Backhaus, Insa and Varela, Andrea Ramirez and Khoo, Selina and Siefken, Katja and Crozier, Alyson and Begotaraj, Edvaldo and Fischer, Florian and Wiehn, Jascha and Lanning, Beth A. and Lin, Po-Hsiu and Jang, Soong-nang and Monteiro, Luciana Zaranza and Al-Shamli, Ali and La Torre, Giuseppe and Kawachi, Ichiro (2020) Associations Between Social Capital and Depressive Symptoms Among College Students in 12 Countries: Results of a Cross-National Study. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. p. 644. ISSN 1664-1078, DOI https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00644.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Introduction: A mental health crisis has hit university campuses across the world. This study sought to determine the prevalence and social determinants of depressive symptoms among university students in twelve countries. Particular focus was placed on the association between social capital and depressive symptoms. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among students at their first year at university in Europe, Asia, the Western Pacific, and Latin and North America. Data were obtained through a self-administered questionnaire, including questions on sociodemographic characteristics, depressive symptoms, and social capital. The simplified Beck’s Depression Inventory was used to measure the severity of depressive symptoms. Social capital was assessed using items drawn from the World Bank Integrated Questionnaire to Measure Social Capital. Multilevel analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between social capital and depressive symptoms, adjusting for individual covariates (e.g., perceived stress) and country-level characteristics (e.g., economic development). Results: Among 4228 students, 48% presented clinically relevant depressive symptoms. Lower levels of cognitive (OR: 1.82, 95% CI: 1.44–2.29) and behavioral social capital (OR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.29–1.76) were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. The likelihood of having depressive symptoms was also significantly higher among those living in regions with lower levels of social capital. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that lower levels of individual and macro-level social capital contribute to clinically relevant depressive symptoms among university students. Increasing social capital may mitigate depressive symptoms in college students. © Copyright © 2020 Backhaus, Varela, Khoo, Siefken, Crozier, Begotaraj, Fischer, Wiehn, Lanning, Lin, Jang, Monteiro, Al-Shamli, La Torre and Kawachi.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Funders: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | depressive symptoms; mental health; multilevel analysis; social capital; social determinants of health; university students |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Sports and Exercise Science (formerly known as Centre for Sports & Exercise Sciences) |
| Depositing User: | Ms. Juhaida Abd Rahim |
| Date Deposited: | 04 Oct 2021 03:35 |
| Last Modified: | 04 Oct 2021 03:35 |
| URI: | http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/26040 |
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