By Alice Summers – wsws.org: According
to a study by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), 134
students committed suicide in the 2014-15 academic year. This figure, an
all-time high, represents an increase of 79 percent since 2007, when 75
students took their own lives.
The IPPR’s research findings come amid a worsening mental health
crisis in the UK and worldwide, which is particularly affecting young
people under the age of 25. Approximately one-in-four people in the UK
suffer from a mental health condition each year, with around
three-quarters of adults with a mental illness first experiencing
symptoms before the age of 25, according to the report.
The proportion of 16-to-24-year-olds experiencing a mental health
condition in England is rising, with 19 percent in this age group
suffering from some form of mental health problem, up from 15 percent in
2003. Young women under 25 are hit hardest by the mental health crisis,
with 28 percent affected.
