Abstract
An increase in reported psychological distress, particularly among adolescent girls, is observed across a range of countries. Whether a similar trend exists among students in higher education remains unknown. The aim of the current study was to describe trends in self-reported psychological distress among Norwegian college and university students from 2010 to 2018. We employed data from the Students' Health and Wellbeing Study (SHoT), a nationwide survey for higher education in Norway including full-time students aged 18-34. Numbers of participants (participation rates) were n = 6065 (23%) in 2010, n = 13 663 (29%) in 2014 and n = 49 321 (31%) in 2018. Psychological distress was measured using the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25). Overall, a statistically significant increase in self-reported psychological distress was observed over time across gender and age-groups. HSCL-25 scores were markedly higher for women than for men at all time-points. Effect-size of the mean change was also stronger for women (time-by-gender interaction: χ2 = 70.02, df = 2, p < 0.001): in women, mean HSCL-25 score increased from 1.62 in 2010 to 1.82 in 2018, yielding a mean change effect-size of 0.40. The corresponding change in men was from 1.42 in 2010 to 1.53 in 2018, giving an effect-size of 0.26. Both the level and increase in self-reported psychological distress among Norwegian students in higher education are potentially worrying. Several mechanisms may contribute to the observed trend, including changes in response style and actual increase in distress. The relative low response rates in SHoT warrant caution when interpreting and generalising the findings.
Highlights
The mental health of college and university students is a concern at campuses (Gallagher, 2015), as recently highlighted in the mass media (e.g. The Guardian, 2019) and research literature alike (Eisenberg, Gollust, Golberstein, & Hefner, 2007; Eisenberg, Hunt, Speer, & Zivin, 2011; Twenge et al, 2010; Xiao et al, 2017)
An increase in self-reported psychological distress was observed between each time point from 2010 to 2018 and as an overall trend
The increase was more pronounced among the female than among the male students, as indicated by moderate effect size (ES = 0.40) for the change in mean Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) score from 2010 to 2018 among women and small effect size (ES = 0.26) of change among men during the same period
Summary
The mental health of college and university students is a concern at campuses (Gallagher, 2015), as recently highlighted in the mass media (e.g. The Guardian, 2019) and research literature alike (Eisenberg, Gollust, Golberstein, & Hefner, 2007; Eisenberg, Hunt, Speer, & Zivin, 2011; Twenge et al, 2010; Xiao et al, 2017). Mental health problems, both in terms of self-reported psychological distress and mental disorders as assessed by clinical interviews, are highly prevalent in higher education student populations according to recent reports. Data from the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys across 21 countries indicated that one in five of college students had a 12-month DSM-IV disorder, as diagnosed using the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) (Auerbach et al, 2016). The aim of the current study was to describe trends in self-reported psychological distress among Norwegian college and university students from 2010 to 2018. A statistically significant increase in self-reported psychological distress was observed over time across gender and age-groups. Both the level and increase in self-reported psychological distress among Norwegian students in higher education are potentially worrying. The relative low response rates in SHoT warrant caution when interpreting and generalising the findings
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