Psychological distress among first-year health science students in Taiwan
Background: Most first-year college/university students are adolescents or young adults and therefore are at high risk of developing psychological distress symptoms. Little is known about psychological distress among first-year university students in Taiwan, especially those studying health science-...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2022-08-01
|
| Series: | Heliyon |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022014098 |
| _version_ | 1828358298705854464 |
|---|---|
| author | Nai-Hung Chen Li-Mei Liu Hsing-Yuan Liu I-Chang Hsieh Ching-Ching Tsai |
| author_facet | Nai-Hung Chen Li-Mei Liu Hsing-Yuan Liu I-Chang Hsieh Ching-Ching Tsai |
| author_sort | Nai-Hung Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Most first-year college/university students are adolescents or young adults and therefore are at high risk of developing psychological distress symptoms. Little is known about psychological distress among first-year university students in Taiwan, especially those studying health science-related fields. Objective: To understand the prevalence of psychological distress and its five dimensions (depression and anxiety, self-harm, impulsivity, and psychiatric disturbance) and explore the relationship between student-specific variables (enrollment year, age, sex, program duration, and college) and psychological distress. Methods: A secondary analysis design was adopted. We enrolled 4,212 first-year university students throughout 2016, 2017, and 2018. Health screening data were obtained using the Mental Health Scale for Undergraduate-Screening Assessment (MHSU-SA) for first-year health science students at a private technical-vocational university in northern Taiwan. Results: Many first-year university students were at-risk for depression (4.2%), anxiety (8.2%), self-harm (5.2%), impulsivity (2.6%), psychiatric disturbance (4.4%), and overall psychological distress (4.2%). Students in a four-year program were more than twice as likely to demonstrate psychological distress symptoms compared to their two-year (night) program counterparts (odds ratio = 2.05, 95% confidence interval = 1.20–3.49, p < 0.01). Conclusion: Some first-year health science university students showed psychological distress, including anxiety, self-harm, psychiatric disturbance, depression, and impulsivity. Students in four-year programs were twice as likely to show symptoms of psychological distress than those in two-year (night) programs. Therefore, mental health screenings are recommended to facilitate early detection and timely intervention for at-risk students. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T03:26:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e8dbb7b948fd4dc2ae2f5d5c1f1e1c5e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T03:26:46Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-e8dbb7b948fd4dc2ae2f5d5c1f1e1c5e2022-12-22T02:15:08ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402022-08-0188e10121Psychological distress among first-year health science students in TaiwanNai-Hung Chen0Li-Mei Liu1Hsing-Yuan Liu2I-Chang Hsieh3Ching-Ching Tsai4Department of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROCDepartment of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROCDepartment of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROCDepartment of Cardiology, Heart Failure Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan, ROC; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROCDepartment of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Cardiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan, ROC; Corresponding author.Background: Most first-year college/university students are adolescents or young adults and therefore are at high risk of developing psychological distress symptoms. Little is known about psychological distress among first-year university students in Taiwan, especially those studying health science-related fields. Objective: To understand the prevalence of psychological distress and its five dimensions (depression and anxiety, self-harm, impulsivity, and psychiatric disturbance) and explore the relationship between student-specific variables (enrollment year, age, sex, program duration, and college) and psychological distress. Methods: A secondary analysis design was adopted. We enrolled 4,212 first-year university students throughout 2016, 2017, and 2018. Health screening data were obtained using the Mental Health Scale for Undergraduate-Screening Assessment (MHSU-SA) for first-year health science students at a private technical-vocational university in northern Taiwan. Results: Many first-year university students were at-risk for depression (4.2%), anxiety (8.2%), self-harm (5.2%), impulsivity (2.6%), psychiatric disturbance (4.4%), and overall psychological distress (4.2%). Students in a four-year program were more than twice as likely to demonstrate psychological distress symptoms compared to their two-year (night) program counterparts (odds ratio = 2.05, 95% confidence interval = 1.20–3.49, p < 0.01). Conclusion: Some first-year health science university students showed psychological distress, including anxiety, self-harm, psychiatric disturbance, depression, and impulsivity. Students in four-year programs were twice as likely to show symptoms of psychological distress than those in two-year (night) programs. Therefore, mental health screenings are recommended to facilitate early detection and timely intervention for at-risk students.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022014098Psychological distressUniversity studentsFirst-year studentsMental health |
| spellingShingle | Nai-Hung Chen Li-Mei Liu Hsing-Yuan Liu I-Chang Hsieh Ching-Ching Tsai Psychological distress among first-year health science students in Taiwan Heliyon Psychological distress University students First-year students Mental health |
| title | Psychological distress among first-year health science students in Taiwan |
| title_full | Psychological distress among first-year health science students in Taiwan |
| title_fullStr | Psychological distress among first-year health science students in Taiwan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Psychological distress among first-year health science students in Taiwan |
| title_short | Psychological distress among first-year health science students in Taiwan |
| title_sort | psychological distress among first year health science students in taiwan |
| topic | Psychological distress University students First-year students Mental health |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022014098 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT naihungchen psychologicaldistressamongfirstyearhealthsciencestudentsintaiwan AT limeiliu psychologicaldistressamongfirstyearhealthsciencestudentsintaiwan AT hsingyuanliu psychologicaldistressamongfirstyearhealthsciencestudentsintaiwan AT ichanghsieh psychologicaldistressamongfirstyearhealthsciencestudentsintaiwan AT chingchingtsai psychologicaldistressamongfirstyearhealthsciencestudentsintaiwan |