Use of psychiatric medication by college students: A decade of data

Given the rising prevalence of psychiatric symptomatology among college students, this analysis aims to identify temporal trends in psychiatric medication usage.

This analysis used data from the Healthy Minds Study Survey administered between 2007 and 2019, yielding a sample of 320,817 university students. Survey data were examined via descriptive analyses.

Over the last decade from 2007 to 2018-2019, there was an increase in use of nearly all classes of psychiatric medications, with reported antidepressant medication (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRIs], serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors [SNRIs], etc.) use increasing from 8.0% to 15.3%, anti-anxiety medication (benzodiazepines, buspirone, etc.) from 3.0% to 7.6%, psychostimulants from 2.1% to 6.3%, antipsychotics from 0.38% to 0.92%, and mood stabilizers from 0.8% to 2.0% (all p < 0.0001), respectively. In addition, the use of more than one category of medication at a time has increased, from 28.2% in 2007 to 40.8% in 2018-2019 (p < 0.0001). The proportion of students who received their most recent prescription for psychiatric medication from primary care providers has risen from 49.1% in 2007 to 58.8% in 2018-2019 (p < 0.0001), while the proportion receiving these prescriptions from psychiatric providers did not increase significantly and stands at 36.1% in 2018-2019. The percentage of students taking psychiatric medication without a prescription varied from year to year, starting at 11.9% in 2007 and ending at 7.7% in 2018-2019 (p < 0.0001). The proportion of students who discussed their use of psychiatric medication with their doctor or other health professional three or more times in the previous year has increased from 39.2% in 2007 to 49.5% in 2018-2019 (p < 0.0001).

The proportion of college students who have taken psychiatric medications of all categories has risen in the last decade; these students are increasingly likely to be on more than one kind of psychiatric medication and be treated by healthcare providers at a greater frequency. Despite the growing complexity of student treatment, the proportion of students receiving psychiatric medication management by psychiatric providers has not changed, while the proportion receiving services in primary care settings has increased.