Vaisbord 1

Maddi Vaisbord

Ms. Ink

Block 2-4

01/14/20

A Suffering Generation Summary

Alicia Kruisselbrink Flatt’s A Suffering Generation: Six factors contributing to the mental health crisis in

North American higher education (2013) is an academic study about the effect that higher education has on the

metal health of its students. In the article Kruisselbrink Flatt states the six main factors as to why students enrolled

in postsecondary education have a growing mental health crisis. She pinpoints academic pressures, financial

burdens, more accessibility, the ratio of female to male students, technology, and transitioning into postsecondary

education as the main strains on the students.

Academic pressures put on by the student’s expectations, and paternal pressures contribute

greatly to a student’s metal stability. She also states that growing student debt and tuition fees can be

harmful to a student’s education. Increased accessibility means more people in schools, leading to

more chance for mental illness problems within the student body. With more women entering higher

education the crisis will continue to grow, since women are more likely to show, and talk about their

mental health problems than men are. Technology can be addicting to some young adults, leading

them down a path with more problems in the future. The shift from high school life to post-secondary

can be very jarring for many people, this, and the fact that the major substance use problem within

universities creates a toxic environment, that contributes to many problems within schools.

Kruisselbrink Flatt also adds that these facilities dealing with this problem are underfunded, and

understaffed, leading to student’s not being able to get the help they need. For these institutions to

keep this crisis under control there needs to be more funding for mental health, and more awareness

to what’s going on.