Open access

Not Flourishing Mental Health Is Associated with Higher Risks of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in College Students

Publication: Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
19 June 2020

Abstract

Youth mental health is a major public health concern. This study assesses whether baseline and short-term changes in mental health predict anxiety and depressive symptoms in college students. Not flourishing mental health at baseline was a risk factor for high levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Compared to participants with stable flourishing mental health, those who declined to not flourishing and those who were stable not flourishing had increased risks of high anxiety and depressive symptoms. Assessing mental health may be effective in predicting mental disorder symptoms and supports the need for mental health promotion interventions.

Resumen

La santé mentale des jeunes est un enjeu majeur de santé publique. Cette étude évalue si l’état initial et le changement de l’état de santé mentale permettent de prédire les symptômes anxieux et dépressifs chez les étudiants au collégial. Une santé mentale non florissante laisse présager un risque de symptômes anxieux et dépressifs. Comparativement aux jeunes stables florissants, ceux qui déclinent à non florissants et ceux stables non florissants présentent un risque accru de symptômes anxieux et dépressifs. L’évaluation de la santé mentale permet de prédire le risque de symptômes de troubles mentaux et renforce l’importance des interventions de promotion de la santé mentale.

Formats available

You can view the full content in the following formats:

REFERENCES

Adlaf, E., Demers, A., & Glikman, L. (2005). Canadian campus survey 2004. Retrieved from Toronto: https://collections.ola.org/mon/25005/309709.pdf
American College Health Association. (2016). American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II: Canadian Reference Group Executive Summary Spring 2016. Retrieved from Hanover, MD: http://oucha.ca/pdf/2016_NCHA-II_WEB_SPRING_2016_ONTARIO_CANADA_REFERENCE_GROUP_EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY.pdf
Arnett J. J. 2000 Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties American Psychologist 55 5 469
Barry M. M. 2009 Addressing the determinants of positive mental health: Concepts, evidence and practice International Journal of Mental Health Promotion 11 3 4 -17
Barry, M. M., & Jenkins, R. (2007). Implementing mental health promotion: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health. (2015). Environmental Scan of Promising Practices and Indicators Relevant to Campus Mental Health. Retrieved from Toronto, ON.
Clarke A. M., Kuosmanen T., and Barry M. M. 2015 A systematic review of online youth mental health promotion and prevention interventions Journal of Youth and Adolescence 44 1 90 -113
Conley C. S., Durlak J. A., and Kirsch A. C. 2015 A meta-analysis of universal mental health prevention programs for higher education students Prevention Science 16 4 487 -507
Cummings C. M., Caporino N. E., and Kendall P. C. 2014 Comorbidity of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents: 20 years after Psychological Bulletin 140 3 816
Davis N. J. 2002 The promotion of mental health and the prevention of mental and behavioral disorders: Surely the time is right International Journal of Emergency Mental Health 4 1 3 -30
Doré I., O’Loughlin J. L., Sabiston C. M., and Fournier L. 2017 Psychometric evaluation of the Mental Health Continuum–Short Form in French Canadian young adults The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 62 4 286 -294
Doré I., O’Loughlin J. L., Schnitzer M. E., Datta G. D., and Fournier L. 2018 The longitudinal association between the context of physical activity and mental health in early adulthood Mental Health and Physical Activity 14 121 -130
Dumont M. and Provost M. A. 1999 Resilience in adolescents: Protective role of social support, coping strategies, self-esteem, and social activities on experience of stress and depression Journal of Youth and Adolescence 28 3 343 -363
Eid M. and Diener E. 2004 Global judgments of subjective well-being: Situational variability and long-term stability Social Indicators Research 65 3 245 -277
Eime R. M., Harvey J. T., Brown W. J., and Payne W. R. 2010 Does sports club participation contribute to health-related quality of life? Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 42 5 1022 -1028
Eime R. M., Harvey J. T., Sawyer N. A., Craike M. J., Symons C. M., Polman R. C., and Payne W. R. 2013 Understanding the contexts of adolescent female participation in sport and physical activity Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport 84 2 157 -166
Eschenbeck H., Kohlmann C.-W., and Lohaus A. 2007 Gender differences in coping strategies in children and adolescents Journal of Individual Differences 28 1 18 -26
Fernandez A., Howse E., Rubio-Valera M., Thorncraft K., Noone J., Luu X., and Salvador-Carulla L. 2016 Setting-based interventions to promote mental health at the university: A systematic review International Journal of Public Health 61 7 797 -807
Garber J. and Weersing V. R. 2010 Comorbidity of anxiety and depression in youth: Implications for treatment and prevention Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 17 4 293 -306
Garcia-Toro M., Rubio J. M., Gili M., Roca M., Jin C. J., Liu S.-M., and Blanco C. 2013 Persistence of chronic major depression: A national prospective study Journal of Affective Disorders 151 1 306 -312
Ge X., Natsuaki M. N., and Conger R. D. 2006 Trajectories of depressive symptoms and stressful life events among male and female adolescents in divorced and nondivorced families Development and Psychopathology 18 253 -273
Gilmour H. 2014 Positive mental health and mental illness Health Reports 25 9 3
Grant F., Guille C., and Sen S. 2013 Well-being and the risk of depression under stress PloS one 8 7 e67395
Kessler R. C., Amminger G. P., Aguilar‐Gaxiola S., Alonso J., Lee S., and Ustun T. B. 2007 Age of onset of mental disorders: A review of recent literature Current Opinion in Psychiatry 20 4 359
Kessler R. C., Berglund P., Demler O., Jin R., Merikangas K. R., and Walters E. E. 2005 Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Archives of General Psychiatry 62 6 593 -602
Keyes C. L. 2002 The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life Journal of Health and Social Behavior 43 2 207 -222
