ArticleBMC psychology2026
The relationship between stressful life events and anxiety symptoms: a cross-sectional survey of university students in Botswana.
Article in BMC psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAnxiety disorders, particularly in young adults, have a severe negative association with quality of life, career growth, and health. There is a dearth of research on causes and correlates, particularly in areas with limited resources. At a premier higher education institution in Botswana, we set out to determine how stressful life events (SLEs) were related to severe anxiety symptoms among students.
methodIn a cross-sectional survey (n = 615, mean age = 21.1, ± 2.1, 59.3% female), the 21-item Beck’s Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the 26-Item Social Readjustment Rating Scale were used to assess anxiety symptoms and SLEs, respectively. T-tests, analyses of variance (ANOVA) and regression analyses were used to calculate associations, compare SLEs at different levels of anxiety symptoms, and assess whether SLEs are related to severe anxiety symptoms.
resultsAnxiety symptoms were moderate in 16.4% and severe in 11.7% of respondents. Over 50 per cent of respondents reported eight (8) or more SLEs. Higher numbers of SLEs were associated with a gradual increase in anxiety symptoms severity. Respondents at different levels of anxiety differed significantly in reporting SLEs (F (3, 612) = 68.21, p < .001). SLEs were significantly related to reporting severe anxiety symptoms in regression analyses (β = .56, 95% CI: 0.45, 0.66). When all SLEs were simultaneously included in one model, SLEs related to personal, study and relationship stressors were independently associated with severe anxiety symptoms.
conclusionAnxiety symptoms in young individuals are highly correlated with reporting SLEs. Practitioners should prioritise initiatives that promote mental health through effective low-cost self-help interventions that may ease anxiety symptoms in young adults.
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.