The impact of the financial crisis on college students' mental health

Interviewer: Sarah Kandil

Interviewee: Dr. Hanan Al Mala
Date: 27-03-2023

A Recent study that was conducted in 2021 concluded that university students are more likely to
have financial difficulties and as a result suffer from depression and anxiety symptoms.
According to the results, the pandemic put a lot of students under financial stress, which had a
negative impact on their mental health. Before students could even take a break from the
pandemic's hassles, they once again had to deal with the global economic crisis, which,
according to a BBC article, undoubtedly had an adverse effect on their mental health.

Dr. Hanan Al Mala, an assistant professor of psychology at the American University in Cairo,
affirms that students' mental health has deteriorated in recent years due to a variety of issues
including financial burdens, familial troubles, and the inability to control certain outcomes.

HM: “What we know at this point for post COVID Is that anxiety is rising due to the
many, many different issues related to it. We know and that financial constraints are
contributing effect to anxieties, because when we're saying here, anxiety, we're saying
worrying, being worried being afraid of not being able to provide for yourself.”(0:33s)

Students have been impacted by the financial load both directly and indirectly. According to a
news report by Al Fanar Media, more students and their parents are finding it challenging to
remain at reputable private college institutions here in Egypt, especially since the devaluation of
the pound against the US dollar.

Families are under more financial strain than ever, and because Egyptian culture differs from that
of the west, they naturally pass these difficulties on to their children. There are so many
connections between everything and everyone.

HM: “Definitely, the financial burden has a direct and indirect effect on the students and the
well-being of students. Let's say overall psychological and emotional well-being. We're very
affected by our family. We live in a context where family is very important, it's part of life, we
don't have this independence like the West.” (0:33s)

Since the catastrophe of COVID, there has been a great deal of uncertainty about what will
happen next. With the current financial crisis, we are still dealing with anxiety and stress in our
everyday lives, which is lowering the quality of life for many students.As reported by the WHO,
the rate of anxiety disorders has skyrocketed to an estimated 25% in recent years. Anxiety

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disorders are different from typical anxiety in that they are persistent and require medical
attention.

HM: “If someone is actually experiencing a lot of anxiety on a daily basis, they're having a lot of
thoughts they can't control; they have a hard time sleeping, they have a hard time concentrating,
they procrastinate a lot. I would definitely say that they need to seek therapy.” (0.18s)

Dr. Hanan stated, ‘Prevention is key’. Students should think about participating in webinars that
cover important issues like anxiety and depression since doing so will help them understand the
impact of their anxiety and different approaches to reduce it while also assisting them in making
sense of their situation. Help is now only a click away, and applications for therapy like
BetterHelp and WorryWatch have been created to make it more convenient for students of this
generation.

Sarah Kandil, AUC radio.