Abstract
Purpose
To identify variables associated with common mental disorders in an Australian university population.
Methods
We invited all Australia-based students from a large public university (N = 24,209) to participate in a web-based student mental health survey. Outcome measures included the patient health questionnaire depression, anxiety, and eating disorders modules, and the alcohol use disorders identification test. Explanatory variables of interest included gender, age, year of study, degree type, financial means, parental education, domestic/international status, and sexual orientation. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to estimate independent associations with the four outcomes.
Results
Complete responses were received from 6,044 students (25 %). Proportions reporting depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and harmful drinking were 8, 13, 14, and 8 %, respectively, while 30 % had at least one of these disorders. The groups with the highest rates of disorder were women, 25–34-year-olds, students on low income, and homosexual or bisexual students. Parental education was not associated with disorder, nor was international/domestic status.
Conclusion
This is the first study examining mental disorders in a population-based sample of university students in Australia. Given increasing student numbers and participation of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, policy is urgently needed to promote better mental health in this population, to routinely identify vulnerable students, and to intervene early. Groups in particular need are women, students on low incomes, and homosexual or bisexual students.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Begg S, Vos T, Barker B, Stevenson C, Stanley L, Lopez A (2007) The burden of disease and injury in Australia, 2003. AIHW 2007. Cat. no. PHE 82. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Canberra
ABS (2008) National survey of mental health and wellbeing: summary of results, 2007. ABS 2008. Cat. no. 4326.0. ABS, Canberra
Vazquez F, Torres A, Otero P, Diaz O (2011) Prevalence, comorbidity, and correlates of DSM-IV axis 1 mental disorders among female university students. J Nerv Ment Dis 199(6):379–383
Eisenberg D, Gollust SE, Golberstein E, Hefner JL (2007) Prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, and suicidality among university students. Am J Orthopsychiatry 77(4):534–542
Eisenberg D, Downs MF, Golberstein E, Zivin K (2009) Stigma and help seeking for mental health among college students. Med Care Res Rev 66(5):522–541
Zivin K, Eisenberg D, Gollust SE, Golberstein E (2009) Persistence of mental health problems and needs in a college student population. J Affect Disord 117(3):180–185
White S, Reynolds-Malear JB, Cordero E (2011) Disordered eating and the use of unhealthy weight control methods in college students: 1995, 2002, and 2008. Eat Disord J Treat Prev 19(4):323–334
Karam E, Kypri K, Salamoun M (2007) Alcohol use among college students: an international perspective. Curr Opin Psychiatry 20(3):213–221
Kypri K, Cronin M, Wright CS (2005) Do university students drink more hazardously than their non-student peers? Addiction 100(5):713–714
Dawson DA, Grant BF, Stinson FS, Chou PS (2004) Another look at heavy episodic drinking and alcohol use disorders among college and noncollege youth. J Stud Alcohol 65(4):477–488
Slutske WS (2005) Alcohol use disorders among US college students and their non-college-attending peers. Arch Gen Psychiatry 62(3):321–327
Kypri K, Bell ML, Hay GC, Baxter J (2008) Alcohol outlet density and university student drinking: a national study. Addiction 103(7):1131–1138
Cousins K, Kypri K (2008) Alcohol advertising in the New Zealand university student press. Drug Alcohol Rev 27(5):566–569
Kypri K, Hallett J, Howat P, McManus A, Maycock B, Bowe S et al (2009) Randomized controlled trial of proactive web-based alcohol screening and brief intervention for university students. Arch Intern Med 169(16):1508–1514
Kessler RC, Andrews G, Colpe LJ, Hiripi E, Mroczek DK, Normand SL et al (2002) Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychol Med 32(6):959–976
Andrews B, Wilding JM (2004) The relation of depression and anxiety to life-stress and achievement in students. Br J Psychol 95(Pt 4):509–521
Weitzman ER (2004) Poor mental health, depression, and associations with alcohol consumption, harm, and abuse in a national sample of young adults in college. J Nerv Ment Dis 192(4):269–277
Ibrahim AK, Kelly SJ, Glazebrook C (2011) Analysis of an Egyptian study on the socio-economic distribution of depressive symptoms among undergraduates. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 47:927–937
Oswalt SB, Wyatt TJ (2011) Sexual orientation and differences in mental health, stress, and academic performance in a national sample of U.S. college students. J Homosex 58(9):1255–1280
Stallman HM (2008) Prevalence of psychological distress in university students—implications for service delivery. Aust Fam Physician 37(8):673–677
Stallman HSI (2009) Prevalence of mental health problems in Australian university health services. Aust Psychol 44(2):122–127
Andrews A, Chong JLY (2011) Exploring the wellbeing of students studying at an Australian university. J Aust N Z Stud Serv Assoc 37:9–39
Leahy CM, Peterson RF, Wilson IG, Newbury JW, Tonkin AL, Turnbull D (2010) Distress levels and self-reported treatment rates for medicine, law, psychology and mechanical engineering tertiary students: cross-sectional study. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 44(7):608–615
Stallman HM (2010) Psychological distress in university students: a comparison with general population data. Aust Psychol 45(4):249–257
Bradley DB, Noonan P, Nugent H, Scales B (2008) Australian government review of higher education: final report. DEEWR, Canberra
Kypri K, Samaranayaka A, Connor J, Langley JD, Maclennan B (2011) Non-response bias in a web-based health behaviour survey of New Zealand tertiary students. Prev Med 53(4–5):274–277
