Prevalence, age-of-onset, and course of mental disorders among 72,288 first-year university students from 18 countries in the World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative

WHO WMH-ICS Collaborators; Andre MASON; Charlene RAPSEY; Nancy SAMPSON; Sue LEE; Yesica ALBOR; Ahmad N. AL-HADI; Jordi ALONSO; Nouf AL-SAUD; Yasmin ALTWAIJRI; Claes ANDERSSON; Lukoye ATWOLI; Randy P. AUERBACH; Caroline AYUYA; Patricia M. BÁEZ-MANSUR; Laura BALLESTER; Jason BANTJES; Harald BAUMEISTER; Marcus BENDTSEN; Corina BENJET; Anne H. BERMAN; Erik BOOTSMA; Silver C.N. CHAN; Irina COHUT; María Anabell COVARRUBIAS DIÁZ COUDER; Pim CUIJPERS; Oana DAVID; Dong DONG; David D. EBERT; Mireia Felez NOBREGA; Jorge GAETE; Carlos García FORERO; Margalida GILLI; Raúl GUTIÉRREZ-GARCIÁ; Josep Maria HARO; Penelope HASKING; Kristen HUDEC; Xanthe HUNT; Petra HURKS; Mathilde HUSKY; Florence JAGUGA; Leontien JANSEN; Fanny KÄHLKE; Elisabeth KLINKENBERG; Ann-Marie KÜCHLER; Álvaro I. LANGER; Irene LÉNIZ; Yan LIU; Scarlett MAC-GINTY; Vania MARTÍNEZ; Muthoni MATHAI; Margaret MCLAFFERTY; Andrea MIRANDA-MENDIZABAL; Elaine MURRAY; Catherine M. MUSYOKA; Catalin NEDELCEA; Chun Ho NGAI; Daniel NÚÑEZ; Siobhan O’NEILL; Jose A. PIQUERAS; Codruta A. POPESCU; Kealagh ROBINSON; Tiscar RODRIGUEZ-JIMENEZ; Damian SCARF; Oi Ling SIU; Dan J. STEIN; Sascha Y. STRUIJS; Cristina TOMOIAGA; Karla Patricia VALDÉS-GARCÍA; Sanne VAN LUENEN; Daniel V. VIGO; Angel WANG; Reinout WIERS; Samuel Y. S. WONG; Ronald C. KESSLER; Ronny BRUFFAERTS; Rodrigo Antunes LIMA; Elsie BREET; Nadia GARNEFSKI; Karen JACOBS; Vivian KRAAIJ; Lonna MUNRO; Richard J. MUNTHALI; Ana Paula PRESCIVALLI; Marisa REBAGLIATO; Miquel ROCA; Elske SALEMINK; Claudia VAN DER HEIJDE

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.02.016

Prevalence, age-of-onset, and course of mental disorders among 72,288 first-year university students from 18 countries in the World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative

WHO WMH-ICS Collaborators
, Andre MASON
, Charlene RAPSEY
, Nancy SAMPSON
, Sue LEE
, Yesica ALBOR
, Ahmad N. AL-HADI
, Jordi ALONSO
, Nouf AL-SAUD
, Yasmin ALTWAIJRI
, Claes ANDERSSON
, Lukoye ATWOLI
, Randy P. AUERBACH
, Caroline AYUYA
, Patricia M. BÁEZ-MANSUR
, Laura BALLESTER
, Jason BANTJES
, Harald BAUMEISTER
, Marcus BENDTSEN
, Corina BENJET

Anne H. BERMAN, Erik BOOTSMA, Silver C.N. CHAN, Irina COHUT, María Anabell COVARRUBIAS DIÁZ COUDER, Pim CUIJPERS, Oana DAVID, Dong DONG, David D. EBERT, Mireia Felez NOBREGA, Jorge GAETE, Carlos García FORERO, Margalida GILLI, Raúl GUTIÉRREZ-GARCIÁ, Josep Maria HARO, Penelope HASKING, Kristen HUDEC, Xanthe HUNT, Petra HURKS, Mathilde HUSKY, Florence JAGUGA, Leontien JANSEN, Fanny KÄHLKE, Elisabeth KLINKENBERG, Ann-Marie KÜCHLER, Álvaro I. LANGER, Irene LÉNIZ, Yan LIU, Scarlett MAC-GINTY, Vania MARTÍNEZ, Muthoni MATHAI, Margaret MCLAFFERTY, Andrea MIRANDA-MENDIZABAL, Elaine MURRAY, Catherine M. MUSYOKA, Catalin NEDELCEA, Chun Ho NGAI, Daniel NÚÑEZ, Siobhan O’NEILL, Jose A. PIQUERAS, Codruta A. POPESCU, Kealagh ROBINSON, Tiscar RODRIGUEZ-JIMENEZ, Damian SCARF, Oi Ling SIU, Dan J. STEIN, Sascha Y. STRUIJS, Cristina TOMOIAGA, Karla Patricia VALDÉS-GARCÍA, Sanne VAN LUENEN, Daniel V. VIGO, Angel WANG, Reinout WIERS, Samuel Y. S. WONG, Ronald C. KESSLER^*, Ronny BRUFFAERTS, Rodrigo Antunes LIMA, Elsie BREET, Nadia GARNEFSKI, Karen JACOBS, Vivian KRAAIJ, Lonna MUNRO, Richard J. MUNTHALI, Ana Paula PRESCIVALLI, Marisa REBAGLIATO, Miquel ROCA, Elske SALEMINK, Claudia VAN DER HEIJDE

