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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
Associations between family social circumstances and psychological distress among the university students of Bangladesh: To what extent do the lifestyle factors mediate?
BMC Psychology, Vol.9(1), pp.1-11
16/05/2021
PMID: 33993887
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Abstract
Background: While there is a growing body of empirical studies focusing on the social and behavioral predictors of psychological health, the mechanisms that may underlie the reported associations have not been adequately explored. This study aimed to examine the association of social and lifestyle factors with psychological distress, and the potential mediating role of the lifestyle factors in the estimated associations between social circumstances and psychological distress.
Methods: A total of 742 tertiary level students (53% females) from a range of socio-economic backgrounds and multiple educational institutions participated in this cross-sectional study. The 12-items General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was utilized for measuring psychological distress. Data related to students' socio-demographic characteristics, family social circumstances, and lifestyle factors were also collected. Modified Poisson regression analysis was used to estimate the risk ratios (RR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results: The multivariable regression analysis suggests heightened risks of psychological distress associated with low parental Socio-Economic Position (SEP) (RR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.07, 1.76), childhood poverty (RR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.55), and living away from the family (RR: 1.28; 95% CI: 1.07, 1.54). Among the lifestyle factors, past smoking, physical inactivity, inadequate fruit intake, and poor sleep quality were strongly associated with psychological distress and these associations persisted when the family social circumstances and lifestyle factors were mutually adjusted for. The lifestyle factors did not considerably mediate the estimated associations between family social circumstances and psychological distress.
Conclusion: The social and lifestyle factors operated independently to increase students' risk of psychological distress. Accordingly, while promoting students' healthy lifestyles may reduce the overall burden of psychological distress, any equity initiative aiming to minimize the social inequalities in psychological health should be targeted to improving the living conditions in early life.
Details
- Title
- Associations between family social circumstances and psychological distress among the university students of Bangladesh: To what extent do the lifestyle factors mediate?
- Creators
- Md. Nazmul Huda - The University of New South WalesMasum Billah - East West UniversitySonia Sharmin - Take Two (Australia, Victoria)A. S. M. Amanullah - University of DhakaMuhammad Zakir Hossin - Karolinska Institutet
- Publication Details
- BMC Psychology, Vol.9(1), pp.1-11
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Number of pages
- 11
- Identifiers
- 991013304628302368
- Copyright
- © The Author(s) 2021
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Health
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article