friends and the media. Despite most students having access to the internet in
colleges and universities, it was interesting to observe how few students (4%)
used the internet to source health information.  The College Health Unit was
an important access point for some students (16%), with twice as many
females as males using it as a source of information, which grew for both
males and females during their years in college.  When compared to the 18 
34 age group in the national lifestyle survey (SLAN), the student population
had a less optimistic view of their general health (CLAN 54% vs SLAN 65%),
while the three main sources for health information were similar
2
. 
MENTAL HEALTH
The vast majority (85%) of students rated their mental health as good or very
good.  However, almost one in twenty perceived their mental health as poor
or very poor, which was twice to three times higher than the number of
students who rated their quality of life or general health as poor.  Students
were asked how they would respond to feeling very anxious or depressed.
The more positive and health promoting responses included; talking to
someone (69%), finding information about the situation (24%) and praying
(21%), but very few said they would go to the hospital or health centre (3%).
However, poor coping strategies were very evident, where over half (55%) of
all students said they would sort it out alone, one third (35%) would try to
ignore it, one in ten would take drugs or get drunk and one in twenty would
do nothing.  Male students were less likely to seek help and more likely to try
to sort it out alone, to take drugs or get drunk or do nothing   all poor coping
strategies. First and second year male students were the most likely to try and
ignore it or do nothing about feeling very anxious or depressed in comparison
to other students.  A report on men's health also found that three out of four
men reported adopting strategies of avoidance or silence as their way of
managing emotional or mental health issues
3
.
Students identified their social network as the key group they would turn to if
they wanted to talk to someone. By far the most important contact for
undergraduate students was a friend their own age (83%).  Female students
were more likely than males to use their social network of friends, parents or
other relatives than males.  Again, a higher number of males in comparison to
females would not talk to anyone. First year students were the least likely to
want to talk to anyone and this was especially the case for first year males,
where 15% indicated they would not talk to anyone.  Good social networks,
peer contacts and religious affiliation have been identified as important
protective factors against mental health problems
4
.
The main source of stress for about two thirds of students was from demands
of college studies (exams, subjective specific demands and studies in general),
which was higher among females than males.  Financial situation was also a
stress factor for some (43%) students.  For about one in five students,
6






footer




 

 

 

 

 Home | About Us | Network | Services | Support | FAQ | Control Panel | Order Online | Sitemap | Contact

 

Our web partners: Inexpensive Web Hosting Jsp Web Hosting Jsp Web Hosting Cheapest Web Hosting  Java Web Hosting

 Quality Web Templates Dreamweaver Web Templates Frontpage Web Templates

Jsp Web Hosting Cheapest Hosting Cheapest Web Hosting Java Web Hosting Tomcat Web Hosting

Quality Web Hosting Best Web Hosting Java Web Hosting

Visionwebhosting.net Business web hosting division of Vision Web Hosting Inc.. All rights reserved

clan web hosting