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Psychology

Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed) › peer-review

26 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background
The college years are a developmentally sensitive period for mental disorder onset. Reliable epidemiological data are critical for informing public health responses. This study aimed to estimate prevalence and socio-demographic distributions of common DSM-5 mental disorders among first-year university students from 77 universities across 18 countries.

Methods
Data were collected 2017-2023 in the World Mental Health International College Student Initiative with n=72,288 university students. Online surveys assessed alcohol use, attention-deficit/hyperactivity, bipolar, drug use, generalized anxiety, major depression, panic, and post-traumatic stress disorders with validated screening scales. Socio-demographics included student age, sex at birth, gender modality, sexual orientation, and parent education.

Results
The weighted mean response rate was 20.8%. Data were calibrated for differential response rates by sex at birth and age. 65.2% of respondents screened positive for lifetime mental disorders and 57.4% for 12-month mental disorders. Females had higher prevalence of internalizing disorders and males of substance and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders. Older age was associated with lower prevalence of most 12-month but not lifetime mental disorders. Non-heterosexual sexual orientation and identifying as transgender were associated with highest prevalence of most mental disorders. Parent education was for the most part uncorrelated with prevalence.

Conclusions
Although prevalence might have been overestimated due to the low response rate and possible screening scale miscalibration, results nonetheless suggest that mental disorders are highly prevalent among first-year university students worldwide and are widely distributed with respect to socio-demographic characteristics. These findings highlight the need to implement effective interventions to better support first-year university student mental health.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	225-236
Number of pages	12
Journal	Journal of Psychiatric Research
Volume	183
Early online date	18 Feb 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.02.016
Publication status	Published - Mar 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025

Funding

Funding to support this initiative was received from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) R56MH109566 (RPA), and the content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or NIMH. The World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative is carried out as part of the World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative. The WMH survey is supported by the National Institute of Mental Health NIMH R01MH070884, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Pfizer Foundation, the US Public Health Service (R13-MH066849, R01-MH069864, and R01 DA016558), the Fogarty International Center (FIRCA R03-TW006481), the Pan American Health Organization, Eli Lilly and Company, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, GlaxoSmithKline, and Bristol-Myers Squibb (RCK). Local funding for surveys in each country is listed below: Australia: PH has received funding for this work from Suicide Prevention Australia, the Feilman Foundation, and the National Health and Medical Research Council (ID, 2032058). Belgium: The Belgian Fund for Scientific Research (11N0514N/11N0516N/1114717N), the King Baudouin Foundation (2014-J2140150-102905) (RB), the Ministry of Education, Flanders - Grant# EDC-E3738, institutional payment, awarded to RB, and Eli Lilly (IIT-H6U-BX-I002). Canada: Health Canada - Substance Use and Addictions Program. Grant for the Mental Health Systems and Services Laboratory at the University of British Columbia. Chile: ANID – Millennium Science Initiative Program (project number NCS2021_081) and the Chilean National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development, FONDECYT (project number 1221230). SM-G, reports funding support from ANID/PFCHA/DOCTORADO EN EL EXTRANJERO BECAS CHILE/2019–72200092. China: Wofoo Joseph Lee Consulting and Counselling Psychology Research Centre, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR). France: Institut Universitaire de France. Germany: BARMER, a health care insurance company, for project StudiCare. Mexico: Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (Mexican National Council of Science and Technology]. Grant CONACYT 285548 awarded to institution (National Institute of Psychiatry Ramon de la Fuente Muñiz) with CB as PI. The Netherlands: ZonMw (Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development; grant number 636110005) and the PFGV (PFGV; Protestants Fonds voor de Geestelijke Volksgezondheid) in support of the student survey project. New Zealand: The WMH-ICS NZ surveys were supported by a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship awarded to Associate Professor Damian Scarf, with additional support from the James Hume Bequest Fund and a research grant from University of Otago. Northern Ireland: The Student Psychological Intervention Trial (SPIT) was supported by Clinical Healthcare Intervention Trials in Ireland Network (CHITIN). CHITIN has received €10.6 million funding from the European Union's INTERREG VA programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) with match funding from the Departments of Health in NI and ROI (CHI/5433/18) Romania: This work was supported by Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research, CNCS—UEFISCDI, Grant number PN-III-P2-2.1-PED-2021-3882, awarded to OD. Saudi Arabia: The Saudi University Mental Health Survey is conducted by the King Salman Center for Disability Research; funded by Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Ministry of Health and King Saud University. Funding in-kind was provided by King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, and Ministry of Economy & Planning, General Authority for Statistics, Riyadh. South Africa: South African Medical Research Council under the MCD Programme (awarded to JB and XH). Spain: The PROMES-U study, is supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) and cofunded by the European Union, grant number PI20/00006; the Departament de Recerca i Universitats of the Generalitat de Catalunya (AGAUR, 2021 SGR 00624); and CIBER -Consorcio Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red- (CB06/02/0046), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and Unión Europea. For surveys directed by Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, funding was provided by Fundació Sant Joan de Déu. Sweden: CA, MB and AHB received funding for this work from the Swedish Research Council (ID, 2019–01127) as well as from a Public Health Agency in Sweden (ID 04252-2021-2.3.2). Both grants awarded to AHB.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

