ABSTRACT

Unmet social determinants of health (SDOH) needs impact college students’ general and mental health, however research is lacking in the cumulative impact of unmet SDOH needs. Utilizing a cross-sectional research design, researchers investigated SDOH, depression, and mental and general health with college students (N = 301). Thirty-seven percent of the variance found in depression was accounted for by unmet SDOH needs and negative self-assessed general health (SAGH). As unmet SDOH needs increase, depression severity and negative SAGH also increase. Furthermore, students are 2.64 times more likely to have unmet SDOH needs, and 3.14 times more likely to have negative SAGH if in the moderate to severe depression group. College students are entering universities with more depression symptomology and our study found that factors related to social determinants of health may be a significant contribution. For college mental health professionals charged with preventing and treating mental health issues such as depression, increased attention to social factors is indicated.

摘要

未满足的健康社会决定因素 (SDOH) 需求会影响大学生的一般健康和心理健康，但缺乏对未满足的 SDOH 需求的累积影响的研究。利用横断面研究设计，研究人员调查了大学生的 SDOH、抑郁症以及心理和一般健康状况 ( N= 301）。在抑郁症中发现的差异中有 37% 是由未满足的 SDOH 需求和负面自我评估的总体健康状况 (SAGH) 造成的。随着未满足的 SDOH 需求增加，抑郁严重程度和负性 SAGH 也会增加。此外，如果处于中度至重度抑郁症组，学生未满足 SDOH 需求的可能性要高 2.64 倍，而 SAGH 为阴性的可能性要高 3.14 倍。进入大学的大学生有更多的抑郁症症状，我们的研究发现，与健康的社会决定因素相关的因素可能是一个重要的贡献。对于负责预防和治疗抑郁症等心理健康问题的大学心理健康专业人员，需要更多地关注社会因素。