| Title: |
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 |
| Authors: |
WMH-ICS collaborators; Chan, Silver C.N. |
| Publication Year: |
2025 |
| Collection: |
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology: HKUST Institutional Repository |
| Description: |
Background: 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. Methods: 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. Results: 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. Conclusions: 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. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.02.016; http://gateway.isiknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS&KeyUT=001439350600001 |
| DOI: |
10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.02.016 |
| Availability: |
http://repository.hkust.edu.hk/ir/Record/1783.1-149442; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.02.016; http://www.scopus.com/record/display.url?eid=2-s2.0-85219009006&origin=inward; http://gateway.isiknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS&KeyUT=001439350600001 |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.8AF3C4ED |
| Database: |
BASE |