El-Ashker Said, Alharbi Abdulmajeed, Mahmoud Somaya, Al-Awad Feras, Alghamdi Ahlam, Alaqeel Nouf, Al-Hariri Mohammed
Self-Development Department, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Psychology, College of Education, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
SAGE Open Med. 2025 Jan 2;13:20503121241310912. doi: 10.1177/20503121241310912. eCollection 2025.
The mental burden faced by university students in their early years is not frequently reported in the literature.
The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence and predictors of depression among preparatory (first) year university students using a predictive test developed from general health and well-being questionnaires.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among university students in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia from March 2023 to June 2023. A self-administered electronic general health and well-being questionnaire was implemented. Written informed consent was obtained from the participants after explaining the study's purposes. The questionnaire consisted of three parts. Part I described the objective of the study and maintained the confidentiality of the data, part II contained questions about demographic data, and part III contained the scales of the items to assess the physical and psychological health.
The findings demonstrated a significant positive correlation between depressive symptoms and both perceived stress ( = 0.444, < 0.01) and perceived burdens ( = 0.735, < 0.01). In addition, there were significant negative correlations between the depressive symptoms and gender ( = -0.144, < 0.05), economic level ( = -0.178, < 0.05), and social support ( = -0.312, < 0.01). Furthermore, the results revealed that body mass index ( = 0.272, t(146) = 4.636, < .001), perceived stress ( = 0.182, t(146) = 2.910, < 0.01), and perceived burdens ( = 0.593, t(146) = 9.507, < .001) were significant predictors of depressive symptoms among Saudi university junior students.
Our findings emphasize the need for tailored mental health support services to address depression and its predictors, especially during critical transition periods like the early stages of university life, as early detection and intervention can lead to improved management and better control of the depression.
大学生早年面临的心理负担在文献中报道较少。
本研究旨在使用由一般健康和幸福感问卷开发的预测测试，调查预科（大一）学生中抑郁症的患病率及预测因素。
2023年3月至2023年6月在沙特阿拉伯东部地区的大学生中进行了一项横断面研究。实施了一份自我管理的电子一般健康和幸福感问卷。在向参与者解释研究目的后获得了书面知情同意。问卷由三部分组成。第一部分描述了研究目的并维护数据的保密性，第二部分包含有关人口统计学数据的问题，第三部分包含评估身心健康的项目量表。
研究结果表明，抑郁症状与感知压力（r = 0.444，p < 0.01）和感知负担（r = 0.735，p < 0.01）之间存在显著正相关。此外，抑郁症状与性别（r = -0.144，p < 0.05）、经济水平（r = -0.178，p < 0.05）和社会支持（r = -0.312，p < 0.01）之间存在显著负相关。此外，结果显示体重指数（r = 0.272，t(146) = 4.636，p <.001）、感知压力（r = 0.182，t(146) = 2.910，p < 0.01）和感知负担（r = 0.593，t(146) = 9.507，p <.001）是沙特大学低年级学生抑郁症状的显著预测因素。
我们的研究结果强调需要提供量身定制的心理健康支持服务，以解决抑郁症及其预测因素，特别是在大学生活早期等关键过渡时期，因为早期发现和干预可以改善抑郁症的管理和控制。
