“In recent years, negative reports have regularly come out about student well-being”, says researcher Kirsten van Hooijdonk. “Especially during the Covid pandemic it appeared that some of the students suffered from stress, burnout or depressive symptoms. The results of this survey confirm that, but also show that a lot is going well.” The majority of students, for example, report feeling happy and experiencing a lot of social support. Social safety was rated 8 on average. “But there are also some students with different experiences. We therefore have to keep looking at how we can improve their well-being.”
Van Hooijdonk is one of the researchers in the Healthy Student Life project, which measures student well-being annually. This team conducted research on well-being, lifestyle (e.g. physical activity and alcohol consumption) and context (e.g. perceived study load) based on measurements taken in autumn 2021, spring 2022 and spring 2023, with some 3,700 students participating each time.
There were about 1,100 students who participated in all three measurement moments. 826 of them completed the questionnaires completely. 826 students who participated in all three measurements. The researchers were thus able to chart the development of these students over time. For instance, there was a peak in risky alcohol consumption at 18 percent in 2022, just after the coronavirus pandemic. In 2023, usage slightly declined again to 13.5 percent. The researchers also note that burnout symptoms became slightly more common over time and that students became more physically active again after the pandemic. However, these are very small differences and well-being in the group remained stable overall.
Subgroups
The researchers also compared different groups with each other, such as male and female, Bachelor’s and Master’s and international and Dutch students. Female and international students were slightly more likely to suffer from stress, burnout and depression symptoms than male and Dutch students. In turn, male and international students were somewhat more likely to show risky behaviour, such as drinking a lot and using cannabis or eating unhealthier food.
When it comes to performance pressure, female and Master’s students experienced this most strongly. In addition, female students felt slightly less socially safe at the university than male students, but they also experienced receiving more social support from fellow students. Among international students, it was exactly the opposite. Van Hooijdonk: “It is possible that this group of students may not connect as easily and thus feel a bit less socially supported.”
Problematic internet use
Some factors seemed to remain stable over the years, according to the researchers. “For some themes, that might be worrisome.” For instance, around 20 percent of students consistently reported having used cannabis in the past six months. Furthermore, as many as a quarter of students showed problematic internet use, based on statements such as 'I go to sleep later than I would like because of my internet use' or 'my family thinks I spend too much time online'. Van Hooijdonk: “That problematic Internet use also didn't seem to decrease in period after Covid. So it remains a point of concern.”
Although the survey was conducted among Radboud students, the results are comparable to national data from, for example, the Trimbos institute. But a unique feature of this survey is its longitudinal nature, whereby students are followed for longer periods of time. The university can use the survey results to ensure targeted policies around student well-being, explains Van Hooijdonk. “It is important that boards and governments, but also student associations, for example, continue to work together to help students and invest in a safe and healthy study environment.”