Social Support and Mental Health Among College Students

This study is the first, to our knowledge, to evaluate the relationship between mental health and social support in a large, random sample of college students. A Web-based survey was administered at a large, public university, with 1,378 students completing the measures in this analysis (response ra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of orthopsychiatry 2009-10, Vol.79 (4), p.491-499
Main Authors: Hefner, Jennifer, Eisenberg, Daniel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Biological and medical sciences
College Students
Demography
Depression - psychology
Ethnic Groups - psychology
Family
Female
Health Problems
Human
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Mental disorders
Mental Health
Mental Health - statistics & numerical data
Mental illness
Mental stress
Miscellaneous
Peer Group
Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Public health
Quality of Health Care
Risk
Risk Factors
Social Support
Socioeconomic Factors
Students
Students - psychology
Universities
Well-being
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Summary:This study is the first, to our knowledge, to evaluate the relationship between mental health and social support in a large, random sample of college students. A Web-based survey was administered at a large, public university, with 1,378 students completing the measures in this analysis (response rate = 57%). The results support our hypothesis that students with characteristics differing from most other students, such as minority race or ethnicity, international status, and low socioeconomic status, are at greater risk of social isolation. In addition, the authors found that students with lower quality social support, as measured by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, were more likely to experience mental health problems, including a sixfold risk of depressive symptoms relative to students with high quality social support. These results may help administrators and health providers to identify more effectively the population of students at high risk for mental illness and develop effective interventions to address this significant and growing public health issue.
ISSN:0002-9432
1939-0025
DOI:10.1037/a0016918