Prevalence and Related Risk Factors of Anxiety and Depression among Chinese College Freshmen

Anxiety, depression, and even suicidal ideation are becoming the most common mental health problems affecting Chinese college students. The present study investigated the prevalence of mental health problems and their predictors in a sample of 1048 Chinese college freshmen from Shanghai. We used following brief screening instruments to measure symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as self-control and suicidal ideation: the Patient Health Questionnaire(PHQ-9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale(GAD-7), a mental health and mental health knowledge questionnaire(MK), a mental disease-related attitude questionnaire(MA), questionnaires about the knowledge of psychological services and utilities, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview(MINI) Suicide module, the Self-Rated Health Measurement Scale(SFHMS), the Self-Esteem Scale(SES), the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire(SCQ), and the Perceived Stress Scale-10(PSS-10). Over half of the students suffered from at least one mental health problem. Approximately 65.55% of freshmen had depression, and 46.85% had anxiety. Minority status, low family income, and religious belief were significantly associated with current mental health problems. These findings indicate that mental disorders are highly prevalent among the freshman student population. The prevalence of such mental disorders was greater than that of the general population, and the majority of students with mental health problems require treatment.