Depression and anxiety among university students in Hong Kong

Abstract

Introduction: Entry into tertiary education is a critical juncture where adolescents proceed to adulthood. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression and anxiety, and factors associated with such symptoms, among university undergraduate students in Hong Kong. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was employed. A total of 1200 undergraduate students from eight University Grants Committee-funded universities were invited to complete three sets of questionnaires, including the 9-item patient health questionnaire for screening of depressive symptoms, the 7-item generalised anxiety disorder scale for screening of anxiety symptoms, and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Results: Among the valid responses (n=1119) analysed, 767 (68.5%) respondents indicated mild to severe depressive symptoms, which were associated with mild to severe anxiety symptoms. Several lifestyle and psychosocial variables, including regular exercise, self-confidence, satisfaction with academic performance, and optimism towards the future were inversely related with mild to severe depressive symptoms. A total of 599 (54.4%) respondents indicated mild to severe anxiety symptoms, which were associated with level of academic difficulty. Depression and anxiety among university students in Hong Kong New knowledge added by this study • Up to 9% of university students in Hong Kong exhibit moderately severe to severe depressive symptoms. • Up to 5.8% of university students in Hong Kong exhibit severe anxiety symptoms. • Respondents reporting regular exercise, higher self-confidence, and better satisfaction with both friendship and academic performance had fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms. Implications for clinical practice or policy • Health care workers and organisations such as universities should be aware of potential depression and anxiety among university undergraduate students. • Adolescents and young adults in Hong Kong should be educated, to raise social awareness of depression and anxiety among university undergraduate students.

Mental distress, perceived need and barriers to receive professional mental health care among university students

“…The current prevalence of mental distress is higher than what has been reported in previous studies conducted among university students [25,67]. One possible reason for the discrepancy is the difference in the cut-off values used to define mental illness [25,67]. The other explanation for the difference might be resulted from not using locally validated instrument [67].…”

“…It was developed specifically for use in LMICs [55]. SRQ-20 has been previously translated into Amharic language in Ethiopia, locally validated [57,58], and used in different community surveys [59][60][61] and institution-based surveys [25,26,33,62] with cut-off points > 4 [62], > 7 [26], > 8 [33] and > 11 [25]. SRQ-20 has good psychometric properties (i.e.…”

“…A cross-sectional study in the Chinese university showed that the prevalence of depression and anxiety are 68.5% and 54.4% respectively [24]. Similarly, the prevalence of depression and anxiety among Ethiopian university students ranges from 21.6-49% [25,26].…”

Anxiety Prevalence and its Associated Factors Among University Students In Malaysia: A National Cross-Sectional Study

“…Similarly, anxiety has been reported to be associated with frequent drinking and bingeing by anxious individuals to cope with their emotional distress [35]. However, the insignificant relationship between drinking habit and alcohol consumption with anxiety has been reported among Canadian Youth and university students in Hong Kong [36,37]. Alcohol consumption and smoking are common customs during social activities in many populations; therefore, the association between alcohol consumption and smoking habit with anxiety can be insignificant in some of the studies [36,38,39].…”

Mental distress, perceived need and barriers to receive professional mental health care among university students

“…A research evidence shows that anxiety and depression are emerging public health problem among university students because of the range of challenging stressors they experience [15]. In a crosssectional study in the Chinese university, the prevalence of depression and anxiety were 68.5% and 54.4%, respectively [16]. In another cross-cultural a web-based survey which covered 17,348 university students from 23 high, middle, and low-income countries reported an average depression prevalence of 20% [17].…”