United Press International - September 5, 2003
Les Kjos

Waiting for students -- freshmen in particular -- are bouts with depression including thoughts of suicide along with drug and alcohol abuse and sexually transmitted diseases.

Of the 4 million students leaving home for college and more 2 million staying at home, 1.5 million of them will experience depression, says the National Mental Health Association.

Depression can lead to suicides and they are the second leading cause of death for college students, after injuries, half of which are alcohol-related. Next are falls and drownings.

A survey last month for the Society for Adolescent Medicine showed that 56 percent of students have been sexually active at college and 73 percent of those admitted to unprotected sex, putting them at risk for sexually transmitted diseases.

That includes hepatitis B, which also can be contracted by the 40 percent of students who will either have a tattoo or body piercing before they leave school. They can also get the disease by sharing a razor or toothbrush or in contact sports.

But for freshmen, the first thing to watch out for is emotional problems.

The mental health association has launched a campaign to urge college students to become mindful of their mental health.

A UCLA study showed that more than 30 percent of college freshmen report feeling overwhelmed a great deal of the time during the early weeks at college, and Johns Hopkins University reported that more than 40 percent of a recent freshman class sought help from the student counseling center.

"Reaching out for help with a mental health problem is not a sign of weakness and can ensure a healthy and productive college career," said Michael Faenza, president and chief executive officer of the association.

"If stress or feelings of uncertainty become unmanageable, students should talk about their concerns with someone they trust or contact the campus health center, college counseling service or a mental health professional," he said.

Michelle Pruett, program director for public education, urges parents to keep track of their children the best they can.

"A lot of freshmen are having a hard time for obvious reasons -- it's their first time away from home, and they are building new relationships," Pruett said. "If you're a parent, make sure you are in communication with them in school. If there's a problem, urge them to go to a counseling center."

She cautioned that many students are reluctant to bring up their problems with their parents, but it might help if the parent is persistent with questions about their well-being.

Pruett said colleges are getting better at helping students, although it took a few well-publicized campus suicides to get the attention of administrators.

She said the problem then becomes the student's reluctance to seek help.

"There is a fear of getting caught (by classmates) walking into a counseling center. There's huge educational effort toward stigma reduction," she said. "Everybody has mental health and it's just as important as physical health."

Pruett said friends can help, particularly in spotting problems.

She said some of the symptoms include dropping out of school, pulling away from relationships, isolating themselves, eating and sleeping problems, trouble concentrating and trouble getting lessons in on time. But she said the success rate in treating the problem is a whopping 80 percent.

"Depression is so treatable. There are a lot of ways to do it. There is psychotherapy and medication. There are different kinds of therapy, individual, support groups, and there are many kinds of medication," she said.

"There is no silver bullet, but there are several bullets," she said.

The threat of physical ailments can also be lethal. One of the most preventable is hepatitis B -- a serious, potentially cancer-causing infection of the liver that can be prevented through a three-shot vaccination series.

"Hepatitis B is one of the only STDs that is vaccine-preventable," said Dr. James Farrow of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

"Parents may not have as much control over their child's life once they leave home, but they can protect them through vaccination before the school semester begins. While routine vaccination against hepatitis B for infants has occurred since 1991, many teens born prior to these dates may have been missed," Farrow said.

AIDS and the other sexual diseases can be discovered by sexual transmitted screening, which is available on most campuses.

"At one point it was invasive and uncomfortable, but now almost all of it can be done with a finger stick blood test or urine sample," said Farrow, director of student health at Tulane University.

"Once we tell them that, they come in more readily," he said.

The society's survey showed that 95 percent of those polled agreed that college students do things on campus or with other students that they would never want their parents to know about.

"Additionally, 52 percent admit they would never have participated in some these activities if they were living at home while attending college," it said.

Farrow said alcohol is behind many of the problems, including the injuries and promiscuous and unprotected sex.

"Education is important in dealing with the problem, but it's also important to get past the feeling of invulnerability that age group has," he said.

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