America’s Student Debt and Mental Health Crises
are More Related Than You Thought

America’s student debt crisis has hit a breaking point. 47.9 million Americans have
amassed nearly 1.8 trillion dollars of outstanding student debt that now hangs over Borrowers’
heads. The average individual’s portion is a five-figured debt of $39,981 for a four-year degree—
talk about a graduation gift (Hanson). This looming figure of debt seeps into all aspects of
post-grad life, including but not limited to physical and mental health.

As the weight of student debt increases, so too does the rate of mental health affliction
increase among student and graduate demographics. The average American young adult will face
struggles with their mental health in their lifetime, with a shockingly high figure of 18 percent
reporting one or more major depressive episodes within the last year to the National Survey on
Drug Use and Health (Azeesat Babajide et al.).

Recent studies have found evidence that the simultaneous increase in student debt and
mental health concerns is more than incidental. Anyone who has debt themselves can clearly see
the relation; Borrowers report a direct correlation between their mental health and the stress of
student loan debt. A 2022 study conducted by ELVTR, an online business education company,
found that most individuals (54 percent) have experienced mental health issues brought on by
their student debt. The survey polled 2,000 American college students or graduates ages 18 to 67
and found that 1 in 14 had experienced suicidal ideation as a direct result of their student loans.
In 2021, when criteria were limited to Borrowers who were “unemployed or making less than
$50,000 per year,” the rate “jumped to 1 in 8” (Geiman). Borrowers reported their debt feeling
like a trap, inspiring feelings of hopelessness and stagnation, often leaving them with nowhere to
turn and causing them to consider drastic measures to escape.

Many Borrowers delay major life decisions, put off their personal goals, and endure
higher-paying careers they despise due to the pressures of their student debt. Among the
individuals in ELVTR’s study, 84 percent reported delaying one or more important life decisions,
including 64 percent who delayed purchases like homes and cars, 60 percent who delayed saving
for their futures, and 32 percent who delayed starting a family because of their debt.
All of this stress, hopelessness, and loss of control results in the aforementioned figure of
54 percent

All of this stress, hopelessness, and loss of control results in the aforementioned figure of
54 percent of Americans struggling with their mental health as a result of student debt. ELVTR
breaks down the number further: 56 percent of those individuals experienced anxiety, 32 percent
had depression, 20 percent experienced insomnia and 17 percent had panic attacks. Previous
studies have identified tolls not only on mental health but on physical health as well.
Northwestern identified an increase in diastolic blood pressure among individuals in debt, which
puts them at higher risk for stroke and heart attack (White). High levels of stress and anxiety
related to debt result in depleted overall health, not to mention creating a financial barrier to
healthcare to address debt-related issues.

Minority populations in the U.S. are disproportionately affected by both student debt and
the resulting mental health complications. Women hold close to 70 percent of all outstanding
student debt and Black women on average owe 22 percent more than their white counterparts
(White). Four years after graduation, the majority of white students will see a decrease in their
total student loan debt but 48 percent of Black students find themselves owing 12.5 percent more
than their original loan amount. Overall, Black Borrowers hold 186 percent more debt per capita
than White borrowers despite having a significantly lower rate of higher education (Geiman).
ELVTR reports that 69 percent of female Borrowers struggle or fail to afford their loan payments
while 79 percent of Black graduates can barely afford payments if at all. Both demographic
groups are therefore at higher risk of defaulting and more likely to have their mental health
negatively affected by their debt.

Under the weight of student debt, 77 percent of Americans are unhappy with their higher
education decisions (ELVTR). For many, the toll of debt on their mental health outweighs the
benefits of the degree that they took out loans to pursue.

The organizers of these surveys unilaterally suggest that America is not doing enough to
solve the issue of student loan debt. Roman Peskin, CEO of ELVTR, believes that the current
administration’s efforts toward “loan forgiveness, while a great initiative, [are] really just a
Band-Aid…” he says that “Before we dress the wound, we need to stitch it up.” Debt is evidently
disrupting the lives of Borrowers and taking a toll on their health as well as their finances,
leaving public and private organizations scrambling to do damage control on what is now a
trillion-dollar systemic failure. Student debt has markedly become more than a financial issue—
it is at once a gender and racial equity issue, a social justice issue, and a consequential
contributor to America’s mental health crisis.

References

Azeesat Babajide, et al. “Transition Cliffs for Young Adults with Anxiety and Depression: Is
Integrated Mental Health Care a Solution?” Journal of Behavioral Health Services &
Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, vol. 47, no. 2, 19 Aug. 2019, pp.
275–292, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7028507/,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-019-09670-8. Accessed 24 June 2024.

ELVTR. “The Financial and Mental Cost of the United States’ Higher Education Issues”
Elvtr.com, ELVTR, 11 Dec. 2023,
elvtr.com/blog/a-failing-system-the-financial-and-mental-cost-of-the-united-states-higher
-education-issues. Accessed 24 June 2024.

Geiman, J. “The Psychological Toll of Student Debt | CLASP.” CLASP, Apr. 2022,
www.clasp.org/blog/psychological-toll-student-debt/. Accessed 24 June 2024.

Hanson, Melanie. “Student Loan Debt Statistics [2024]: Average + Total Debt.” Education Data
Initiative, 2020, updated March 2024, educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-statistics.
Accessed 24 June 2024.

White, Erica. “Student Loan Debt Is Creating a Physical and Mental Health Crisis for Millions of
Americans – Network for Public Health Law.” Network for Public Health Law, 26 Jan.
2022,
www.networkforphl.org/news-insights/student-loan-debt-is-creating-a-physical-and-ment
al-health-crisis-for-millions-of-americans/. Accessed 24 June 2024.