four years after confinement, 41% of students present depressive symptoms, according to a study

The mental health of young people has worsened since confinement, according to a study by the University of Bordeaux, revealed by France Inter on Thursday.

Four out of ten students (41%) presented depressive symptoms in 2023, compared to 26% before the health crisis, according to a study* from the University of Bordeaux, revealed on Thursday March 14 by France Inter and the weekly Marianne, four years to the day after the general confinement which began throughout France in an attempt to stem the coronavirus epidemic. Since then, the mental health of young people has worsened, to the point that suicidal thoughts among 18-24 year olds have increased from 21% before Covid to 29% in 2023.

To explain their anxieties, the students interviewed mentioned economic difficulties, increasingly selective and stressful studies or even unemployment. Certain societal factors also affect the morale of young people. Almost all cite the geopolitical context with international conflicts as well as climate change, which makes their future ever more uncertain.

“A lot of denial and stigmatization”

Epidemiologist Mélissa Macalli, who led this study, notes that “these young people are having great difficulty regaining their psychological state before the epidemic, which was [d’ailleurs] rather deleterious”. She also considers that it is necessary “trivializing the issue of mental health with young people since we know that there is a lot of denial and stigma around mental health”.

In his general policy declaration on January 30, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal assured that he wanted to make the mental health of young people a “great cause of government action”. Mélissa Macalli judge “encouraging” to include young people’s health among the executive’s priorities. But the epidemiologist says that “to solve the problems and really do something to improve the mental health of young people”more is needed “psychologists and psychiatrists”.

A head of the psychiatric department of a Parisian hospital therefore believes that it is time to put in place the means, “lots of resources”. “If we don’t pull out all the stops now, we will be dealing with a sacrificed generation in a few years”he fears.

Methodology: The University of Bordeaux study on student mental health was carried out among students via online questionnaires in 2023. The researchers then compared their results with a previous study carried out before the Covid health crisis -19.