The Relationship between Sense of Coherence and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among First-Year Students in Princess Nourah University

Abstract

Since Saudi Arabia is committed to improving education and is interested in understanding factors affecting students’ academic achievement, this study aims to assess first-year students’ baseline assessment scores for depression, anxiety, stress, and sense of coherence (SOC) to help with the prescription of an individualized mental health intervention. Additionally, the study assesses the correlation between students' evaluation scores for depression, anxiety, stress, and SOC as well as the likelihood that these scores will predict students' SOC. A cross-sectional questionnaire structure was utilized to measure the scores of 364 first-year college students for SOC, depression, anxiety, and distress. SOC and students’ depression, anxiety, and stress scores are significantly correlated. SOC has a negative predicting ability on depression, anxiety, and stress (F (1,442) = 388.65, p < .001, and R2 = .47), whereas a high SOC has been linked to low stress, emotional distress, and anxiety ratings. The present study explored the impact of an individualized mental health intervention on DASS-21 and SOC for the students at Princess Nourah University. Also, it identified some prevalence of mental health issues among university students and reported nonadherence to psychiatric medical use and the prevalence of psychological pressure among university students.