11 UNITE STUDENTS | APPLICANT INDEX SURVEY | 2022 BACK T O T H EMES THEMATIC ANALYSIS - WELLBEING As in previous surveys we have published, we asked applicants: “Do you consider yourself to have a disability, impairment or long-term health condition”, including a mental health condition as one of the options. Using the same question, we found that this year’s applicants are more likely to have a mental health condition than any other cohort in recent years. This year 20% report that they have a mental health condition, up from 15% in 2021. The most common mental health conditions reported are anxiety and depression. In fact, when all applicants in the survey were asked about the mental health issues that they had experienced over the last two years, 49% reported experiencing anxiety, and 30% depression. 12% of all applicants reported an eating disorder, which equates to about 90,000 applicants based on last year’s UCAS applicant data. Furthermore, 7% have autism spectrum disorder, up from 4% in 2021, and 8% have ADHD/ADD. In total, only 59% of applicants didn’t have any kind of disability or health condition, with a further 6% preferring not to answer. Over a quarter (29%) of applicants with a disability don’t plan to tell their university ¬- for applicants with a mental health condition this stands at 30%. Based on last year’s applicant numbers, this equates to approximately 45,000 applicants with an undisclosed mental health condition who do not plan to tell their university. 50 54 60 52 58 56 62 64 Figure 7 : Wellbeing theme index scores by key demographic groups Average Trans+ LGB+ International Care experienced Estranged Disability / Health Condition