Psychopathology and self-harm among incoming first-year students in six Mexican universities

Objective. To estimate psychopathology and self-harm behavior of incoming first-year college students, socio-demographic correlates, service use and willingness to seek treatment. Materials and methods. 4 189 male and female incoming first-year students of six universities in four different states of Mexico responded to an online survey with a 79.3% response rate. Results. Almost one in three incoming students has experienced some type of psychopathology; however, only one in five has received treatment. Female, students who are older, whose parents are not married or deceased, and who have a non-heterosexual orientation, no religion or a non-Catholic./Christian religion have greater odds (1.18 - 1.99), whereas those who attend a private university and have a parent with some college education have lower odds (0.68 - 0.75) of experiencing any probable disorder. Conclusions. Substantial unmet need for mental health services combined with reported willingness to use university services suggests an opportunity for the detection, referral, and treatment of incoming students to promote a successful transition.