WashU shared its 2024 student health and well-being data with Student Life, providing key statistics on mental health and substance use on campus. The data showed significant decreases in the number of students drinking alcohol and using cannabis in recent years, mirroring trends in substance use among university students nationwide.

The data also showed that emotional well-being among undergraduate students on campus has remained relatively stable, though there has been a slight increase in mental-health issues among graduate students.

Statistics on student health and wellbeing were gathered from multiple surveys emailed to large, random samples of WashU students last spring. One of the surveys, called the Missouri Assessment of College Health Behaviors, was filled out by 842 WashU students and compared data on well-being across 21 colleges in Missouri. Another survey, called the National College Health Assessment, examined well-being among college students nationwide and was completed by 962 WashU students.

Kirk Dougher — Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Support and Well-being — voiced concerns about certain trends in the data, such as the ongoing prevalence of binge-drinking, which is defined as consuming five or more drinks in one sitting. 28% of WashU undergraduates who responded to the surveys in 2024 said they engaged in binge-drinking, down from 45% of students in 2022. Dougher said he would like to see those numbers go down further.

Members of WashU’s Greek Life organizations have the highest rates of binge-drinking out of 20 other Missouri colleges surveyed, according to the 2024 data. 56% of the WashU Greek Life respondents said that they had engaged in binge-drinking.

Dougher also noted that the data showed significant differences between WashU students’ perceptions of their peers’ alcohol use and the actual rates of use. “Taken together, students drink just over two drinks [in one sitting], but think that other [students] drink almost double that,” he said. 

The data also reflects students’ misconceptions about cannabis use on campus. Only 3.3% of WashU survey respondents said they believe the typical student at their school “never” uses cannabis. However, 61% of WashU students surveyed said they have not used cannabis in the past year. 

Arie Baker — Director of Health Promotion and Wellness at the Student Health Center – Danforth Campus — expressed concerns over the gap between perception and reality in substance use on campus. Baker said these discrepancies are a part of human behavior. 

“We get so much messaging around extreme substance use,” Baker said. “We also hear so much about [how] college-age students are using substances. But the reality is actually that many students don’t use [substances], or [they] use [them] in a safer way. We rarely hear about these students.”

Baker said there were several trends that she was happy to see in the 2024 data results, including lower rates of substance use, fewer students riding in cars with drivers under the influence, and an increase in students seeking help for mental-health issues. 

The statistics also showed that WashU now ranks second in rates of fake ID ownership among 20 other Missouri colleges surveyed by a University partner. 

Both Dougher and Baker said that they hope to support students’ well-being throughout their entire time at WashU. 

“Our job is to try and help [students] thrive,” Dougher said. “We want [students] to graduate with better well-being than when they [were] admitted to the institution.” 

In order to better support student well-being and address concerning trends in the data, Dougher said that it’s important for his team to tackle University issues that may negatively impact the mental health of individual students. 

“We target the University as a whole [and] think of systems,” Dougher said. “I’ll give an analogy: If you discovered that quite a number of frogs in a pond were sick, I don’t think you’d only try and figure out how to educate or treat the frogs. You [also] try and figure out what the hell is wrong with the pond.”

For resources related to student health at WashU — including emergency services, medical and mental health support, and more — visit the Student Health Center’s website.