The psychosocial predictors of psychological distress and life satisfaction in a cohort of Norwegian students

Mental health has become an increasingly important concern in our society with more and more psychological disorders affecting the younger population. Moreover, the prevalence and seriousness of psychological disorder have been found to be on the rise among university students and their level of mental distress has also been found to be higher compared to the general population. Therefore, mental health of the student population deserves our special attention because not only do university students have to deal with the academic demands and heavy workloads associated with pursuing a higher education but they also have to face a wide myriad of personal, academic and social challenges in this critical and often transitional period of one’s life. This cross-sectional study examines the associations between psychosocial variables and mental health in a cohort of 789 students at the University of Oslo from various areas and levels of studies. Psychosocial variables including demographic, academic, social and personality factors are included for analyses and their relationships with the levels of psychological distress and life satisfaction, measured by HSCL-25 and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) are investigated. In addition, possible gender differences in the pattern of associations are explored. The data were compiled using a self-administered questionnaire, and the collected data were processed and interpreted using comparative statistics and univariate analyses. Furthermore, multiple linear regression analyses were performed to determine the unique contribution of each psychosocial variable in predicting the two indices of mental well-being. The results indicate gender divergences in most of the study variables, and both similar and different psychosocial correlates were found across the genders. The results will be presented and the implications discussed