ArticleBMC psychology2022
Mental distress among university students in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
Article in BMC psychology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Burden of perceived stress among university students in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- "It's There, but Not for Us": Pharmacy Students' Lived Experiences of Mental Health Support at a South African University.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Prevalence of stress and associated factors among nursing students in Limpopo province, South Africa.Curationis · 2026Article
- Mental health patterns and associated social determinants among university and college students in sub-Saharan Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic era: a scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- The influence of social support on the relationship between HIV-related stigma, mental health and suicidality among young women living with HIV in South Africa: A moderated mediation analysis.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2026Article
- Navigating the storm: a scoping review of support strategies for postgraduate nursing students with probable anxiety and depression in South Africa.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Health and Safety Challenges in South African Universities: A Qualitative Review of Campus Risks and Institutional Responses.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Review
- Prevalence and level of stress among final-year students at a health science institute in Bangladesh.Discover mental health · 2025Article
- Ultra-processed food consumption is linked to quality of life and mental distress among university students.PeerJ · 2025Article
- Thriving beyond the stethoscope: Unveiling positive mental health among medical students at a University in South Africa.Dialogues in health · 2024Article
- Relationship between Psychosocial Factors and Physical Activity among Undergraduate Students from a South African University.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Investigation of positive mental health levels among faculty of health sciences students at a rural university in South Africa.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Prevalence and Risk Factors for Anxiety Symptoms among Student Nurses in Gauteng Province of South Africa.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionMental distress is a global health concern. Studies show that the prevalence of mental distress is higher in students' population than in the general population. Therefore, there is need to understand the extent and factors associated with mental distress among students to help policymakers and practitioners in South Africa. AIM OF THE STUDY: The study was designed to investigate into the prevalence and factors associated with mental distress among students at universities in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among students from four universities in the Eastern Cape Province. The data were collected from 844 students using an online self-reporting questionnaire-20 to assess mental distress of students. Multivariable logistic regression modelling determined the association between socio-demographic and psychosocial factors with students' mental distress.
findingsThe prevalence of mental distress among students was 53.3% (95% CI 47.0%, 58.1%). Female students were more prone to mental distress than male students ([AOR]: 4.67; 95% CI 2.82, 7.72, P = 0.001). Field of study ([AOR]: 3.9; 95% CI 1.74, 5.50, P = 0.010), year of study ([AOR]: 4.29; 95% CI 0.86, 21.46, P = 0.002), academic workload ([AOR]: 4.66; 95% CI 2.81, 7.71, P = 0.003), poor sleep quality ([AOR]: 2.24; 95% CI 1.13, 3.67, P = 0.010) and using cannabis ([AOR]: 3.10; 95% CI 1.755, 5.51, P = 0.020) were other factors significantly correlated with students' mental distress. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The study found the level of mental distress to be higher among students than what is reported in most of the previous studies on the student population in South Africa. Being a female student, a user of cannabis, and field of study, academic workload and having poor sleep quality were predictors of mental distress. Findings point to the need to devise evidence-driven interventions and strategies to prevent and reduce the problem of mental distress among students.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.