College life for most is a pressure cooker

WASHINGTON -- College kids are so frazzled they can't sleep or eat. Or study. Good grief, they're even anxious about spring break.

Most students in U.S. colleges are just plain stressed out, from everyday worries about grades and relationships to darker thoughts of suicide, according to a poll of undergraduates from coast to coast. The survey was conducted for The Associated Press and mtvU, a television network available at many colleges and universities.

Four in 10 students say they endure stress often. Nearly one if five say they feel it all or most of the time.

But most are bearing it. Nearly two-thirds in the survey say they enjoy life.

Majorities cite classic stress symptoms including trouble concentrating, sleeping and finding motivation. Most say they have also been agitated, worried, too tired to work.

"Everything is being piled on at once," said Chris Curran, a junior at the Albany College of Pharmacy in Albany, N.Y. He said he has learned to cope better since starting school. "You just get really agitated and anxious. Then you start procrastinating, and it all piles up."

Many cite eating problems and say they have felt lonely, depressed, like they are failures. Substantial numbers are even concerned about spring break, chiefly not having enough money or being in good physical shape.

More than a quarter of the students sometimes think they should cut down on drinking or going out. A third say they sometimes want to use drugs or alcohol to relax.

One in five say they have felt too stressed to do schoolwork or be with friends. About the same number say things have been so bad in the past three months that they have seriously considered dropping out of school.

Darker still, about one in six say they have friends who in the past year have discussed committing suicide, and about one in 10 say they have seriously considered it themselves. Friends have actually tried to end their lives in that time, one in 10 say.

In this ocean of campus anxiety, 13 percent say they have been diagnosed with a mental health condition such as depression or an anxiety disorder.

Of that group, two-thirds say they always or usually follow their treatment, one-tenth say they have been unable to stick to it, and the rest are not on a plan.

All is not doom and gloom for today's students.

Six in 10 in the survey say they are usually hopeful and enjoy life. Half even concede they feel understood by their families.

"I enjoy college, I'm enjoying my experiences," said Emily McMahan, a University of Cincinnati junior.

Even so, the survey shows plenty of sources of stress, led by the seven in 10 students who attribute it to schoolwork and grades. Financial problems are close behind, while relationships and dating, family problems and extracurricular activities all are named by half as adding pressure.

College women have a more stressful existence than men, with 45 percent of females and 34 percent of males saying they face pressure often. The youngest students cite frequent stress most often. Whites report more stress than blacks and Hispanics.

From schoolwork to dating, women are likelier than men to say they experience pressure from virtually every potential source of distress in the survey. Six in 10 women and just four in 10 men say family issues cause problems, though the differences between the sexes in most areas are slimmer.

The poll shows a spotty sense among students of how to find assistance handling pressure.

Just over half say they are sure whom they would turn to for help. Only one in seven say they were very familiar with the counseling offered at their schools.

Overall, 26 percent of students say they have considered talking to a counselor or getting other professional help. Just 15 percent say they have actually done so.

"The profession needs to do more to make us more approachable," said Christine Moll, a professor in counseling and former director of counseling services at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y.

The survey was conducted by Edison Media Research from Feb. 28-March 6 by having 2,253 undergraduate students fill out confidential forms. The students, age 18-24, were handed the questionnaires at 40 randomly chosen four-year schools around the country.