Associations Between Social Capital and Depressive Symptoms Among College Students in 12 Countries: Results of a Cross-National Study

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.

‘When They Struggle, I Cannot Sleep Well Either’: Perceptions and Interactions Surrounding University Student and Teacher Well-Being

“…How autonomous students and teachers feel, how competent they perceive themselves to be, and how related they are to their social surroundings constitute central findings concerning the perception of well-being at the university. Taken together, this assumption reflects on previous research (e.g., Stanton et al, 2016;Larson et al, 2017;Stupnisky et al, 2017;Backhaus et al, 2020) and should also be considered to guide future investigations. On the one hand, all three aspects seemed to be relevant and to contribute to a sense of wellbeing for students as well as teachers.…”

“…For instance, previous studies have primarily investigated factors causing academic distress (e.g., Gillespie et al, 2001;Benbassat, 2014;Deasy et al, 2016). Additionally, consequences of distress in terms of psychological ill-being are often reported, such as burnout (e.g., Lackritz, 2004), and depression or anxiety (e.g., Stallman, 2010;Larcombe et al, 2016;Backhaus et al, 2020). In contrast, positive aspects of student and teacher well-being such as engagement, positive affect, or life satisfaction seem to be less frequently researched, although exceptions exist (e.g., Schaufeli et al, 2002;Tay and Diener, 2011;Stanton et al, 2016;Stupnisky et al, 2019).…”

“…In line with this, it is known that university students experience high levels of academic distress and mental health problems. These include psychological and emotional distress ( Larcombe et al, 2015 ; Deasy et al, 2016 ; Baik et al, 2017 ), burnout ( de Broer, 2017 ), and elevated prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress disorders ( Wong et al, 2006 ; Bayram and Bilgel, 2008 ; Backhaus et al, 2020 ). At the same time, it is becoming increasingly apparent that university teachers face similar experiences, as indicated by, for example, high levels of burnout ( Lackritz, 2004 ), work stress ( Gillespie et al, 2001 ), and low work-life balance ( Kinman and Jones, 2008 ).…”

Association between Mental Health Knowledge Level and Depressive Symptoms among Chinese College Students

“…Furthermore, depressive symptoms have been reported to increase the risk of suicidal ideation or behavior [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. As a result, depressive symptoms are a major problem among college students [ 13 , 14 ], and it is necessary to explore the factors related to depressive symptoms.…”

'When they Struggle, I Cannot Sleep Well Either': Perceptions and Interactions Surrounding University Student and Teacher Well-being

“…In line with this, it is known that university students experience high levels of academic distress and mental health problems. These include psychological and emotional distress (Larcombe et al, 2015;Deasy et al, 2016;Baik et al, 2017), burnout (de Broer, 2017), and elevated prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress disorders (Wong et al, 2006;Bayram and Bilgel, 2008;Backhaus et al, 2020). At the same time, it is becoming increasingly apparent that university teachers face similar experiences, as indicated by, for example, high levels of burnout (Lackritz, 2004), work stress (Gillespie et al, 2001), and low work-life balance (Kinman and Jones, 2008).…”