Date of Award

12-2024

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MS in Epidemiology & Biostatistics

First Advisor

Dr.Nargis Asad

Second Advisor

Dr.sonia Saleem

Third Advisor

Mr.Iqbal Azam

Department

Community Health Sciences

Abstract

Background: Mental health disorders are the foremost cause of disability and premature mortality. Social pressure has been associated with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and stress. The South Asian students, including in Pakistan, are under high social expectations, familial pressure, financial burden, and peer comparison. That causes stigmatizing mental health among the most stressful communities as young adults. Some of the most encountered mental health disorders among undergraduates include depression, anxiety, and stress. In Pakistan, an estimated one out of every ten young adults aged 18–25 years is living with mental illness. This study aims to explore the association between social pressure and mental health, specifically depression, anxiety, and stress, among undergraduate students in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the association between social pressure and mental health. The study was conducted at three universities in Karachi, Pakistan. The sample population included undergraduate students aged 18–25 years pursuing engineering, medical, and humanities degrees. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the study participants. The sample size for the study was calculated to be 460. Ordinal logistic regression was used to analyse the association between social pressure and mental health and other factors. Ethical approval was acquired from the Aga Khan University’s Ethical Review Committee.
Results: A total of 400 undergraduate students were recruited from all three universities, which largely comprised of females (n = 270; 67.5%) with an average age of 21.3 (SD = 0.20) years. Most participants reported moderate to severe depression indicating that for every five unit increase in social pressure the odds of moderate to severe depression increased by 67% (OR=1.67, CI=1.29-2.16) among medical students and by 42% (OR=1.42, CI=1.13-1.79) among engineering students. In terms of anxiety, the odds of moderate to severe anxiety among medical students increased by 25% (OR=1.25, CI=1.12-1.39) and engineering students by 23% ix (OR=1.23, CI=1.01-1.50) for every 5 unit increase in social pressure. For stress, every five unit increase in social pressure was associated with a 41% increase in the odds of moderate to severe stress (OR=1.41, CI=1.24-1.59). Female students had a significantly higher odds of presenting with moderate to severe stress as compared to males (OR=2.18, CI=1.31-3.61). The study also reported that students living in joint family systems more likely to present with moderate to severe stress (OR=2.38, CI=1.03-5.49).
Conclusion: The results of our study concluded that medical and engineering undergraduate students were more likely to present with moderate to severe depression, anxiety and stress. Mental health services and interventions must be prioritized for young adults. Further research is needed to understand different pressures associated with mental health related outcomes among undergraduate population in LMICs like Pakistan.

First Page

1

Last Page

100

Download

Share

COinS