ArticleBMJ open2021
Mental health trajectories in undergraduate students over the first year of university: a longitudinal cohort study.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 61 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring the prevalence of childhood adversity among university students in the United Kingdom: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Article
- Pathological Narcissism and Psychological Distress Among University Students: The Interplay of Family Dynamics, Trauma, and Health-Related Factors.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Mental Health Among First-Year Students Transitioning to University in Australia: A Longitudinal Study.Psychological reports · 2026Article
- Phenotypes associated with problematic online gaming and gambling: A clustering approach among young adults.Addictive behaviors reports · 2026Article
- Lifestyles, Self-Esteem and Mental Well-Being in Students Transitioning to Higher Education.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Association of Academic Level and Body Mass Index with Depressive Symptoms Among Undergraduate and Graduate Students in Bronx, NY: A Cross-Sectional Study.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- Paradoxical association between campus connectedness and delusion-like experiences among Chinese college students: a chained mediation.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Perceived teacher-student power distance in relation to campus connectedness profiles among Chinese college students: profile differences in difficulties in emotion regulation.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Article
- College Student Mental Health Is Stable Across College Career, but Declining Over Time.Journal of adolescence · 2025Article
- Longitudinal associations between sense of belonging, imposter syndrome, and first-year college students' mental health.Journal of American college health : J of ACH · 2025Article
- Advancing mental health in university students: future directions in literacy and digital tools.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2025Article
- Development of a Recommendation Engine to University Student Mental Health Support Aligned With Stepped Care: Longitudinal Cohort Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Article
- Factors Influencing the Mental Health of First-Year College Students: Evidence from Digital Records of Daily Behaviors.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- Exploring the relationship between mental health issues and academic performance of undergraduate students in a Ghanaian tertiary institution: a cross-sectional study.Discover mental health · 2025Article
- Mental Health of Nursing Students: A Bibliometric Review Based on CiteSpace Visual Analysis.Journal of nursing management · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThis study examined the association between candidate psychosocial and lifestyle variables and the trajectories of clinically significant anxiety and depressive symptoms from entry to completion of first-year university.
designA longitudinal cohort study
participantsFirst-year undergraduate students
methodsWe analysed the responses of 1686 first-year undergraduate students attending Queen's University who completed electronic surveys at both the beginning and completion of their academic year. Predictors of change in positive anxiety and depressive symptom screens (based on exceeding validated symptom threshold scores) were identified using logistic regression.
resultsIncreased university connectedness reduced the odds of emergent significant depressive and anxiety symptoms in healthy students and increased the odds of recovery in students who screened positive at the start of university. Students who screened positive for depression or anxiety at university entry were less likely to recover if they had a lifetime history of internalising disorders. Healthy students who increased their drug use over their first year had higher odds of developing significant levels of both anxiety and depressive symptoms by completion of the academic year.
conclusionsModerate to severe levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms are common among students at entry to university and persist over the first year. University connectedness may mitigate the risk of persistent or emergent symptoms, whereas drug use appears to increase these risks. Findings have implications for university well-being initiatives.
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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.