College students
Mental disorders
WMH-ICS

Access to Document

10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.02.016

https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0022395625000950

Cite this

WHO WMH-ICS Collaborators, MASON, A., RAPSEY, C., SAMPSON, N., LEE, S., ALBOR, Y., AL-HADI, A. N., ALONSO, J., AL-SAUD, N., ALTWAIJRI, Y., ANDERSSON, C., ATWOLI, L., AUERBACH, R. P., AYUYA, C., BÁEZ-MANSUR, P. M., BALLESTER, L., BANTJES, J., BAUMEISTER, H., BENDTSEN, M., ... VAN DER HEIJDE, C. (2025). Prevalence, age-of-onset, and course of mental disorders among 72,288 first-year university students from 18 countries in the World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 183, 225-236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.02.016

@article{ab1b8d32ae574dd9b782baaaca1f4968,

title = "Prevalence, age-of-onset, and course of mental disorders among 72,288 first-year university students from 18 countries in the World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative",

abstract = "Background The college years are a developmentally sensitive period for mental disorder onset. Reliable epidemiological data are critical for informing public health responses. This study aimed to estimate prevalence and socio-demographic distributions of common DSM-5 mental disorders among first-year university students from 77 universities across 18 countries. Methods Data were collected 2017-2023 in the World Mental Health International College Student Initiative with n=72,288 university students. Online surveys assessed alcohol use, attention-deficit/hyperactivity, bipolar, drug use, generalized anxiety, major depression, panic, and post-traumatic stress disorders with validated screening scales. Socio-demographics included student age, sex at birth, gender modality, sexual orientation, and parent education. Results The weighted mean response rate was 20.8\%. Data were calibrated for differential response rates by sex at birth and age. 65.2\% of respondents screened positive for lifetime mental disorders and 57.4\% for 12-month mental disorders. Females had higher prevalence of internalizing disorders and males of substance and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders. Older age was associated with lower prevalence of most 12-month but not lifetime mental disorders. Non-heterosexual sexual orientation and identifying as transgender were associated with highest prevalence of most mental disorders. Parent education was for the most part uncorrelated with prevalence. Conclusions Although prevalence might have been overestimated due to the low response rate and possible screening scale miscalibration, results nonetheless suggest that mental disorders are highly prevalent among first-year university students worldwide and are widely distributed with respect to socio-demographic characteristics. These findings highlight the need to implement effective interventions to better support first-year university student mental health.",

