Table 1

Participant demographics and between-group differences

Demographicn (%)
Residence when starting degree
 England
 Wales
 Scotland
 Northern Ireland

290 (88.7)
17 (5.2)
14 (4.3)
6 (1.8)
Region of study
 England
 Wales
 Scotland
 Northern Ireland

276 (84.4)
31 (9.5)
16 (4.9)
4 (1.2)
Employment
 Full-time employed
 Part-time employed
 Self-employed
 Unemployed
 Student
 Receiving benefits
 Other

251 (76.8)
28 (8.6)
17 (5.2)
15 (4.6)
8 (2.4)
7 (2.1)
1 (0.3)
Year started undergraduate degree
 2008
 2009
 2010
 2011
 2012
 2013
 2014
 2015

26 (8.0)
29 (8.9)
36 (11.0)
44 (13.5)
48 (14.7)
50 (15.3)
51 (15.6)
43 (13.1)
Degree completed?
 Yes
 No

315 (96.3)
12 (3.7)
Year degree completed
 2010
 2011
 2012
 2013
 2014
 2015
 2016
 2017
 2018
 2019
 2020
 2021

3 (0.9)
15 (4.6)
25 (7.6)
39 (11.9)
40 (12.2)
38 (11.6)
50 (15.3)
45 (13.8)
40 (12.2)
15 (4.6)
2 (0.6)
3 (0.9)
Annual tuition fees
 £0–2k
 £3–4k
 £8–9k
 Other amount
 Don’t know/prefer not to say

27 (8.3)
121 (37.0)
153 (46.8)
8 (2.4)
18 (5.5)
Student loan debt amount after graduating
 Did not take out a loan
 £0–10k
 £10–20k
 £20–30k
 £30–40k
 £40–50k
 £50–60k
 £60k plus

16 (4.9)
31 (9.5)
56 (17.1)
82 (25.1)
54 (16.5)
60 (18.3)
18 (5.5)
10 (3.1)
Current student loan debt amount
 Paid it off
 £0–10k
 £10–20k
 £20–30k
 £30–40k
 £40–50k
 £50–60k
 £60k plus

18 (5.5)
28 (8.6)
60 (18.3)
61 (18.7)
37 (11.3)
48 (14.7)
27 (8.3)
33 (10.1)
Current student loan repayment status (cohort 2011 and before)
 Not repaid anything
 Made some payments but not paying regularly
 Making regular payments but size of loan increasing
 Making regular payments and size of loan staying the same
 Making regular payments and size of loan is reducing
 I have paid off my loan
 Not sure

10 (7.4)
18 (13.3)
17 (12.6)
35 (25.9)
29 (21.5)
15 (11.1)
5 (3.7)
Current student loan repayment status (cohort 2012 and after)
 Not repaid anything
 Made some payments but not paying regularly
 Making regular payments but size of loan increasing
 Making regular payments and size of loan staying the same
 Making regular payments and size of loan is reducing
 I have paid off my loan
 Not sure
 Other

38 (19.8)
26 (13.5)
53 (27.6)
31 (16.1)
20 (10.4)
5 (2.6)
7 (3.6)
2 (1.0)
Money owed apart from student loans
(e.g. credit card, overdraft [excluding mortgages])
 Nothing
 £1–10k
 £10–20k
 £20–30k
 £30–40k
 £40–50k
 £50–60k
 £60k plus


158 (48.3)
121 (37.0)
27 (8.3)
12 (3.7)
3 (0.9)
2 (0.6)
1 (0.3)
3 (0.9)
Personal annual income, excluding benefits
 Less than £10k
 £10–20k
 £20–30k
 £30–40k
 £40–50k
 £50–60k
 £60–70k
 £70–80k
 £80–90k
 £90–150k
 £150k plus

18 (5.5)
33 (10.1)
81 (24.8)
91 (27.8)
49 (15.0)
19 (5.8)
12 (3.7)
6 (1.8)
2 (0.6)
2 (0.6)
2 (0.6)
Current housing situation
 Homeowner with mortgage
 Renting (with or without housing benefit)
 Living with family or friends or living rent-free
 Homeowner outright
 Part own and part renting a home (shared ownership)
 Part of a housing association
 Rent from council
 Other

135 (41.3)
122 (37.3)
48 (14.7)
9 (2.8)
6 (1.8)
2 (0.6)
1 (0.3)
4 (0.2)
Mental health
 Anxiety clinical cut off (score of ≥7 on GAD-7)
 Depression clinical cut off (score of ≥16 on CES-D)

156 (47.97)
189 (57.08)
 n (%)Between-group differences
Gender
Female
Male
Non-binary
Prefer not to say
211 (64.5)
111 (33.9)
2 (0.6)
3 (0.9)
Cohort: χ2(3, n = 327) = 3.29, p = 0.349
Tuition fees: χ2(3, n = 327) = 2.19, p = 0.828
Age (years)
Mean (SD)
Range

30.06 (3.08)
25–57
5
Cohort: t(325) = 9.64, p < 0.001
Tuition fees: t(299) = 8.42, p < 0.001
Ethnicity
White background
Black background
Asian background
Mixed or multiple ethnic group
Other
264 (80.7)
25 (7.6)
23 (7.0)
11 (3.4)
4 (1.2)
Cohort: χ2(4, n = 327) = 1.49, p = 0.534
Tuition fees: χ2(4, n = 327) = 3.65,
p = 0.456

Notes:

For between-group differences in Cohort (2011 and before vs 2012 and after) and tuition fees level (0–4k vs 8–9k), chi-squared (χ2) is reported for gender and ethnicity and independent t-tests for age

Source: Table by authors

or Create an Account

Close subscription notice
Close access options