Kypri K, Gallagher SJ, Cashell-Smith ML (2004) An internet-based survey method for college student drinking research. Drug Alcohol Depend 76(1):45–53
Turner CF, Ku L, Rogers SM, Lindberg LD, Pleck JH, Sonenstein F (1998) Adolescent sexual behavior, drug use, and violence: increased reporting with computer survey technology. Science 280:867–873
Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB (1999) Validation and utility of a self-report version of PRIME-MD: the PHQ primary care study. Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders. Patient Health Questionnaire. JAMA 282(18):1737–1744
American Psychiatric Association (2000) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th edn, text revision. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC
Kroenke K, Spitzer R, Williams J (2001) The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med 16:606–613
Saunders JB, Aasland OG, Babor TF, de la Fuente JR, Grant M (1993) Development of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): WHO collaborative project on early detection of persons with harmful alcohol consumption–II. Addiction 88(6):791–804
Heatherton TF, Kozlowski LT, Frecker RC, Fagerstrom KO (1991) The Fagerstrom test for Nicotine Dependence: a revision of the Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire. Br J Addict 86(9):1119–1127
Lin IF, Schaeffer NC (1995) Using survey participants to estimate the impact of nonparticipation. Public Opin Q 59:236–258
Kypri K, McCambridge J, Wilson A, Attia J, Sheeran P, Bowe S et al (2011) Effects of Study Design and Allocation on participant behaviour—ESDA: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials 12(1):42
Wild TC, Cunningham J, Adlaf E (2001) Nonresponse in a follow-up to a representative telephone survey of adult drinkers. J Stud Alcohol 62(2):257–261
Van Loon AJ, Tijhuis M, Picavet HS, Surtees PG, Ormel J (2003) Survey non-response in the Netherlands. Effects on prevalence estimates and associations. Ann Epidemiol 13(2):105–110
Maclennan B, Kypri K, Langley J, Room R (2012) Non-response bias in a community survey of drinking, alcohol-related experiences and public opinion on alcohol policy. Drug Alcohol Depend. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22677457. Accessed 6 June 2012
Meiklejohn J, Connor J, Kypri K (2012) The effect of low survey response rates on estimates of alcohol consumption in a general population survey. PLoS ONE 7(4):e35527
Torvik FA, Rognmo K, Tambs K (2012) Alcohol use and mental distress as predictors of non-response in a general population health survey: the HUNT study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 47(5):805–816
Lundberg I, Damstrom Thakker K, Hallstrom T, Forsell Y (2005) Determinants of non-participation, and the effects of non-participation on potential cause-effect relationships, in the PART study on mental disorders. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 40(6):475–483
Edwards P, Roberts I, Clarke M, DiGuiseppi C, Pratap S, Wentz R et al (2002) Increasing response rates to postal questionnaires: systematic review. Br Med J 324(7347):1183
Phelan JCLB, Stueve A, Pescosolido BA (2000) Public conceptions of mental illness in, 1950 and 1996: what is mental illness and is it to be feared? J Health Soc Behav 41:188–207
Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations (2010) Table 2.1. All students by age group and broad level of course, full year 2010. Statistical Publications. http://www.deewr.gov.au/HigherEducation/Publications/HEStatistics/Publications/Pages/2010StudentFullYear.aspx. Accessed 28 July 2012
Hallett J, Howat PM, Maycock BR, McManus A, Kypri K, Dhaliwal SS (2012) Undergraduate student drinking and related harms at an Australian university: web-based survey of a large random sample. BMC Public Health 12(37). http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/37. Accessed 6 June 2012
Reavley N, Jorm A (2010) Prevention and early intervention to improve mental health in higher education students: a review. Early Interv Psychiatry 4(2):132–142
Moreira MT, Smith LA, Foxcroft D (2009) Social norms interventions to reduce alcohol misuse in university or college students. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, issue 3, Art. No.: CD006748. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD006748.pub2
Tait RJ, Christensen H (2010) Internet-based interventions for young people with problematic substance use: a systematic review. MJA 192(11):S15–S21
Hallett J, Maycock B, Kypri K, Howat P, McManus A (2009) Development of a web-based alcohol intervention for university students: processes and challenges. Drug Alcohol Rev 28(1):31–39
University of Melbourne, Orygen Youth Health Research Centre (2011) Guidelines for tertiary education institutions. http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/nationalsummit/links.html. Accessed 28 July 2012
Acknowledgments
David Said received a small grant from the School of Psychology, University of Newcastle to conduct this study. Kypros Kypri is funded via a National Health & Medical Research Council Career Development Award.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval
The protocol for the research project has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee the University of Newcastle, approval no: H-2009-0366. The research has been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki. All subjects provided informed consent prior to their inclusion in the study and participant anonymity has been preserved.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Said, D., Kypri, K. & Bowman, J. Risk factors for mental disorder among university students in Australia: findings from a web-based cross-sectional survey. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 48, 935–944 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-012-0574-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-012-0574-x