Self-referred mental disorders in university students

Abstract

Objective: To study the prevalence of self-reported mental disorders among undergraduate students, and to identify associations between mental disorders and students' demographics. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in 2005 and 2006. A self-report questionnaire was anonymously filled out by students in the classroom. A sample proportional to study fields was obtained involving 1.290 students, from both genders, regularly enrolled in courses from the following study fields: Humanities, Arts, Health Sciences, Natural Sciences, Exact Sciences and Technology, at the campi of the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) in Campinas and Limeira, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. The questionnaire adopted comprised demographic questions and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) was used for mental health assessment. For the sake of statistical analysis, a significance level of 5%. Results: 58% of overall undergraduate students reported at least one mental disorder (69% of female students and 45% of male ones). Conclusions: The present study indicates that female students report mental suffering more frequently than male students and they present more feelings of inadequacy.