Harvard Students Slightly Less Stressed

Harvard students are less stressed than their colleagues at similar institutions, including five Ivy League schools, according to a 2006 survey assessing student wellbeing released yesterday.

Harvard consistently scored well in areas such as life satisfaction and ability to cope with emotion in the survey, conducted by the Cornell Research Program on Self-Injurious Behavior in Adolescence and Young Adults.

The survey found about 6.26 percent of Harvard students reported suffering from significant academic stress, compared with a reported average of 6.5 percent at other schools.

The psychological rewards students receive from academic rigor contribute to the low rates of stress reported, said the author of the survey, Janis L. Whitlock.

“I think it’s an indication that people are pretty well matched to where they are supposed to be,” said Whitlock, who directs the Cornell program.

The survey results come three years after a Crimson investigation found that an overwhelming majority of Harvard undergraduates struggled with mental health problems. The investigation also found that systemic problems with the College’s mental health resources prevented Harvard from adequately treating its students.

Despite the indications of overall positive wellbeing reported in the survey, Paul J. Barreira, director of behavioral health and academic counseling at University Health Services cautioned that some survey findings might be cause for concern.

For example, Barreira said, 40 percent of the Harvard students surveyed reported having been through a significantly traumatic event, such as the death of a friend or relative.

“I see this as a lot of people who are at risk for significant trauma,” Barreira said. “There are all kinds of events that occur during the year that are going to remind you of the loss.”

About 34 percent of Harvard undergraduates responded to the October 2006 online survey as a part of an initiative to explore trends of non-suicidal self-injury on campus.

The survey is part of an increased effort by College administrators to bring attention to mental health issues.

Last year, for the first time, freshman proctors received special training to recognize signs of mental illness in their students.

Student groups have also sought to emphasize the importance of undergraduate mental health in recent years.

Eunice Yang ’08, co-chair of the Mental Health Awareness and Advocacy Group, said that her organization worked closely with Barreira to make its peer mental health liaisons available to students in each of the Houses.

“Making proctors and tutors more knowledgeable is not enough,” said Barriera. “The success of making Harvard a supportive community are the creative ideas of students.”

—Staff writer Abby D. Phillip can be reached at adphill@fas.harvard.edu.