Commission on University Coexistence and Mental Health
The Longitudinal Study of University Mental Health (ELSAM) of the Millennium Nucleus Imhay, in which more than 7,000 students from five CRUCH universities participated, revealed five areas of mental health problems: Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Substance Use Disorder, Harmful Alcohol Consumption, High Suicidal Risk.
The CRUCH University Coexistence and Mental Health Commission, together with Imhay, held the webinar “How is mental health in our university student communities?”.
For to reflect on the mental health issues in university student communities, the University Coexistence and Mental Health Commission of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH), together with Millennium Nucleus to Improve the Mental Health of Adolescents and Young People (Imhay), carried out the Webinar “How is mental health in our university student communities?”, on Wednesday, June 28.
At the event, Vania Martínez, director of Imhay, academic at the University of Chile and principal investigator of the study, announced the Main results of the 2020-2022 period of the Longitudinal Study of University Mental Health (ELSAM), also known as “EnlaUvamosjuntxs”.
For the study, a survey was applied to first-year students from five CRUCH universities across all cohorts, aimed at identifying aspects such as: depression, anxiety, attention deficit, mania, substance use, suicidal risk, self-harm, personality disorder, treatment history, barriers to seeking help, adverse childhood experiences, current stressors, and social support.
He study, which will last five years, The year 2020 began with students from the University of Chile, four more universities joined in 2021: the University of the Andes, the Talca University, the University of O'Higgins and the Austral University of Chile. In this second application, 7,255 students participated, representing an average total response rate of 351 (421 female and 261 male). "This is quite good compared to other countries, because most countries have a response rate of 101," Professor Martínez stated.
Main results
The application of the The survey identified five areas of mental health problems: Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Substance Use Disorder, Harmful Alcohol Use, and High Suicidal Risk. In these dimensions, women and men show differences that in several cases are significant (see comparative table).
In this regard, Martínez points out that women show higher rates of depression and anxiety than substance use disorders, while men have a higher rate of harmful alcohol consumption. Regarding suicide, women are at higher risk than men.
“Between 2020 and 2022, we saw an increase in the suicide risk for women, which is a cause for alarm, as it rose from 6% in 2020 to 12% in 2022. The same is true for harmful alcohol consumption, which rose from 16% to 23%, and which, preliminarily, we believe could be related to a high socioeconomic level and the narrowing of the gender gap,” the expert commented.
Regarding the main barriers to seeking help, they identified the iThe uncertainty of where to go or who to consult, and the fact that young people prefer to face the problem on their own..
Regarding the at-risk groups that present anxiety and depression, the study identified the following groups of young people: those belonging to the LGBTIAQ+ group; those with a low socio-economic level; those with excessive workloads; those without an adequate space to study; those without a personal computer; those in a relationship; and those with low participation in community activities.
Along with the survey results, The expert also shared a six-stage, multi-level model of mental health intervention for university students: mental health education and promotion; prevention and skills development; early detection and warning; mental health support and services; timely referral; and crisis management.
“We have seen that It is important to address this from within universities. and we believe that, across the board, the use of Information and communication technologies are a contribution. Participatory design is also necessary., "where the young people themselves help us design the strategy," Professor Martinez said.
Challenges for universities
Following the presentation, the president of the CRUCH Mental Health subcommittee and Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Catholic University of Temuco, Bertha Escobar pointed out that much of The findings of the study highlight the precariousness of community life.. “We are at a point where the coexistence of students entering university is a key issue. Therefore, I believe that an important factor is to consider the relational and social aspects as a significant part of the problem,” he emphasized.
To this, the Coordinator of the Student Welfare Department of the University of La Serena, Patricia Astroza added that “the Models of intervention in mental health should be developed, starting from the promotion of healthy lifestyles and prevention., with all the actors involved within the universities.”.
“We need to evaluate the actions we are taking in institutions, share those results and the good practices that are being implemented "And, of course, to work in an intersectoral manner, establishing the limits of interventions within universities and how to work with the primary care network," said Professor Astroza, who highlighted the work being carried out by the CRUCH's Commission on Coexistence and Mental Health.
Given this situation, Vania Martínez emphasized the importance of taking action, connecting with scientific evidence and aiming for intersectoral collaboration. to make better decisions in health systems and universities.
“We already know the problem exists, and we need to move forward and take action. The other thing is to connect with research and put pressure on the health system to also assume its role and provide answers. There are also other ministries and sectors that could influence this work, thus aiming for intersectoral collaboration,” Martínez stated.
Likewise, Scarlett McGinty, an Imhay researcher and PhD candidate at the Population Health and Research Service of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London, noted that Now the important thing is how we can have models that can integrate the entire university community and specifically the academy in mental health prevention.
“We often hear young people say that university is a risk factor, and this isn’t necessarily true, as university can also be a protective factor. So there’s a challenge here in how to integrate health into the curriculum and into all the activities of universities as a whole,” McGinty said.
Regarding this, Bertha Escobar stated that It is also necessary to "review how far we should go as universities. Every time a mental health condition is diagnosed, we are already arriving too late, and there are personal, social, and academic costs. We need to work with the public sector, whose mental health budget within the overall health budget remains very precarious.
About ELSAM
It is worth noting that The longitudinal study is part of an international project of the World Health Organization (WHO) entitled World Mental Health International College Student Initiative (WMH-ICS), led by Harvard University and with a presence in 18 countries, which seeks to generate epidemiological data, evaluate internet-based interventions and disseminate initiatives that demonstrate effectiveness.
“Being part of this international initiative allows us to discuss these results with other countries and also learn about their data on the interventions they are carrying out,” Vania Martínez noted regarding the difference with other types of studies that are not internationally standardized.
Watch the webinar here
Text and images: CRUCH Communications
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