Prevalence of problematic psychological symptoms in samples of Canadian postsecondary students

Abstract

Objectives

To estimate the one-month prevalence of problematic psychological symptoms among Canadian postsecondary students, and to compare the prevalence by student characteristics.

Participants

Three samples of students from two postsecondary institutions.

Methods

In a cross-sectional study conducted in 2017, we measured self-reported problems related to symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress using questions from the functioning module of the WHO Model Disability Survey. We used modified Poisson regression modeling to compute prevalence ratios (95%CI) to compare the prevalence by student characteristics.

Results

Our study included 1392 students (participation rate 35%–77%). Across samples, the one-month prevalence of moderate-extreme problems ranged from 50.8%–64.7% for anxiety, 41.2%–60.8% for stress, and 29.4%–43.6% for depression. Such problems were consistently more prevalent among females, poor-quality sleepers, students with food insecurity and those with insufficient social support.

Conclusions

Significant burden of problems related to psychological symptoms exists within the postsecondary student population and varies by student characteristics.

Keywords:

• Problems
• psychological symptoms
• depression
• anxiety
• stress
• postsecondary students

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the postdoctoral fellowship funded by the Ontario Tech University and the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, Ontario, Canada to Dr. Dan Wang. We would also like to thank Ontario Tech University, CMCC, and the postsecondary students for their support and participation in the study.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors declare that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements of Canada and received approval from the Research Ethics Boards of Ontario Tech University (#14515) and the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (#1709B03).

Previous presentation

An abstract with part of the preliminary results of this study was presented at the conference of Canadian Society for Epidemiology and Biostatistics 2021, June 1–3, 2021; Canada. Abstract title: The prevalence of self-reported psychological functional limitations in samples of Ontario postsecondary students. Wang, D., Martin, K., Hogg-Johnson, S., Papaconstantinou, E., & Côté, P. (2021).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by Ontario Trillium Foundation (grant number SD97818). We also extend our gratitude for the following contributions: 1) Funding from the Canada Research Chairs program, supporting Professor Pierre Côté, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation at Ontario Tech University; 2) Postdoctoral fellowship for Dr. Dan Wang, funded by Ontario Tech University and the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College.