Parents hope that when young people leave home to take up places at university they will thrive in the new environment. Often, it is teenagers’ first experience of living independently. Nearly all will face some challenges. But in recent years, there have been a number of high-profile instances in which the strain has proved too much. Last week, the father of Jos Winfield, who took his own life in June, became the latest parent to issue a warning. Mark Winfield advised other parents of students to “keep a close eye on your kids” studying away from home, and added his voice to a campaign to persuade universities to offer more support.
Moving away to study for a degree is a rite of passage more common in the UK than many other countries. There is evidence that longstanding British convention is shifting, with one survey finding a sharp rise in the number of first-year students opting to remain in the family home, due to financial pressures. But of around 600,000 UK-domiciled young people due to start an undergraduate course this autumn, around two-thirds are expected to relocate.
Earlier this year, the government rejected campaigners’ calls to impose a statutory duty of care on universities. Universities UK argues that increased investment in mental health services would be more beneficial than legislation. But pressure on ministers and the sector is building. At the recent inquest into the death of Matthew Wickes, the coroner issued a “prevention of future deaths” report – highlighting potential risks – and suggested that there should be an early warning system to help identify students struggling with their mental health.
Earlier this year, Sir Keir Starmer made reducing the number of suicides one of his key health policy pledges, and highlighted the toll of young lives in particular (men are statistically far more likely to kill themselves than women, although suicides of young women have recently risen). Such tragic incidents are widely acknowledged to form part of a bigger, and worrying, picture regarding young people’s mental health and difficulty in accessing treatment.
With the NHS waiting list at a record high of 7.6 million in England (around 2 million more are waiting for treatment in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales), investment in mental health services is desperately needed. But beyond the general lack of provision, and the particular stresses young people have been under – Covid caused problems for both Winfield and Wickes – there is a need for policies that pay attention to the specific needs of young adults.
Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) are only available up to age 18. Such limits enable bureaucratic systems to allocate resources. But older teenagers, including students, may have particular vulnerabilities – and do not automatically become mature on their 18th birthdays. Until 1969, the legal age of majority was 21, while recent science points to the continued development of the human brain until the mid-20s.
With this in mind, there is a strong case for specialist young adult mental health services, not limited to universities. Meanwhile, there is a need for greater clarity from universities about their role in students’ lives outside teaching hours. While academics are not counsellors, and cannot be expected to fill gaps in the health service on top of existing heavy workloads, all those responsible for the administration of higher education have a duty to think carefully about students’ wellbeing.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.