Exploring poor sleep, mental health, and help-seeking intention in university students

2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina L. Zochil ◽  
Einar B. Thorsteinsson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
University Students ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Poor Sleep

The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on mental health and help-seeking behavior among Italian university students. A descriptive and cross-sectional study (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Micaela Di Consiglio ◽  
Sheila Merola ◽  
Tiziana Pascucci ◽  
Cristiano Violani ◽  
Alessandro Couyoumdjian
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
University Students ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Help Seeking Behavior ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Paranoid Ideation ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND To reduce the spread of Covid-19 the Italian government imposed a rigid lockdown and, for a whole year, it kept declaring stringent rules to curb the community spread. The pandemic had a great negative impact on general population mental health, including the one of university students. OBJECTIVE The study provides an overview about symptomatology and help-seeking behavior of university students before and during the Covid-19 pandemic and it aims to evaluate the impact of the different phases of the pandemic on students' mental health. METHODS We collected data in four time points: (1) March 2019-February 2020, (2) March-May 2020, (3) October-December 2020, (4) January 2020-March 2021. A total of 454 students have been included in the study. Students answered a socio-demographic questionnaire and a standardized questionnaire to evaluate a broad range of symptoms of psychopathology. Descriptive analyses have been conducted to explore student’s symptomatology and help-seeking behavior. Considering the significant gender-difference distribution between groups, groups comparison analysis has been conducted considering male and female separately. RESULTS Considering the total sample size, results suggest that students have experienced moderate to severe levels of depressive, obsessive-compulsive and anxiety symptomatology. About 14% of the sample met criteria for at least one mental health disorders, but most of them were not receiving mental health care. Moreover, during the lockdown, compared with other phases, female students reported worse symptoms in the following dimension: obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, paranoid ideation and psychoticism. The increasing symptomatology quickly disappeared after the lifting of the quarantine. Results showed any difference in the male groups. CONCLUSIONS Our findings support the view of a negative mental health condition of university students and indicate an increase of symptomatology during the lockdown among female students. Preventive and support strategies should be improved in the university context.

scholarly journals Psychological responses during the COVID-19 outbreak among university students in Bangladesh

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0245083
Author(s):  
Md. Saiful Islam ◽  
Md. Safaet Hossain Sujan ◽  
Rafia Tasnim ◽  
Md. Tajuddin Sikder ◽  
Marc N. Potenza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
University Students ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Poor Sleep ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Prevalence Estimates ◽  
Prevalence Of Depression ◽  
Public Health Challenge ◽  
Students Satisfaction

Mental health problems in students are considered a public health challenge. We assessed the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress (DAS) with the DASS-21, as well as associated factors, among university students in Bangladesh early in the COVID-19 outbreak. We hypothesized high levels of DAS and their associations with previously reported factors (e.g., poor sleep, lack of exercise, heavy internet use) and those linked to disadvantage (e.g., low monthly family income). We also enquired about participants’ satisfaction with their pursuit of their academic studies while living under COVID-19 restrictions. An internet-based survey was conducted during the month of April 2020, involving 3,122 Bangladeshi university students aged 18 to 29 years (59.5% males; mean age 21.4±2 years). Prevalence estimates of depression, anxiety and stress were, respectively, 76.1%, 71.5% and 70.1% for at least mild symptoms, 62.9%, 63.6% and 58.6% for at least moderate symptoms, 35.2%, 40.3%, and 37.7% for at least severe symptoms and 19.7%, 27.5% and 16.5% for at least very severe symptoms. The present estimates of DAS were more prevalent than in previous pre-COVID-19 studies among Bangladeshi university students. Regression analyses with DASS-21-score as a dependent variable revealed associations with factors mostly as hypothesized. The largest effect size on DAS symptoms was related to students’ satisfaction with their academic studies during the pandemic. As this survey used cross-sectional and self-reported methods, causality cannot be inferred. Mental health monitoring of students attempting to cope with the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak may be useful and feasible.

scholarly journals Psychological responses during the COVID-19 outbreak among university students in Bangladesh

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Saiful Islam ◽  
Safaet Hossain Sujan ◽  
Rafia Tasnim ◽  
Tajuddin Sikder ◽  
Marc N. Potenza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
University Students ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Poor Sleep ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Prevalence Estimates ◽  
Prevalence Of Depression ◽  
Public Health Challenge ◽  
Students Satisfaction

