ArticleFrontiers in psychology2020
Sources of Stress and Their Associations With Mental Disorders Among College Students: Results of the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys International College Student Initiative.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 133 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Addressing Social Isolation, Loneliness and Promoting Psychological Wellbeing in International Students
Effects of Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Perceived Stress and Psychological Distress in University Students With High Distress Levels: A Randomized Blinded Clinical Trial
Who cites it
133 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 353 citations in OpenAlex.
- The intervention effect of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy on anxiety, depression, and stress in college students: a systematic review and meta-analysis based on randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Association of skipping breakfast with depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- The correlation between physical activity and psychological resilience in young students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- The efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions on mental health among university students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Effectiveness of digital mental health interventions for university students: an umbrella review.PeerJ · 2022Pooled it
- Personalized Transdiagnostic Cognitive Behavior Therapy With Midtreatment Stepped Care to Improve Mental Health Among University Students in Sweden: Feasibility Study for a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR formative research · 2026Trial
- Effectiveness of a multi-component sleep-mood group intervention on improving insomnia in university students - a pilot randomized controlled trial.BMC psychology · 2024Trial
- A Transdiagnostic Video-Based Internet Intervention (Uni Virtual Clinic-Lite) to Improve the Mental Health of University Students: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Trial
- Web-Based, Human-Guided, or Computer-Guided Transdiagnostic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in University Students With Anxiety and Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mental health · 2024Trial
- Effects of a digital self-efficacy training in stressed university students: A randomized controlled trial.PloS one · 2024Trial
- Challenges in Recruiting University Students for Web-Based Indicated Prevention of Depression and Anxiety: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial (ICare Prevent).Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Trial
- Trial
- A Cross-Lagged Panel Model of Mental Health Amongst UK Undergraduates: The Role of Autism and Gender.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Silent Worries: A Cross-Sectional Study of School-Going Adolescents' Unaddressed Health Concerns and Communication With Trusted Adults in Mongolia.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Prevalence and associations of lifetime, 12-month, and 30-day suicidal thoughts and behaviours among 3,702 First-Year university students in New Zealand.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Article
- Prevalence and factors associated with suicidal ideation among undergraduate nursing students: a cross-sectional study.BMC nursing · 2026Article
- Scalable prediction of suicidal risk in university students: a three steps machine learning approach in university settings.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Perceived Causes of Sleep Problems in Higher Education Students: An Exploratory Study.Psychological reports · 2026Article
- Mental Health Among First-Year Students Transitioning to University in Australia: A Longitudinal Study.Psychological reports · 2026Article
- Sleep Disturbances as a Statistical Mediator Between Perceived Academic Stressors and Emotional, Cognitive, and Physical Stress Responses in University Students.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
73 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors at 14 institutions in 10 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The college years are stressful for many students. Identifying the sources of stress and their relative importance in leading to clinically significant emotional problems may assist in the development of targeted stress management interventions. The current report examines the distribution and associations of perceived stress across major life areas with 12-month prevalence of common mental disorders in a cross-national sample of first-year college students. The 20,842 respondents were from 24 universities in 9 countries that participated in the World Health Organization World Mental Health International College Student Initiative. Logistic regression analysis examined associations of current perceived stress in six life areas (financial situation, health, love life, relationships with family, relationships at work/school, problems experienced by loved ones) with six types of 12-month mental disorders (major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, alcohol use disorder, drug use disorder). Population attributable risk proportions (PARPs) were calculated to estimate the upper-bound potential effects of interventions focused on perceived stress in reducing prevalence of mental disorders. The majority of students (93.7%) reported at least some stress in at least one of the six areas. A significant dose-response association was found between extent of stress in each life area and increased odds of at least one of the six disorders. The multivariable models that included all stress measures were significant for all disorders (
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.