Keyes C. L. 2005 Mental illness and/or mental health? Investigating axioms of the complete state model of health Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 73 3 539
Keyes C. L. 2007 Promoting and protecting mental health as flourishing: A complementary strategy for improving national mental health American Psychologist 62 2 95
Keyes C. L., Dhingra S. S., and Simoes E. J. 2010 Change in level of positive mental health as a predictor of future risk of mental illness American Journal of Public Health 100 12 2366 -2371
Keyes C. L., Eisenberg D., Perry G. S., Dube S. R., Kroenke K., and Dhingra S. S. 2012 The relationship of level of positive mental health with current mental disorders in predicting suicidal behavior and academic impairment in college students Journal of American College Health 60 2 126 -133
Keyes C. L. and Simoes E. J. 2012 To flourish or not: Positive mental health and all-cause mortality American Journal of Public Health 102 11 2164 -2172
Kieling C., Baker-Henningham H., Belfer M., Conti G., Ertem I., Omigbodun O., and Rahman A. 2011 Child and adolescent mental health worldwide: evidence for action The Lancet 378 9801 1515 -1525
Koivumaa-Honkanen H., Kaprio J., Honkanen R., Viinamäki H., and Koskenvuo M. 2004 Life satisfaction and depression in a 15-year follow-up of healthy adults Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 39 12 994 -999
Kosidou K., Hellner-Gumpert C., Fredlund P., Dalman C., Hallqvist J., Isacsson G., and Magnusson C. 2012 Immigration, transition into adult life and social adversity in relation to psychological distress and suicide attempts among young adults PloS one 7 10 e46284
Kouros C. D. and Garber J. 2014 Trajectories of individual depressive symptoms in adolescents: Gender and family relationships as predictors Developmental Psychology 50 12 2633
Lamers S. M., Westerhof G. J., Glas C. A., and Bohlmeijer E. T. 2015 The bidirectional relation between positive mental health and psychopathology in a longitudinal representative panel study The Journal of Positive Psychology 10 6 553 -560
Lazaratou H., Dikeos D. G., Anagnostopoulos D. C., and Soldatos C. R. 2010 Depressive symptomatology in high school students: The role of age, gender and academic pressure Community Mental Health Journal 46 3 289 -295
Lin, N., Dean, A., & Ensel, W. M. (2013). Social support, life events, and depression. Academic Press.
Low K. G. 2011 Flourishing, substance use, and engagement in students entering college: A preliminary study Journal of American College Health 59 6 555 -561
Malooly A. M., Flannery K. M., and Ohannessian C. M. 2017 Coping mediates the association between gender and depressive symptomatology in adolescence International Journal of Behavioral Development 41 2 185 -197
Mann M. M., Hosman C. M., Schaalma H. P., and De Vries N. K. 2004 Self-esteem in a broad-spectrum approach for mental health promotion Health Education Research 19 4 357 -372
Ministère de l’Éducation du Loisir et du Sport. (2013). Indicateurs de l’éducation - Édition 2013. Retrieved from Québec: http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/site_web/documents/PSG/ statistiques_info_decisionnelle/Indicateurs_educ_2013_webP.pdf
OMS. (2004). Investir dans la santé mentale. Retrieved from Genève: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/42896
Quon E. C. and McGrath J. J. 2014 Subjective socioeconomic status and adolescent health: A meta-analysis Health Psychology 33 5 433
Reavley N. J., McCann T. V., and Jorm A. F. 2011 Actions taken to deal with mental health problems in Australian higher education students Early Intervention in Psychiatry 6 2 159 -165
Reyes-Rodríguez M. L., Rivera-Medina C. L., Cámara-Fuentes L., Suárez-Torres A., and Bernal G. 2012 Depression symptoms and stressful life events among college students in Puerto Rico Journal of Affective Disorders 145 3 324 -330
Roberge P., Doré I., Menear M., Chartrand É., Ciampi A., Duhoux A., and Fournier L. 2012 A psychometric evaluation of the French Canadian version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in a large primary care population Journal of Affective Disorders 147 1–3 171 -179
Roy, J. (2008). Entre la classe et les McJobs: Portrait d’une génération de cégépiens: Les Presses de l’Université Laval.
Russell-Mayhew S. 2006 Key concepts from health promotion evaluations: What psychology needs to know International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling 28 2 167
Schotanus-Dijkstra M., Ten Have M., Lamers S. M., de Graaf R., and Bohlmeijer E. T. 2016 The longitudinal relationship between flourishing mental health and incident mood, anxiety and substance use disorders The European Journal of Public Health 27 3 563 -568
Schulenberg J. E., Sameroff A. J., and Cicchetti D. 2004 The transition to adulthood as a critical juncture in the course of psychopathology and mental health Development and Psychopathology 16 4 799 -806
Schulenberg, J. E., & Zarrett, N. R. (2006). Mental health during emerging adulthood: Continuity and discontinuity in courses, causes, and functions. In J. J. Arnett & J. L. Tanner (Eds.), Emerging adults in America: Coming of age in the 21st century (p. 135–172). American Psychological Association.
Singh-Manoux A., Adler N. E., and Marmot M. G. 2003 Subjective social status: its determinants and its association with measures of ill-health in the Whitehall II study Social Science & Medicine 56 6 1321 -1333
Storrie K., Ahern K., and Tuckett A. 2010 A systematic review: Students with mental health problems—a growing problem International Journal of Nursing Practice 16 1 1 -6
Twenge J. M., Cooper A. B., Joiner T. E., Duffy M. E., and Binau S. G. 2019 Age, period, and cohort trends in mood disorder indicators and suicide-related outcomes in a nationally representative dataset, 2005–2017 Journal of Abnormal Psychology 128 3 185 -199
UNICEF. (2011). La Situation des enfants dans le monde 2011. L’adolescence: L’âge de tous les possibles: UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/french/publications/index_57468.html
Waterman A. S. 1993 Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 64 4 678
Wood A. M. and Joseph S. 2010 The absence of positive psychological (eudemonic) well-being as a risk factor for depression: A ten year cohort study Journal of Affective Disorders 122 3 213 -217
Zigmond A. S. and Snaith R. P. 1983 The hospital anxiety and depression scale Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 67 6 361 -370