keywords = "College students, Mental disorders, WMH-ICS",

author = "\{WHO WMH-ICS Collaborators\} and Andre MASON and Charlene RAPSEY and Nancy SAMPSON and Sue LEE and Yesica ALBOR and AL-HADI, \{Ahmad N.\} and Jordi ALONSO and Nouf AL-SAUD and Yasmin ALTWAIJRI and Claes ANDERSSON and Lukoye ATWOLI and AUERBACH, \{Randy P.\} and Caroline AYUYA and B{\'A}EZ-MANSUR, \{Patricia M.\} and Laura BALLESTER and Jason BANTJES and Harald BAUMEISTER and Marcus BENDTSEN and Corina BENJET and BERMAN, \{Anne H.\} and Erik BOOTSMA and CHAN, \{Silver C.N.\} and Irina COHUT and \{COVARRUBIAS DI{\'A}Z COUDER\}, \{Mar{\'i}a Anabell\} and Pim CUIJPERS and Oana DAVID and Dong DONG and EBERT, \{David D.\} and NOBREGA, \{Mireia Felez\} and Jorge GAETE and FORERO, \{Carlos Garc{\'i}a\} and Margalida GILLI and Ra{\'u}l GUTI{\'E}RREZ-GARCI{\'A} and HARO, \{Josep Maria\} and Penelope HASKING and Kristen HUDEC and Xanthe HUNT and Petra HURKS and Mathilde HUSKY and Florence JAGUGA and Leontien JANSEN and Fanny K{\"A}HLKE and Elisabeth KLINKENBERG and Ann-Marie K{\"U}CHLER and LANGER, \{{\'A}lvaro I.\} and Irene L{\'E}NIZ and Yan LIU and Scarlett MAC-GINTY and Vania MART{\'I}NEZ and Muthoni MATHAI and Margaret MCLAFFERTY and Andrea MIRANDA-MENDIZABAL and Elaine MURRAY and MUSYOKA, \{Catherine M.\} and Catalin NEDELCEA and NGAI, \{Chun Ho\} and Daniel N{\'U}{\~N}EZ and Siobhan O{\textquoteright}NEILL and PIQUERAS, \{Jose A.\} and POPESCU, \{Codruta A.\} and Kealagh ROBINSON and Tiscar RODRIGUEZ-JIMENEZ and Damian SCARF and SIU, \{Oi Ling\} and STEIN, \{Dan J.\} and STRUIJS, \{Sascha Y.\} and Cristina TOMOIAGA and VALD{\'E}S-GARC{\'I}A, \{Karla Patricia\} and \{VAN LUENEN\}, Sanne and VIGO, \{Daniel V.\} and Angel WANG and Reinout WIERS and WONG, \{Samuel Y. S.\} and KESSLER, \{Ronald C.\} and Ronny BRUFFAERTS and LIMA, \{Rodrigo Antunes\} and Elsie BREET and Nadia GARNEFSKI and Karen JACOBS and Vivian KRAAIJ and Lonna MUNRO and MUNTHALI, \{Richard J.\} and PRESCIVALLI, \{Ana Paula\} and Marisa REBAGLIATO and Miquel ROCA and Elske SALEMINK and \{VAN DER HEIJDE\}, Claudia",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025",

year = "2025",

month = mar,

doi = "10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.02.016",

language = "English",

volume = "183",

pages = "225--236",

journal = "Journal of Psychiatric Research",

issn = "0022-3956",

publisher = "Elsevier Ltd",

}

WHO WMH-ICS Collaborators, MASON, A, RAPSEY, C, SAMPSON, N, LEE, S, ALBOR, Y, AL-HADI, AN, ALONSO, J, AL-SAUD, N, ALTWAIJRI, Y, ANDERSSON, C, ATWOLI, L, AUERBACH, RP, AYUYA, C, BÁEZ-MANSUR, PM, BALLESTER, L, BANTJES, J, BAUMEISTER, H, BENDTSEN, M, BENJET, C, BERMAN, AH, BOOTSMA, E, CHAN, SCN, COHUT, I, COVARRUBIAS DIÁZ COUDER, MA, CUIJPERS, P, DAVID, O, DONG, D, EBERT, DD, NOBREGA, MF, GAETE, J, FORERO, CG, GILLI, M, GUTIÉRREZ-GARCIÁ, R, HARO, JM, HASKING, P, HUDEC, K, HUNT, X, HURKS, P, HUSKY, M, JAGUGA, F, JANSEN, L, KÄHLKE, F, KLINKENBERG, E, KÜCHLER, A-M, LANGER, ÁI, LÉNIZ, I, LIU, Y, MAC-GINTY, S, MARTÍNEZ, V, MATHAI, M, MCLAFFERTY, M, MIRANDA-MENDIZABAL, A, MURRAY, E, MUSYOKA, CM, NEDELCEA, C, NGAI, CH, NÚÑEZ, D, O’NEILL, S, PIQUERAS, JA, POPESCU, CA, ROBINSON, K, RODRIGUEZ-JIMENEZ, T, SCARF, D, SIU, OL, STEIN, DJ, STRUIJS, SY, TOMOIAGA, C, VALDÉS-GARCÍA, KP, VAN LUENEN, S, VIGO, DV, WANG, A, WIERS, R, WONG, SYS, KESSLER, RC, BRUFFAERTS, R, LIMA, RA, BREET, E, GARNEFSKI, N, JACOBS, K, KRAAIJ, V, MUNRO, L, MUNTHALI, RJ, PRESCIVALLI, AP, REBAGLIATO, M, ROCA, M, SALEMINK, E & VAN DER HEIJDE, C 2025, 'Prevalence, age-of-onset, and course of mental disorders among 72,288 first-year university students from 18 countries in the World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative', Journal of Psychiatric Research, vol. 183, pp. 225-236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.02.016

