Mental Health Repository

Prevalence, age-of-onset, and course of mental disorders among 72,288 first-year university students from 18 countries in the World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative.

Journal: Journal of psychiatric research

Volume: 183

Issue:

Year of Publication:

Abstract summary

The college years are a developmentally sensitive period for mental disorder onset. Reliable epidemiological data are critical for informing public health responses. This study aimed to estimate prevalence and socio-demographic distributions of common DSM-5 mental disorders among first-year university students from 77 universities across 18 countries.Data were collected 2017-2023 in the World Mental Health International College Student Initiative with n = 72,288 university students. Online surveys assessed alcohol use, attention-deficit/hyperactivity, bipolar, drug use, generalized anxiety, major depression, panic, and post-traumatic stress disorders with validated screening scales. Socio-demographics included student age, sex at birth, gender modality, sexual orientation, and parent education.The weighted mean response rate was 20.8%. Data were calibrated for differential response rates by sex at birth and age. 65.2% of respondents screened positive for lifetime mental disorders and 57.4% for 12-month mental disorders. Females had higher prevalence of internalizing disorders and males of substance and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders. Older age was associated with lower prevalence of most 12-month but not lifetime mental disorders. Non-heterosexual sexual orientation and identifying as transgender were associated with highest prevalence of most mental disorders. Parent education was for the most part uncorrelated with prevalence.Although prevalence might have been overestimated due to the low response rate and possible screening scale miscalibration, results nonetheless suggest that mental disorders are highly prevalent among first-year university students worldwide and are widely distributed with respect to socio-demographic characteristics. These findings highlight the need to implement effective interventions to better support first-year university student mental health.

Authors & Co-authors: Mason Andre A Rapsey Charlene C Sampson Nancy N Lee Sue S Albor Yesica Y Al-Hadi Ahmad N AN Alonso Jordi J Al-Saud Nouf N Altwaijri Yasmin Y Andersson Claes C Atwoli Lukoye L Auerbach Randy P RP Ayuya Caroline C Báez-Mansur Patricia M PM Ballester Laura L Bantjes Jason J Baumeister Harald H Bendtsen Marcus M Benjet Corina C Berman Anne H AH Bootsma Erik E Chan Silver C N SCN Cohut Irina I Covarrubias Díaz Couder María Anabell MA Cuijpers Pim P David Oana O Dong Dong D Ebert David D DD Nobrega Mireia Felez MF Gaete Jorge J Forero Carlos García CG Gili Margalida M Gutiérrez-García Raúl R Haro Josep Maria JM Hasking Penelope P Hudec Kristen K Hunt Xanthe X Hurks Petra P Husky Mathilde M Jaguga Florence F Jansen Leontien L Kählke Fanny F Klinkenberg Elisabeth E Küchler Ann-Marie AM Langer Álvaro I ÁI Léniz Irene I Liu Yan Y Mac-Ginty Scarlett S Martínez Vania V Mathai Muthoni M McLafferty Margaret M Miranda-Mendizabal Andrea A Murray Elaine E Musyoka Catherine M CM Nedelcea Catalin C Ngai Chun Ho CH Núñez Daniel D O'Neill Siobhan S Piqueras Jose A JA Popescu Codruta A CA Robinson Kealagh K Rodriguez-Jimenez Tiscar T Scarf Damian D Siu Oi Ling OL Stein Dan J DJ Struijs Sascha Y SY Tomoiaga Cristina C Valdés-García Karla Patricia KP van Luenen Sanne S Vigo Daniel V DV Wang Angel Y AY Wiers Reinout R Wong Samuel Y S SYS Kessler Ronald C RC Bruffaerts Ronny R

Study Outcome

Statistics

Citations :
Authors : 76

Identifiers

Doi : 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.02.016
SSN : 1879-1379

Study Population

Males,Females

Mesh Terms

Other Terms

College students;Mental disorders;WMH-ICS

Study Design

Study Approach

Country of Study

Publication Country

England