Gandhi Subi, Jordan Alexandra, Glaman Ryan, Morrow Brendan
Department of Medical Lab Sciences, Public Health, and Nutrition Science, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, TX, United States.
Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, & Environmental Science, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, United States.
Front Psychiatry. 2024 Nov 18;15:1453323. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1453323. eCollection 2024.
Safeguarding college students' mental health and well-being poses a challenge for college administrators and clinicians because of the unique circumstances students face and the limited literature on their needs. Prior to the pandemic, depression and anxiety were already on the rise among college students, but the changes associated with it may have exacerbated these issues. Our study aimed to explore factors influencing college students' mental health and identify common trends in their experiences that could assist organizations and policymakers in the future.
The study participants (n = 571) were chosen using a convenience sample of undergraduate and graduate students attending a Central Texas university. We employed the Qualtrics survey platform to collect data on multiple demographic variables, behavioral health, and other health outcomes of students in the summer semester of 2021. Our objective in this study was to investigate the various factors that contribute to mental health conditions, particularly anxiety, and depression, independently and jointly, by employing two validated tools - Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), which measures depression, and General Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7), which measures anxiety.
Both the tools displayed satisfactory internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients (α) of 0.921 for the PHQ-9 (9-item) scale and 0.943 for the GAD-7 (7-item) scale. The prevalence of depression and anxiety among participants was 39.4% and 40.1%, respectively, with 31% of participants overall reporting both conditions. Among the explored factors, age, race, parent/guardian's level of education, campus residence status, and health insurance status were associated with depression (p < 0.05), whereas gender, age, race, and parent/guardian's level of education were associated with anxiety (p < 0.05). Academically, several factors related to learning difficulties (i.e., staying motivated to learn, finding a quiet place to learn) were associated with the severity of depression and anxiety severity, demonstrated through composite scores.
Robust longitudinal studies should be carried out to ascertain key influencers that affect students' mental health, and colleges and universities should create policies and protocols to provide support for students during major catastrophes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, taking into account these influencing factors.
由于大学生面临的独特情况以及关于他们需求的文献有限，保障大学生的心理健康和幸福对高校管理人员和临床医生构成了挑战。在疫情之前，大学生中的抑郁和焦虑就已经呈上升趋势，但与之相关的变化可能加剧了这些问题。我们的研究旨在探讨影响大学生心理健康的因素，并确定他们经历中的共同趋势，以便未来能帮助相关组织和政策制定者。
研究参与者（n = 571）采用便利抽样法选取，来自德克萨斯州中部一所大学的本科生和研究生。我们使用Qualtrics调查平台收集了2021年夏季学期学生的多个人口统计学变量、行为健康及其他健康结果的数据。本研究的目的是通过使用两种经过验证的工具——测量抑郁的患者健康问卷9（PHQ - 9）和测量焦虑的广泛性焦虑障碍7（GAD - 7），独立和联合调查导致心理健康状况，特别是焦虑和抑郁的各种因素。
两种工具都显示出令人满意的内部一致性，PHQ - 9（9项）量表的克朗巴哈α系数（α）为0.921，GAD - 7（7项）量表的为0.943。参与者中抑郁和焦虑的患病率分别为39.4%和40.1%，总体上31%的参与者报告同时患有这两种疾病。在探索的因素中，年龄、种族、父母/监护人的教育水平、校园居住状况和健康保险状况与抑郁相关（p < 0.05），而性别、年龄、种族和父母/监护人的教育水平与焦虑相关（p < 0.05）。在学业方面，一些与学习困难相关的因素（即保持学习动力、找到安静的学习场所）通过综合得分显示与抑郁严重程度和焦虑严重程度相关。
应开展有力的纵向研究以确定影响学生心理健康的关键因素，高校应制定政策和方案，在重大灾难（如新冠疫情）期间考虑这些影响因素，为学生提供支持。
