Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Br J Clin Psychol. 2009 Nov;48(Pt 4):397-410. doi: 10.1348/014466509X410343. Epub 2009 Feb 27.
Students are reported to have more symptoms of mental health problems than other young people. Disordered eating and self-harm are common but evidence on comorbidity, especially in community samples, is limited. This study aimed to examine their co-occurrence, onset timing, and the help-seeking of UK university students.
Two surveys were administered to undergraduate students at a single UK university. One was administered electronically (UNIversity Quality of Life and Learning survey) and completed by 5,045 students. The second, questionnaire-based, was completed by 805 students (Student Well-Being study). Both surveys included questions about disordered eating, self-harm thoughts and behaviours, and psychological well-being.
A strong relationship was found between reports of disordered eating and self-harm, with co-occurrence observed in 4.5 and 4.9% of students in the two surveys. Disordered eating and self-harm often pre-dated university entrance and there was no evidence of increasing levels of pathology by university year group. A younger age of onset of disordered eating behaviours was reported in those with co-occurring disordered eating and self-harm. Help-seeking rates were low.
The risk of co-occurrence and earlier onset-timing of disordered eating are consistent with a limited clinical literature. Information on co-occurrence of mental health problems, their history, and low rates of help-seeking identifies some of the challenge to universities and practitioners. These results suggest the value of access to screening resources and the involvement of service-users in shaping the support provided.
据报道，学生比其他年轻人有更多的心理健康问题症状。饮食失调和自伤很常见，但关于共病的证据，特别是在社区样本中，是有限的。本研究旨在检查英国大学生的共病情况、发病时间和寻求帮助的情况。
对英国一所大学的本科生进行了两项调查。一项通过电子方式进行（大学生生活质量和学习调查），共有 5045 名学生完成。第二项是基于问卷调查的，共有 805 名学生完成（学生幸福感研究）。这两项调查都包括关于饮食失调、自伤想法和行为以及心理健康的问题。
在两项调查中，报告的饮食失调与自伤之间存在很强的关系，在 4.5%和 4.9%的学生中观察到共病。饮食失调和自伤通常在进入大学之前就已经发生，而且没有证据表明随着大学年级的增加而出现病理水平的增加。在同时存在饮食失调和自伤的患者中，饮食失调行为的发病年龄较早。寻求帮助的比例很低。
饮食失调共病和发病时间较早的风险与有限的临床文献一致。关于心理健康问题的共病情况、病史和寻求帮助的低比例，确定了一些大学和从业者面临的挑战。这些结果表明，获得筛查资源和服务使用者参与塑造所提供支持的价值。
