ESTÜDAM Halk Sağlığı Dergisi
Yazarlar: Zeynep Meva ALTAŞ, Cihad KAYA, Furkan ÖZEL, Ahmet TOPUZOGLU
Konular:Halk ve Çevre Sağlığı
DOI:10.35232/estudamhsd.701164
Anahtar Kelimeler:Mental Disorders,Brief symptom inventory,University students
Özet: It was aimed to determine the current mental symptoms of students at university and their possible relationships with sociodemographic factors. The universe of this cross-sectional study is the undergraduate students at university in the 2018-2019 academic year. Our study was carried out with 814 participants by using stratified random sampling method in proportion to the number of students from each faculty by stratifying according to the class level. Data were collected with a questionnaire about sociodemographic characteristics and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) filled by the participants. Chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal Wallis tests were used for data analysis. Multiple linear regression was used in multivariate analysis. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. 70.5% (n = 574) of the participants were women and the average age was 21.04 ± 1.64. Of the participants 38.5% (n=312) were from the Faculty of Medicine, 39% (n = 316) from the Faculty of Health Sciences and 22.5% (n=182) from the Faculty of Dentistry. The distribution of the first, second, third, and fourth grades were 37.0% (n=297), 33.7% (n=270), 28.4% (n=228) and 0.9% (n=7), respectively. Students’ living place and their class were found to be related to anxiety status; female gender, inadequate income, and starting college were found to be related to depression score (p<0.05). The negative self-perception and hostility scores of those who find the income inadequate and those who are 1st-grade students were higher (p<0.05). Somatization scores of women and 1st-grade students were also significantly higher (p<0.05). According to the results of multivariate analysis, 3rd-grade education, not smoking, and not having a psychiatric diagnosis were protective for anxiety; male gender, 3rd-grade education, sufficient income, not smoking, and not having a psychiatric diagnosis were protective for depression. Besides, 3rd-grade education, to have sufficient income, not to smoke, and not to have a psychiatric diagnosis were protective for negative self-perception and hostility scores. Male gender, being 3rd grade, not smoking, and not to have psychiatric diagnosis were found protective for somatization. Mental disorders are common among university students. In our study, the mental states of the students were evaluated and it was found that the mental state could be related to many factors. More psychiatric symptoms are observed in the participants in their first year at the university. Depression, negative self, and hostility subscale scores of the students who found the income insufficient were found to be significantly higher. Similar to our study, students who were raised in families without financial stability were more likely to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety. Female sex was found risky for depression and somatization. In a study conducted by medical school students, the risk of psychological morbidity in female students was found to be 3 times more than men. Being 1st-grade student, smoking, and previous psychiatric diagnosis were found to be related to all sub-factors. For depression and somatization, the female gender appears to be risky. Also, depression, negative self, and hostility situations were found to be related with income. Improving psychological counseling and guidance services for university students can help them overcome problems.