Mental health problems in students are considered a public health challenge. We assessed the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress (DAS) with the DASS-21, as well as associated factors, among university students in Bangladesh early in the COVID-19 outbreak. We hypothesized high levels of DAS and associations between DAS and factors previously reported (poor sleep, lack of exercise, heavy internet use) and those linked to disadvantage (e.g., low monthly family income). We also enquired about participants’ satisfaction with their pursuit of their academic studies while living under COVID-19 restrictions. An internet-based survey was conducted during the month of April 2020, involving 3,122 Bangladeshi university students aged 18 to 29 years (59.5% males; mean age 21.4±2 years). Prevalence estimates of depression, anxiety and stress were, respectively, 76.1%, 71.5% and 70.1% for at least mild symptoms, 62.9%, 63.6% and 58.6% for at least moderate symptoms, 35.2%, 40.3%, and 37.7% for at least severe symptoms and 19.7%, 27.5% and 16.5% for at least very severe symptoms. There was a suggestion that these rates were higher than in previous, pre-COVID-19 studies among Bangladeshi students. Regression analyses with DASS-21-score as a dependent variable revealed associations with factors mostly as hypothesized. The largest effect size on DAS symptoms was related to students’ satisfaction with their academic studies during the pandemic. As this survey used cross-sectional and self-reported methods, causality cannot be inferred. Mental health monitoring of students attempting to cope with the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak may be useful and feasible.

scholarly journals Evaluating mental health literacy and help-seeking behaviours in UK university students: a country wide study

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-319
Author(s):  
Paul Gorczynski ◽  
Wendy Sims-Schouten ◽  
Clare Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
University Students ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Compassion ◽  
Distress Scale ◽  
Mental Well Being

Purpose Despite a high prevalence of mental health problems, few students know where to turn for support. The purpose of this study was to gain a UK wide perspective on levels of mental health literacy amongst university students and to examine the relationship between mental health literacy and mental health help-seeking behaviours. Design/methodology/approach A total of 300 university students in the UK participated in this online cross-sectional study. Participants filled out the mental health literacy scale, the general help-seeking questionnaire, Kessler psychological distress scale 10, The Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale and the self-compassion scale: short form. Findings Overall, 78 per cent of participants indicated mild or more severe symptoms of distress. Students reported lower levels of mental health literacy when compared to students in other nations. Women, bisexuals, and those with a history of mental disorders indicated high levels of mental health literacy. Participants indicated they were most likely to seek support from intimate partners and least likely to seek support from religious leaders. No significant correlations were found between mental health literacy and help-seeking behaviours. Mental health literacy was not correlated with distress, mental well-being or self-compassion. Help-seeking behaviours were only significantly positively correlated with mental well-being. Originality/value Universities should address strategies to improve help-seeking behaviours in an effort to address overall mental well-being. Programmes may wish to help provide students with information about accessing face-to-face support systems. Environmental strategies to foster mental well-being on campus should also be explored.

Time to think

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Norbury
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
University Students ◽  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
First Year ◽  
Poor Sleep ◽  
Start Time ◽  
Quality Sleep

Poor quality sleep is related to mental health and there is increasing interest in student wellbeing and mental health. The aim of the current study was to evaluate sleep quality, daytime dozing, anxiety proneness, chronotype and preferred start time in a sample of university students. A total of 546 university students (age range, 18-55) from two university located in South East England were included and completed an online survey. Participants’ self-reported age, gender, year and field of study. Sleep quality, anxiety, daytime dozing, coffee/caffeine/tobacco use (coded as binary variables), preferred start time and chronotype were also recorded. Data were analysed using independent samples t¬-tests, chi-square, simple mediation-analyses and Analysis of Variance. Across the entire sample 46% percent of participants rated their sleep as fairly bad or very bad. Poor quality sleep was associated with significantly higher levels of anxiety which was not mediated by chronotype. Poor quality sleep is more prevalent in the first year of university and our sample endorsed a start time for university activities approximately 2 hours later than currently timetabled. The current findings demonstrate that a large proportion of students are chronically sleep deprived, obtaining, on average, less than 7 hours sleep per night on week days and this was more marked in first year students. In addition, we show that poor sleep is associated with increased anxiety. Based on the current evidence the authors suggest a review of current university timetabling and examination scheduling merits immediate consideration by policy makers and educators.

Study of Mental Health and Attitude towards Psychological Help Seeking among Management and Science University Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 612
Author(s):  
Bavani A.P Raman ◽  
Venkata Pavan Kumar Sriperumbuduru ◽  
Hasanain Faisal Ghazi ◽  
Fazna Saleem ◽  
Nava Jyothi Dalayi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
University Students ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Psychological Help
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