While there is a growing body of empirical studies focusing on the social and behavioral predictors of psychological health, the mechanisms that may underlie the reported associations have not been adequately explored. This study aimed to examine the association of social and lifestyle factors with psychological distress, and the potential mediating role of the lifestyle factors in the estimated associations between social circumstances and psychological distress. A total of 742 tertiary level students (53% females) from a range of socio-economic backgrounds and multiple educational institutions participated in this cross-sectional study. The 12-items General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was utilized for measuring psychological distress. Data related to students’ socio-demographic characteristics, family social circumstances, and lifestyle factors were also collected. Modified Poisson regression analysis was used to estimate the risk ratios (RR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI). The multivariable regression analysis suggests heightened risks of psychological distress associated with low parental Socio-Economic Position (SEP) (RR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.07, 1.76), childhood poverty (RR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.55), and living away from the family (RR: 1.28; 95% CI: 1.07, 1.54). Among the lifestyle factors, past smoking, physical inactivity, inadequate fruit intake, and poor sleep quality were strongly associated with psychological distress and these associations persisted when the family social circumstances and lifestyle factors were mutually adjusted for. The lifestyle factors did not considerably mediate the estimated associations between family social circumstances and psychological distress. The social and lifestyle factors operated independently to increase students’ risk of psychological distress. Accordingly, while promoting students’ healthy lifestyles may reduce the overall burden of psychological distress, any equity initiative aiming to minimize the social inequalities in psychological health should be targeted to improving the living conditions in early life.

中文翻译：

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孟加拉国大学生家庭社会环境与心理困扰之间的关联：生活方式因素在多大程度上发挥中介作用？


尽管越来越多的实证研究关注心理健康的社会和行为预测因素，但所报告的关联背后的机制尚未得到充分探索。本研究旨在探讨社会和生活方式因素与心理困扰的关系，以及生活方式因素在社会环境和心理困扰之间估计关联中的潜在中介作用。来自不同社会经济背景和多个教育机构的总共 742 名高等教育学生（53% 为女性）参与了这项横断面研究。 12 项一般健康问卷 (GHQ-12) 用于测量心理困扰。还收集了与学生的社会人口特征、家庭社会环境和生活方式因素相关的数据。修正泊松回归分析用于估计风险比 (RR) 及其 95% 置信区间 (CI)。多变量回归分析表明，心理困扰的风险增加与父母社会经济地位（SEP）较低（RR：1.36；95％CI：1.07，1.76）、儿童贫困（RR：1.31；95％CI：1.11，1.55）相关。 ，并且远离家人居住（RR：1.28；95% CI：1.07，1.54）。在生活方式因素中，过去吸烟、缺乏身体活动、水果摄入不足和睡眠质量差与心理困扰密切相关，并且当家庭社会环境和生活方式因素相互调整时，这些关联仍然存在。生活方式因素并没有在很大程度上调节家庭社会环境和心理困扰之间的估计关联。 社会和生活方式因素独立作用，增加了学生心理困扰的风险。因此，虽然促进学生健康的生活方式可能会减轻心理困扰的总体负担，但任何旨在最大限度地减少心理健康方面的社会不平等的公平举措都应以改善早年的生活条件为目标。