scholarly journals Canadian Post-Secondary Student Mental Health and Wellbeing: A Descriptive Analysis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke Linden ◽  
Heather Stuart
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
High Stress ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Post Secondary Students

BACKGROUND: Post-secondary students are considered to be at risk of chronic stress and languishing mental health, but there has been little analysis of the available population-level data. The purpose of this study was to examine the overall and sex-specific prevalence of self-reported stress, distress, mental illness, and help seeking behaviours among Canadian post-secondary students. METHODS: Using the 2016 National College Health Assessment II dataset, we analyzed frequencies for each item of interest, stratified by sex. Chi-square analyses were conducted to test for statistical significance between groups. RESULTS: A large proportion of students self-reported high stress levels as well as diagnoses of depression and anxiety. More female students reported higher levels of stress and distress than did male students. Similarly, more female students reported having sought help for mental health related difficulties compared to male students. While all students demonstrated a willingness to seek help in the future, this was true for significantly more females than males. CONCLUSIONS: Findings point to the need for increased upstream approaches, including mental health promotion and mental illness prevention to minimize stress and distress among post-secondary students.

scholarly journals Cross-Sectional Trend Analysis of the NCHA II Survey Data on Canadian Post-Secondary Student Mental Health and Wellbeing from 2013 to 2019

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke Linden ◽  
Randall Boyes ◽  
Heather Stuart
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Post Secondary Students

BACKGROUND: Canadian post-secondary students are considered to be at risk for chronic stress and languishing mental health, but there has been no longitudinal analysis of the available population-level data. The purpose of this study was to examine trends in the overall and sex-specific prevalence of self-reported stress, distress, mental illness, and help seeking behaviours among Canadian post-secondary students over the past several years. METHODS: Using the 2013, 2016, and 2019 iterations of the National College Health Assessment II Canadian Reference data, we conducted a trend analysis for each variable of interest, stratified by sex. The significance and magnitude of the changes were modelled using cumulative linked ordinal regression models and log binomial regression models.RESULTS: With few exceptions, we observed significant increases over time in the proportion of students reporting symptoms of psychological distress, mental illness diagnoses, and help seeking for mental health related challenges. Female students reported a higher level of stress than male students, with a statistically significant increase in the stress level reported by female students observed over time. In all cases, larger proportions of female students were observed compared to male students, with the proportion of female students who self-reported mental illness diagnoses nearly doubling that of males. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis indicated that the proportion of students self-reporting mental health related challenges, including stress, psychological distress, and diagnosed mental illnesses increased between the 2013, 2016 and 2019 iterations of the NCHA II conducted among Canadian post-secondary students.

scholarly journals Cross-sectional trend analysis of the NCHA II survey data on Canadian post-secondary student mental health and wellbeing from 2013 to 2019

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke Linden ◽  
Randall Boyes ◽  
Heather Stuart
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Post Secondary Students

Abstract Background Canadian post-secondary students are considered to be at risk for chronic stress and languishing mental health, but there has been no longitudinal analysis of the available population-level data. The purpose of this study was to examine trends in the overall and sex-specific prevalence of self-reported stress, distress, mental illness, and help seeking behaviours among Canadian post-secondary students over the past several years. Methods Using the 2013, 2016, and 2019 iterations of the National College Health Assessment II Canadian Reference data, we conducted a trend analysis for each variable of interest, stratified by sex. The significance and magnitude of the changes were modelled using cumulative linked ordinal regression models and log binomial regression models. Results With few exceptions, we observed significant increases over time in the proportion of students reporting symptoms of psychological distress, mental illness diagnoses, and help seeking for mental health related challenges. Female students reported a higher level of stress than male students, with a statistically significant increase in the stress level reported by female students observed over time. In all cases, larger proportions of female students were observed compared to male students, with the proportion of female students who self-reported mental illness diagnoses nearly doubling that of males. Conclusions Our analysis indicated that the proportion of students self-reporting mental health related challenges, including stress, psychological distress, and diagnosed mental illnesses increased between the 2013, 2016 and 2019 iterations of the NCHA II conducted among Canadian post-secondary students.

The prevalence of distress, depression, anxiety, and substance use issues among Indigenous post-secondary students in Canada

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-274
Author(s):  
Nolan K Hop Wo ◽  
Kelly K Anderson ◽  
Lloy Wylie ◽  
Arlene MacDougall
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Secondary Students ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
College Health ◽  
Indigenous Students ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
National College Health Assessment ◽  
Post Secondary Students

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of mental illness and substance use among Indigenous students attending Canadian post-secondary institutions. We obtained data from the National College Health Assessment - American College Health Association Spring 2013 survey, which includes 34,039 participants in 32 post-secondary institutions across Canada. We calculated prevalence estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CI). We compared Indigenous and non-Indigenous students using age- and sex-adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) obtained from Poisson regression models. Of the total sample, 1,110 (3.3%) post-secondary students self-identified as Indigenous. Within the past 12 months, Indigenous students had higher odds of intentionally injuring themselves (PR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.27–1.84), seriously considering suicide (PR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.12–1.56), attempting suicide (PR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.16–2.62), or having been diagnosed with depression (PR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.08–1.47) or anxiety (PR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.02–1.35) when compared with non-Indigenous students. Indigenous students also had higher odds of having a lifetime diagnosis of depression (PR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.17–1.47) when compared with non-Indigenous students. Indigenous students were more likely to report binging on alcohol (PR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.02–1.19), using marijuana (PR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.06–1.37), and using other recreational drugs (PR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.06–1.63) compared to non-Indigenous students. This study demonstrates that Indigenous students at post-secondary institutions across Canada experience higher prevalence of mental health and related issues compared to the non-Indigenous student population. This information highlights the need to assess the utilization and ensure the appropriate provision of mental health and wellness resources to support Indigenous students attending post-secondary institutions.

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