College students are at an increased risk of mental distress. The purpose of this study was to determine whether mental and lifestyle factors differed according to self-reported levels of psychological distress.
Design and setting:
A self-report questionnaire comprising the Kessler-6 Psychological Distress Scale, Revised Life Orientation Test, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and 24-hour recall of lifestyle behaviours was administered to 195 undergraduate college students at a Midwestern US university.
Methods:
Respondents were grouped into categories of low, moderate and severe mental distress using established cut-points for the Kessler-6 Psychological Distress Scale. Between-group differences were assessed to determine whether the mental and lifestyle variables under investigation differed according to magnitude of mental distress.
Results:
Significant differences were found between the three categories of mental distress and amounts of optimism, self-esteem and social support. Analysis of the lifestyle variables suggested groups were different for behaviours pertaining to computer screen time, fruit consumption and sugar-sweetened beverage intake when categorised into the three-tier groupings. No significant differences were found for the remaining lifestyle variables or for body mass index. Regression analysis found low levels of optimism, self-esteem and social support significantly predicted mental distress.
Conclusion:
Results of this study suggested higher amounts of optimism, self-esteem and social support were associated with decreased levels of mental distress in a sample of college students. Additional research is required to determine the role of lifestyle variables in mental distress.
Al-DaghriNMAl-OthmanAAlbanyanA. (2014) Perceived stress scores among Saudi students entering universities: A prospective study during the first year of university life. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health11: 3972–3981.
2.
AndrewsGSladeT (2001) Interpreting scores on the Kessler psychological distress scale (K10). Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health25: 494–497.
3.
BiddleSJAsareM (2011) Physical activity and mental health in children and adolescents: A review of reviews. British Journal of Sports Medicine45: 886–895.
4.
BlanchflowerDGOswaldAJStewart-BrownS (2013) Is psychological well-being linked to the consumption of fruit and vegetables?Social Indicators Research114: 785–801.
5.
BlancoCOkudaMWrightC. (2008) Mental health of college students and their non-college-attending peers: Results from the National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Archives of General Psychiatry65: 1429–1437.
6.
BrissetteIScheierMFCarverCS (2002) The role of optimism in social network development, coping, and psychological adjustment during a life transition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology82: 102–111.
7.
CardwellJMLewisEGSmithKC. (2013) A cross-sectional study of mental health in UK veterinary undergraduates. The Veterinary Record173: 266.
8.
CarpenterKMHasinDSAllisonDB. (2000) Relationships between obesity and DSM-IV major depressive disorder, suicide ideation, and suicide attempts: Results from a general population study. American Journal of Public Health90: 251.
ChapmanDPPerryGSStrineTW (2005) The vital link between chronic disease and depressive disorders. Preventing Chronic Disease2: A14.
12.
ChauJYGrunseitACCheyT. (2013) Daily sitting time and all-cause mortality: A meta-analysis. PLoS ONE8: e80000.
13.
CohenSWillsTA (1985) Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin98: 310–357.
14.
DunnOJ (1964) Multiple comparisons using rank sums. Technometrics6: 241–252.
15.
EdmondsCJCrombieRGardnerMR (2013) Subjective thirst moderates changes in speed of responding associated with water consumption. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience7: 363.
El AnsariWOskrochiRHaghgooG (2014) Are students’ symptoms and health complaints associated with perceived stress at university? Perspectives from the United Kingdom and Egypt. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health11: 9981–10002.
18.
FurukawaTAKesslerRCSladeT. (2003) The performance of the K6 and K10 screening scales for psychological distress in the Australian National Survey of mental health and well-being. Psychological Medicine33: 357–362.
19.
GlaesmerHRiefWMartinA. (2012) Psychometric properties and population-based norms of the Life Orientation Test Revised (LOT-R). British Journal of Health Psychology17: 432–445.
20.
GoldneyRDDunnKIAirTM. (2009) Relationships between body mass index, mental health, and suicidal ideation: Population perspective using two methods. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry43: 652–658.
21.
GottesmanDLewisMS (1982) Differences in crisis reactions among cancer and surgery patients. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology50: 381–388.
22.
HamerMStamatakisE (2013) Prospective study of sedentary behavior, risk of depression, and cognitive impairment. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise46: 718–723.
23.
HamerMCoombsNStamatakisE (2014) Associations between objectively assessed and self-reported sedentary time with mental health in adults: An analysis of data from the Health Survey for England. BMJ Open4: e004580.
24.
HuntJEisenbergD (2010) Mental health problems and help-seeking behavior among college students. Journal of Adolescent Health46: 3–10.
25.
JackaFNMykletunABerkM (2012) Moving towards a population health approach to the primary prevention of common mental disorders. BMC Medicine10: 149.
26.
JanssenILeBlancAG (2010) Systematic review of the health benefits of physical activity and fitness in school-aged children and youth. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity7: 40.
27.
KesslerRCAmmingerGPAguilar-GaxiolaS. (2007a) Age of onset of mental disorders: A review of recent literature. Current Opinion in Psychiatry20: 359.
28.
KesslerRCAngermeyerMAnthonyJC. (2007b) Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of mental disorders in the World Health Organization’s World Mental Health Survey Initiative. World Psychiatry3: 168–176.
