Report highlights mental health risks of student debt

Burdening students with “large-scale” student loan debt could have “grave social and economic implications” for society more generally, it has been claimed.

In a report that assesses the English student finance system, the Intergenerational Foundation says that the psychological effects of incurring debt at university could contribute to “finance-related stress, anxiety and depression among Britain’s younger people”. This, coupled with what it calls “inadequate young people’s mental health provision”, makes for an “extremely toxic combination”, the charity says.

The report cites a recent study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which showed that students from the poorest 40 per cent of families entering the English higher education system would emerge with an average debt of £57,000 upon graduation.