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

cover image Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
Volume 39Number 1May 2020
Pages: 33 - 48

History

Version of record online: 19 June 2020

Key Words

  1. mental health
  2. flourishing
  3. anxiety
  4. depression
  5. mental health promotion
  6. college students

Mots-clés

  1. santé mentale
  2. florissant
  3. anxiété
  4. dépression
  5. promotion de la santé mentale
  6. étudiants

Authors

Affiliations

Isabelle Doré [email protected]
University of Toronto, CHUM Research Centre
Jennifer O’Loughlin
Université de Montréal, CHUM Research Centre
Marie-Pierre Sylvestre
Université de Montréal, CHUM Research Centre
Catherine Michelle Sabiston
Guy Beauchamp
Quebec Network on Suicide Mood Disorders and Related Disorders
Marc Martineau
Cegep de l’Outaouais
Louise Fournier
Université de Montréal

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Other Metrics

Citations

Cite As

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

There are no citations for this item

View Options

View options

PDF

View PDF

Get Access

Login options

Check if you access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

Subscribe

Click on the button below to subscribe to Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health

Purchase options

Purchase this article to get full access to it.

Restore your content access

Enter your email address to restore your content access:

Note: This functionality works only for purchases done as a guest. If you already have an account, log in to access the content to which you are entitled.

Media

Media

Other

Tables

Share Options

Share

Share the article link

Share on social media