8% of SNU Students Suffer From Melancholia

Some 8 out of every 100 students attending Seoul National University are suffering from depression, but only about five percent of the patients are receiving psychiatric treatment, according to research.

Hahm Bong-jin, a professor of medicine at Seoul National University, announced yesterday the results of his examination on the status of the psychological health of some 1,000 students he had taught in 2005.

The results show that 8% of the examinees had enough trouble with serious melancholia that they should have undergone immediate psychiatric treatment, but that 95% of those affected did not take any.

Moreover, 0.5% of the students polled responded that they had drawn up plans or actually attempted to commit suicide in the past month. Those suffering from depression are 4.4 times more likely to kill themselves than those who are not.

The main motivation behind suicide attempts included: a feeling of melancholy and despair (66.7%); conflicts with families (33.3%); sorrow after breaking up with lovers (25.9%); personal relationships (18.5%); stagnation in academic performances (18.5%); and diseases or disabilities (3.7%).

Female students are twice as likely to be affected by melancholia than males, and both men and women turned out to have physical disorders or problems adapting to life in college when experiencing depression.

In the paper, professor Hahm claimed, “The health center on campus has to reinforce its psychiatry division in order to provide depressed students with easier access to counseling and to help them with repeat treatments.”

achim@donga.com