study is challenging, and the pressures of such work can increase distress. Increased financial assistance for tertiary students is needed to ease work pressures, along with greater understanding of the flexibility needed to balance work and study commitments. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).
Erfasst von	Hochschulrektorenkonferenz, Bonn
Update	2026/4