Positive mental health and well-being among a third level student population

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dc.contributor.authorDavoren, Martin P.
dc.contributor.authorFitzgerald, Eimear
dc.contributor.authorShiely, Frances
dc.contributor.authorPerry, Ivan J.
dc.date.accessioned2016-02-17T11:45:32Z
dc.date.available2016-02-17T11:45:32Z
dc.date.issued2013
dc.description.abstractIntroduction: Much research on the health and well-being of third level students is focused on poor mental health leading to a dearth of information on positive mental health and well-being. Recently, the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale (WEMWBS) was developed as a measurement of positive mental health and well-being. The aim of this research is to investigate the distribution and determinants of positive mental health and well-being in a large, broadly representative sample of third level students using WEMWBS. Methods: Undergraduate students from one large third level institution were sampled using probability proportional to size sampling. Questionnaires were distributed to students attending lectures in the randomly selected degrees. A total of 2,332 self-completed questionnaires were obtained, yielding a response rate of 51% based on students registered to relevant modules and 84% based on attendance. One-way ANOVAs and multivariate logistic regression were utilised to investigate factors associated with positive mental health and well-being. Results: The sample was predominantly female (62.66%), in first year (46.9%) and living in their parents' house (42.4%) or in a rented house or flat (40.8%). In multivariate analysis adjusted for age and stratified by gender, no significant differences in WEMWBS score were observed by area of study, alcohol, smoking or drug use. WEMWBS scores were higher among male students with low levels of physical activity (p=0.04). Men and women reporting one or more sexual partners (p<0.001) were also more likely to report above average mental health and well-being. Conclusion: This is the first study to examine positive mental health and well-being scores in a third level student sample using WEMWBS. The findings suggest that students with a relatively adverse health and lifestyle profile have higher than average mental health and well-being. To confirm these results, this work needs to be replicated across other third level institutions.en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.articleide74921
dc.identifier.citationDavoren MP, Fitzgerald E, Shiely F, Perry IJ (2013) Positive Mental Health and Well-Being among a Third Level Student Population. PLoS ONE 8(8): e74921. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0074921en
dc.identifier.doi10.1371/journal.pone.0074921
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.issued8en
dc.identifier.journaltitlePLOS ONEen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/2368
dc.identifier.volume8en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen
dc.rights© 2013 Davoren et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are crediteden
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectPhysical activityen
dc.subjectCollege studentsen
dc.subjectAlcohol useen
dc.subjectPsychological distressen
dc.subjectUniversity studentsen
dc.subjectSexual behavioren
dc.subjectDrug useen
dc.subjectExerciseen
dc.subjectSampleen
dc.subjectAdolescentsen
dc.titlePositive mental health and well-being among a third level student populationen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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