ABSTRACT

Gender differences among undergraduates are mainly found in the prevalence of common mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, somatic complaints, and sexual violence. However, there is a lack of information in the literature about gender differences in academic life satisfaction and psychological vulnerability among freshmen. Thus, this study aimed to identify gender differences in demographics, mental health, academic life satisfaction, and psychological vulnerability of freshmen. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 560 Portuguese freshmen. An online survey was used to collect data in all 29 Lisbon District colleges. Data were collected through a demographic and academic data questionnaire, the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-38), the Academic Life Satisfaction Scale (ALLS), the Psychological Vulnerability Scale (PVS), and a question to assess students’ perception of their vulnerability. We found significant gender-related differences (p < .05) in all subscales of MHI-38, the ALLS-Personal Satisfaction subscale, and the self-perception of vulnerability. Overall, freshmen women presented worse scores in all subscales of MHI-38, in ALLS-Personal Satisfaction subscale, and a higher self-perception of vulnerability. These findings emphasize the need to design and implement mental health promotion activities, mainly focused on the needs of freshmen women, in colleges.

摘要

大学生的性别差异主要体现在抑郁、焦虑、躯体不适、性暴力等常见精神障碍的患病率上。然而，文献中缺乏关于新生学业生活满意度和心理脆弱性的性别差异的信息。因此，本研究旨在确定新生在人口统计学、心理健康、学术生活满意度和心理脆弱性方面的性别差异。对 560 名葡萄牙新生的样本进行了横断面研究。一项在线调查用于收集里斯本地区所有 29 所大学的数据。数据是通过人口统计和学术数据问卷、心理健康量表 (MHI-38)、学术生活满意度量表 (ALLS)、心理脆弱性量表 (PVS)、以及一个评估学生对其脆弱性看法的问题。我们发现了显着的性别差异（p < .05) 在 MHI-38 的所有子量表、ALLS-个人满意度子量表和脆弱性的自我感知中。总体而言，新生女性在 MHI-38 的所有子量表、ALLS-个人满意度子量表中的得分都较差，并且对脆弱性的自我认知更高。这些发现强调了设计和实施心理健康促进活动的必要性，主要关注大学新生女性的需求。