Large percentages of student-parents face a number of stressors that put them at greater risk for mental health issues than non-parenting students, according to a new report from Ascend at the Aspen Institute and The Jed Foundation (JED).
The report, “Improving Mental Health of Student Parents: A Framework for Higher Education,” was produced from a combination of literature reviews, analyses of national data and original study.
Not much scientific literature on mental health and student-parents exists, said Dr. Sara Gorman, director of research and knowledge dissemination at JED and the primary author of the report.
There are more than 4 million student-parents enrolled in undergrad and first credential pathways in the U.S., said David Croom, Ascend assistant director for postsecondary achievement and innovation and leader of the Aspen Postsecondary Success for Parents (PSP) Initiative.
The research found that 43% of student-parents reported feeling stressed all or most of the time; 40% reported feeling overwhelmed; 29% reported emotion regulation issues; 28% reported feelings of depression and 28% reported a sense of social isolation.
About 38% of student-parents reported they had considered dropping out of school in the last 30 days, a distinctly larger percentage than 25% of non-parenting students.
In general, student-parents reported feeling less welcome on college campuses, with the research showing that 54% of student-parents said that they have been made to feel less than welcome on at least one instance and just 37% said that they felt their school was supportive of student-parents.
