Mental Health Trends Among Engineering Students: 2016-2024
Student mental health has been a significant concern in higher education, with mental health crises increasingly common on university campuses. While extensive research has provided greater insights into the mental health of the general university student population, specific information regarding engineering students remains relatively limited. This analysis explores mental health issues among engineering students over the past decade, using data and its data interface tool from the Healthy Minds Study.
Trends in Mental Health (2016-2024)
· Anxiety: 15.8% (2016), 24.6% (2018), 23.7% (2020), 29.1% (2022), 27.1% (2024)
· Depression: 22% (2016), 29.4% (2018), 32.1% (2020), 37.5% (2022), 34.6% (2024)
· Eating Disorders: 5.3% (2016), 7.2% (2018), 7.3% (2020), 10% (2022), 9.7% (2024)
· Suicidal Ideation: 8.6% (2016), 9.4% (2018), 11.4% (2020), 13.7% (2022), 12.7% (2024)
· Non-Suicidal Self-Injury: 17.8% (2016), 19.8% (2018), 22.2% (2020), 27% (2022), 25% (2024)
· Binge Drinking: 36.3% (2016), 34.5% (2018), 30.1% (2020), 20% (2022), 23.8% (2024)
· Marijuana Use: 17.5% (2016), 16.6% (2018), 15.4% (2020), 16.4% (2022), 14.1% (2024)
The data show a rising trend in anxiety, depression, eating disorders, suicidal ideation, and non-suicidal self-injury among engineering students over the past decade. In contrast, the prevalence of binge drinking has declined. These patterns align with those observed in the general university student population using the same data interface tool.
Additionally, from 2017 to 2024, over half of engineering students who screened positive for anxiety or depression did not receive any counseling or medication in the previous year, except for 2022 (51.3% with anxiety) and 2023 (50.2% with depression, 51.1% with anxiety). Engineering students generally had the lowest treatment rates compared to other academic disciplines, consistent with studies by Lipson et al. (2016) and Whitwer et al. (2025).