29.
KesslerRCBerglundPDemlerO. (2005a) Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry62: 593–602.
30.
KesslerRCChiuWTDemlerO. (2005b) Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of 12-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry62: 617–627.
31.
KesslerRCGreenJGGruberMJ (2010) Screening for serious mental illness in the general population with the K6 screening scale: Results from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) survey initiative. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research19: 4–22.
32.
KhanABrownWJBurtonNW (2013) What physical activity contexts do adults with psychological distress prefer?Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport16: 417–421.
33.
KirkpatrickSISubarAFDouglassD. (2014) Performance of the Automated Self-Administered 24-hour Recall relative to a measure of true intakes and to an interviewer-administered 24-hour recall. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition100: 233–240.
34.
KronishIMEdmondsonDLiY. (2012) Post-traumatic stress disorder and medication adherence: Results from the Mind Your Heart Study. Journal of Psychiatric Research46: 1595–1599.
35.
LienLLienNHeyerdahlS. (2006) Consumption of soft drinks and hyperactivity, mental distress, and conduct problems among adolescents in Oslo, Norway. American Journal of Public Health96: 1815–1820.
36.
MaileyELMullenSPMojtahediMC. (2012) Unobserved mental health profiles are associated with weight and physical activity change in female college freshmen: A latent profile analysis. Mental Health and Physical Activity5: 76–84.
37.
Mulvaney-DayNEAlegriaMSribneyW (2007) Social cohesion, social support, and health among Latinos in the United States. Social Science & Medicine64: 477–495.
38.
PahwaPKarunanayakeCP (2009) Modeling of longitudinal polytomous outcome from complex survey data – Application to investigate an association between mental distress and non-malignant respiratory diseases. BMC Medical Research Methodology9: 84.
39.
ParlettaNMilteCMMeyerBJ (2013) Nutritional modulation of cognitive function and mental health. The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry24: 725–743.
40.
ProchaskaJJSungH-YMaxW. (2012) Validity study of the K6 scale as a measure of moderate mental distress based on mental health treatment need and utilization. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research21: 88–97.
41.
RasmussenHNScheierMFGreenhouseJB (2009) Optimism and physical health: A meta-analytic review. Annals of Behavioral Medicine37: 239–256.
42.
ReevesWCStrineTWPrattLA. (2011) Mental illness surveillance among adults in the United States. MMWR: Surveillance Summaries60: 1–29.
43.
RosenbergM (1965) Society and the Adolescent Self-Image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
44.
RosenbergM (1979) Conceiving the Self. New York: Basic Books.
45.
RosenthalBWilsonWC (2008) Mental health services: Use and disparity among diverse college students. Journal of American College Health57: 61–68.
46.
SaïasTDu RoscoätEVéronL. (2014) Psychological distress in French college students: Demographic, economic and social stressors: Results from the 2010 National Health Barometer. BMC Public Health14: 256.
47.
ScheierMFCarverCS (1985) Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology4: 219–247.
48.
ScheierMFCarverCSBridgesMW (1994) Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): A reevaluation of the Life Orientation Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology67: 1063–1078.
49.
SchmittDPAllikJ (2005) Simultaneous administration of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale in 53 nations: Exploring the universal and culture-specific features of global self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology89: 623–642.
50.
ShiZTaylorAWWittertG. (2010) Soft drink consumption and mental health problems among adults in Australia. Public Health Nutrition13: 1073–1079.
51.
SowisloJFOrthU (2013) Does low self-esteem predict depression and anxiety? A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin139: 213–240.
52.
StallmanHM (2010) Psychological distress in university students: A comparison with general population data. Australian Psychologist45: 249–257.
53.
SubletteMEHibbelnJGalfalvyH. (2006) Omega-3 polyunsaturated essential fatty acid status as a predictor of future suicide risk. American Journal of Psychiatry163: 1100–1102.
54.
TanskanenAHibbelnJRTuomilehtoJ. (2001) Fish consumption and depressive symptoms in the general population in Finland. Psychiatric Services52: 529–531.
55.
TurnerRJ (1981) Social support as a contingency in psychological well-being. Journal of Health and Social Behavior22(4): 357–367.
56.
Ul-HaqZMackayDFFenwickE. (2013) Association between body mass index and mental health among Scottish adult population: A cross-sectional study of 37272 participants. Psychological Medicine25: 1–10.
WilcoxS (2010) Social relationships and PTSD symptomatology in combat veterans. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy2: 175–182.
59.
WilliamsRAHagertyBMYoushaSM. (2002) Factors associated with depression in Navy recruits. Journal of Clinical Psychology58: 323–337.
60.
World Health Organization (WHO) (2005) Promoting mental health: Concepts, emerging evidence, practice (A report of the World Health Organization, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse in collaboration with the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation and the University of Melbourne). Geneva: WHO. Available at: http://who.int/mental_health/evidence/en/promoting_mhh.pdf
61.
ZengerMFinckCZanonC. (2013) Evaluation of the Latin American version of the Life Orientation Test-Revised. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology13: 243–252.
62.
ZimetGDDahlemNWZimetSG. (1988) The multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Journal of Personality Assessment52: 30–41.
