Mental health among students: A study among a cohort of freshmen

First-year students undergo a certain amount of stress due to difficulties in coping with the university and their new young adult life. Despite many symptoms of various somatic (tiredness, headaches, backaches...), psychological (depression, suicidal tendencies...) and behavioural disorders (eating habits, addictive behaviours...) among this population, very few studies have been dedicated to French students' stress and health. Existing studies in this area tend to be descriptive and cross-sectional rather than explanative. The model the authors adopted for this study is multifactorial, integrating various antecedents so as to predict the various issues considered herein directly or indirectly. The authors carried out a longitudinal study on a sample of 556 first-year students. Measures related to sociobiographic, personality and environmental characteristics as well as transactional processes (perceived stress, control, social support and satisfaction, coping strategies implemented by students to face the stressful events of the start of a new academic year) were completed at the University Medical Care Centre, during the mandatory medical check. The criteria (depressiveness, somatic symptoms and eating disorders) were evaluated at T2 (at the end of the year). The authors produced integrative models which revealed that the indirect effects of the antecedents on the issues, carried by transactional variables, may be followed by an increase in some dysfunctional transactions (perceived academic stress, loneliness, emotion-oriented coping) and a decrease in functional transactions (problem-oriented coping, family social support). The compromise variables were flexible and modifiable allowing some reflection concerning the prospects of each student, whether in terms of prevention or therapy. The transitional context of the first university year is an important time for prevention relative to later mental health. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.