Abstract
ABSTRACT Gender differences among undergraduates are mainly found in the prevalence of common mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, somatic complaints, and sexual violence. However, there is a lack of information in the literature about gender differences in academic life satisfaction and psychological vulnerability among freshmen. Thus, this study aimed to identify gender differences in demographics, mental health, academic life satisfaction, and psychological vulnerability of freshmen. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 560 Portuguese freshmen. An online survey was used to collect data in all 29 Lisbon District colleges. Data were collected through a demographic and academic data questionnaire, the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-38), the Academic Life Satisfaction Scale (ALLS), the Psychological Vulnerability Scale (PVS), and a question to assess students’ perception of their vulnerability. We found significant gender-related differences (p < .05) in all subscales of MHI-38, the ALLS-Personal Satisfaction subscale, and the self-perception of vulnerability. Overall, freshmen women presented worse scores in all subscales of MHI-38, in ALLS-Personal Satisfaction subscale, and a higher self-perception of vulnerability. These findings emphasize the need to design and implement mental health promotion activities, mainly focused on the needs of freshmen women, in colleges.
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