Yared Reta, Blen Nigussie, Mesfin Tadesse, Mohammed Akibu, Keralem Workie; Yohannes Egziabher
Background: Mental distress is a serious problem affecting people all over the world with different status. Reports have shown a significantly high level of psychological distress (PD) among students than their community peers. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of mental distress and associated factors among Debre Berhan university students (DBU).
Methods: Institution based cross-sectional study was employed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of mental distress among undergraduate students of DBU. Data on the magnitude of mental distress were collected using self-administered structured 20 items Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). A Cutoff point of 8 was used to determine the presence of mental distress. Multiple logistic regression was conducted to identify factors associated with mental distress and variables with P-value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Result: A total of 612 students participated in the study which yields in a response rate of 96.5%. Out of the total participants, 358 (61.3%) were males and majority 558 (91.2%) of the participants are between 18 and 23 years of age. Three out of ten students were found to be a victim of mental distress in the study area based on the World Health Organization 20 items SelfReporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) assessment. After adjusting for possible confounders, female student [AOR= 2.45, 95% CI 1.41, 4.27], lack of interest in their department [AOR=2,95% CI, 1.257, 3.19], conflict with fellows [AOR= 3.15, 95% CI, 1.98, 5.9], Not visiting a religious place [AOR= 2.45, 95% CI, 1.41, 4.27] and current use of Alcohol [AOR= 2.4 95% CI, 1.19, 4.87] were found to be factors statistically associated with mental distress.
Conclusion: More than one-quarter of students had mental distress. The likelihood of having mental distress was higher among females, those who do not attend a place of worship, having a conflict with fellows, not having the interest to be rolled in their department and students recently using alcohol. Therefore, students, especially females, need psychological support, and universities need to strengthen the clinical setup and functional referral linkage with mental health institutions.