“We are speculating that part of the reason that these types of loans are so stressful is the fact that you cannot defer them, they follow you for the rest of your life until you pay them off,” says Katrina Walsemann, the lead author of the new study conducted by the University of South Carolina.
Specifically, the researchers found that higher levels of student debt were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms, even when they adjusted the results to account for the wealth of the student’s parents and their socioeconomic class.
Seven in 10 U.S. college graduates now leave school with student loan debt hanging over their heads, according to the Project for Student Debt, with the average amount totaling over $28,000.
“We speculate that the American middle class is suffering the most from post-graduation debt, since they do not qualify for governmental assistance, nor is their family able to take on the bulk of the costs associated with college,” Walsemann said.
The study is the first nationally representative study to specifically look at the effects of student loans on mental health, and the fact that it shows a positive correlation with depression opens up a can of worms.
Depression is the number one cause of disability worldwide, according to the World Health Association.
Depression is also the strongest risk factor of suicide, the second leading cause of death for young people 15-24 years old, according to Save.org.
Student loan debt in the U.S. has grown to over $1 trillion in the last couple of years, which is higher than credit card debt, auto loans and home mortgages. It is also has the highest delinquency rate of the four.
Now it is linked to depression.
To make matters worse, the number of college degree holders working minimum wage jobs has increased dramatically, doubling in just five years according to US News and World Report.
This means that not only are college students paying more for their degrees and going into higher debt, but the very rational that “education is the key to a bright future” is fast becoming a myth for many. No wonder they are depressed.
