Study shows link between mental health and academics

Almost 90 percent of all students say their mental health disrupts their ability to study or complete assignments at least occasionally, while one in 10 say these disruptions occur every day, according to new survey by Kahoot!, a digital game–based learning platform.

The report, the Norwegian company’s inaugural Study Habits Snapshot, includes answers from just over 1,000 current students at private, public and for-profit institutions in the U.S. Respondents attributed their struggles studying and completing work largely to difficulties with time management and procrastination (47 percent), distractions from technology and other people (both 38 percent), feeling like they don’t have enough time (34 percent), and being uninterested in the material (33 percent).

“We wanted to conduct this study to better understand the evolving landscape of teaching and learning for students, especially during a time when more students are facing challenges such as mental health issues, academic stress, and testing and anxiety—and faculty are reporting increased struggles with student disengagement, absenteeism, and course participation,” Kahoot! vice president Sean D’Arcy said in a written statement to Inside Higher Ed. “It’s a complex and dynamic issue, particularly given the heightened pressures on students as they balance rigorous academic demands with personal lives and multiple roles (e.g., work, personal, academic, community).”

Experts have long understood that students’ mental health struggles could also negatively impact their academic performance, with severe mental health problems leading students to suffer from plummeting grades or drop out.

To support these students, colleges have attempted to offer resources and infrastructure, and, in recent years, those efforts have increasingly crossed over with academic supports. Mental health counselors at Seattle Central College, for instance, are also trained to provide clinical and academic counseling to students—all in the same support center.

Just as poor mental health can have a damaging impact on students’ academics, academic work can also negatively impact students’ moods.

More students in the Kahoot! survey reported experiencing negative emotions while studying, like anxiety (41 percent), boredom (39 percent) and frustration (37 percent), than positive ones like confidence (34 percent) and satisfaction (33 percent). The study did note that the better students rated their study skills, the more likely they were to report favorable feelings about studying.

Prior research indicates that these negative feelings can have serious consequences for students. A 2022 report by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health, which is based at Pennsylvania State University and receives data from counseling centers nationwide, has shown that academic stress is a risk factor for students dropping out of college, and as students feel less stressed about their academics, they become more likely to persist in higher education.

Wendy Fischman, whose book The Real World of College: What Higher Education Is and What It Can Be (MIT Press, 2023) charted college students’ top priorities and concerns over a decade, based on thousands of interviews, said that students’ stress over schoolwork primarily comes from pressure to do well academically so they can secure a job later.

“Issues of time management, not understanding the material, feeling like students are unprepared—all of these things might be true, but it’s with respect to needing to perform and to succeed, not to actually learn the material,” she said.

It makes sense, she said, that some of that pressure would manifest as negative feelings when studying. Many students told her in interviews that they felt certain courses, particularly general education courses not directly tied to their major, were a waste of time and that they resented having to take those classes.

For those students, she said, “if you don’t see it related to what you’re studying or to your future of work … you’re not going to have the same interest in putting time and effort into studying.”

Other findings from the Kahoot! study include:

• About two in five students say they have skipped an exam at least once, with half of those respondents saying it was because they were unprepared or scared of doing poorly.
• Forty percent of those who skipped an exam attributed the decision to a lack of motivation, and around a third said it was because their stress made them feel physically unwell.
• The number of hours students spend studying each week varies, with 44 percent saying they spend between four and nine hours studying, while 42 percent spend at least 10 hours studying every week.
• The main things students report would have a positive impact on their studying are improving their study habits (54 percent) and having more time to study (47 percent).