Depression and suicide ideation among students accessing campus health care.

Abstract

Depression and suicide are of increasing concern on college campuses. This article presents data from the College Health Intervention Projects on the frequency of depression and suicide ideation among 1,622 college students who accessed primary care services in 4 university clinics in the Midwest, Northwest, and Canada. Students completed the Beck Depression Inventory and other measures related to exercise patterns, alcohol use, sensation seeking, and violence. The frequency of depression was similar for men (25%) and women (26%). Thought of suicide was higher for men (13%) than women (10%). Tobacco use, emotional abuse, and unwanted sexual encounters were all associated with screening positive for depression. "Days of exercise per week" was inversely associated with screening positive for depression. Because the majority of students access campus-based student health centers, medical providers can serve a key role in early identification and intervention. With every 4th student reporting symptoms of depression and every 10th student having suicidal thoughts, such interventions are needed.Keywords university students; full and reduced-form logistic regression; randomized controlled trials; depression; suicidal ideation; university health clinics Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Michael Fleming, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Abbott Hall, 710 N. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60611. Electronic mail may be sent to m-fleming@northwestern.edu. Brian Harahan is now at the University of Minnesota. Michael Fleming is now at Northwestern University. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptAm J Orthopsychiatry. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 January 1. Depression and other mental health disorders are a significant public health problem on college campuses. Many students experience their first psychiatric episode while at college, and 12 to 18% of students have a diagnosable mental illness (Mowbray, Megivern & Mandiberg, 2006). Epidemiological studies suggest that the 15 to 21 age category (typical college years) has the highest past-year prevalence rate of mental illness at 39%. Eisenberg (2007) reported that the general prevalence of depression and anxiety is 16% among undergraduate students and 13% among graduate students. Based on findings from the American College Health Association (ACHA) National College Health Assessment (NCHA), the rates of students reporting having been diagnosed with depression has increased from 10% in 2000 to 18% in 2008 (2000, 2008). A number of factors contribute to the initial presentation of depression during college. The transition itself from home to college places additional life stressors on young adults as they explore their identity, strive to master new skills, are away from established social support systems, and have increased time demands (Dyson & Renk, 2006).The consequences of depression are significant. Depression has long been associated with academic impairment (Heiligenstein, Guenther, Hsu, & Herman, 1996). Depr...

Suicidal Ideation in University Students: Prevalence and Association With School and Gender

“…Suicidal ideation should be a major concern for the health services of universities (Mackenzie et al, 2011). The analysis conducted in this study, relative to lifetime suicidal ideation, showed that 12.6% of students had experienced, at least once in their lives, wishes of being dead.…”

Rumination is independently associated with poor psychological health: Comparing emotion regulation strategies

“…Second, this study tested a wide range of psychological health variables, including both health risk indicators and outcomes. The health outcomes studieddepression, poor sleep quality and anxiety -are those that are highly prevalent in the sample studied (Buboltz et al, 2001;Mackenzie et al, 2011;Wittchen et al, 1998). Moreover, both the health risk indicators and outcomes predict future poor health (Achat et al, 2000;Chida & Steptoe, 2009;Gopinath et al, 2007;Krueger & Friedman, 2009;Leiker & Hailey, 1988;McGee & Williams, 2000;Scheier & Carver, 1992;Trzesniewski et al, 2006;Woodward & Fergusson, 2001).…”

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Suicidal Behavior and Psychological Distress in University Students: A 12-nation Study

“…For instance, in a sample of 14,175 US students, Eisenberg, Hunt, and Speer (2013) found that 17.3% had major depression, 4.1% panic disorder, 7.0% generalized anxiety, 6.3% suicidal ideation and 15.3% reported nonsuicidal self-injury. In another study with 1622 Canadian students, Mackenzie, Wiegel, Mundt, Brown, Saewyc, Heiligenstein, et al (2011) found that 25% of men and 26% of women had depression. Moreover, in a systematic review of 40 scientific articles on mental health problems in Canadian and US medical students, Dyrbye, Thomas and Shanafelt (2006) concluded that the prevalence of depression in medical students was high.…”