Director Pace University New York, New York, United States
Abstract : Research Aims College is a formative period that brings both opportunity and considerable challenges. For many students, this transitional stage is marked by increased independence, academic pressure, and the strain of balancing multiple academic and personal responsibilities. For students facing mental health challenges, the demands of college can be particularly overwhelming, potentially leading to crises including suicidal ideation and non-suicidal self-injury (Mortier et al., 2016). While there have been some studies that have examined the relationship of suicide and college student academic performance (DeLuca et al., 2016; Mortier et al., 2016; Story et al., 2018, Bruffaerts et al., 2018), none have been found that have examined college student's retention as it relates to their suicidal behavior and pursuit of therapy with U.S. college students. This study explores the significant and underexamined relationship between suicidal behavior, help-seeking and college dropout rates.
Method Retention data was collected from incoming classes of students from a medium sized private university in the northeast from the years of 2019-2023 (n= 6000). Rates of drop out were compared against total enrollment numbers. It was then determined whether students who dropped out were users of the counseling center. Given that previous research has identified factors that impact retention (Thomas et al., 2021), the following information was collected - demographic variables, extracurricular activity, and housing status. Help-seeking behavior including treatment modality, prior treatment, diagnosis including whether there was the presence of comorbidity, was related to non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation to identify key factors that are associated with retention status.
Results Our preliminary findings showed that students who do not seek help have a far greater rate of drop out than students who have sought counseling, in this sample 85% of students who did not seek care left the institution. Students who did seek counseling and who reported suicidal thoughts and/or NSSI were more likely to leave college than those that did not. Minoritized students were more likely to drop out, specifically students who identify as BIPOC and LGBTQA+. Data also showed that crisis services alone do not effectively prevent students from leaving the institution as 70% of students who accessed the center did so for a crisis session only. Detailed results of the factors that impacted retention will be reported in this poster.
Conclusions This study sheds light on the role suicidal behavior plays in students who seek help from a counseling center. It addresses the dearth of research on such factors and identifies next step in intervention and research. There is an acute need for effective suicide prevention strategies as a core component of college retention efforts, particularly ones that address the identities of minoritized students. Many institutions lack adequate mental health resources, and students often report barriers to accessing the help they need, including stigma, long wait times, and financial concerns. The presence of dedicated counseling staff, mental health outreach education programs, and peer support networks has the potential to significantly reduce dropout rates among students experiencing mental health crises. The influence of help-seeking culture, counseling center response to suicidal behavior, and availability of follow-up care also emerge as critical factors in retaining at-risk students.