Prevalence, age-of-onset, and course of mental disorders among 72,288 first-year university students from 18 countries in the World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative. / WHO WMH-ICS Collaborators; MASON, Andre; RAPSEY, Charlene et al.
In: Journal of Psychiatric Research, Vol. 183, 03.2025, p. 225-236.

Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed) › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Prevalence, age-of-onset, and course of mental disorders among 72,288 first-year university students from 18 countries in the World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative

AU - WHO WMH-ICS Collaborators

AU - MASON, Andre

AU - RAPSEY, Charlene

AU - SAMPSON, Nancy

AU - LEE, Sue

AU - ALBOR, Yesica

AU - AL-HADI, Ahmad N.

AU - ALONSO, Jordi

AU - AL-SAUD, Nouf

AU - ALTWAIJRI, Yasmin

AU - ANDERSSON, Claes

AU - ATWOLI, Lukoye

AU - AUERBACH, Randy P.

AU - AYUYA, Caroline

AU - BÁEZ-MANSUR, Patricia M.

AU - BALLESTER, Laura

AU - BANTJES, Jason

AU - BAUMEISTER, Harald

AU - BENDTSEN, Marcus

AU - BENJET, Corina

AU - BERMAN, Anne H.

AU - BOOTSMA, Erik

AU - CHAN, Silver C.N.

AU - COHUT, Irina

AU - COVARRUBIAS DIÁZ COUDER, María Anabell

AU - CUIJPERS, Pim

AU - DAVID, Oana

AU - DONG, Dong

AU - EBERT, David D.

AU - NOBREGA, Mireia Felez

AU - GAETE, Jorge

AU - FORERO, Carlos García

AU - GILLI, Margalida

AU - GUTIÉRREZ-GARCIÁ, Raúl

AU - HARO, Josep Maria

AU - HASKING, Penelope

AU - HUDEC, Kristen

AU - HUNT, Xanthe

AU - HURKS, Petra

AU - HUSKY, Mathilde

AU - JAGUGA, Florence

AU - JANSEN, Leontien

AU - KÄHLKE, Fanny

AU - KLINKENBERG, Elisabeth

AU - KÜCHLER, Ann-Marie

AU - LANGER, Álvaro I.

AU - LÉNIZ, Irene

AU - LIU, Yan

AU - MAC-GINTY, Scarlett

AU - MARTÍNEZ, Vania

AU - MATHAI, Muthoni

AU - MCLAFFERTY, Margaret

AU - MIRANDA-MENDIZABAL, Andrea

AU - MURRAY, Elaine

AU - MUSYOKA, Catherine M.

AU - NEDELCEA, Catalin

AU - NGAI, Chun Ho

AU - NÚÑEZ, Daniel

AU - O’NEILL, Siobhan

AU - PIQUERAS, Jose A.

AU - POPESCU, Codruta A.

AU - ROBINSON, Kealagh

AU - RODRIGUEZ-JIMENEZ, Tiscar

AU - SCARF, Damian

AU - SIU, Oi Ling

AU - STEIN, Dan J.

AU - STRUIJS, Sascha Y.

AU - TOMOIAGA, Cristina

AU - VALDÉS-GARCÍA, Karla Patricia

AU - VAN LUENEN, Sanne

AU - VIGO, Daniel V.

AU - WANG, Angel

AU - WIERS, Reinout

AU - WONG, Samuel Y. S.

AU - KESSLER, Ronald C.

AU - BRUFFAERTS, Ronny

AU - LIMA, Rodrigo Antunes

AU - BREET, Elsie

AU - GARNEFSKI, Nadia

AU - JACOBS, Karen

AU - KRAAIJ, Vivian

AU - MUNRO, Lonna

AU - MUNTHALI, Richard J.

AU - PRESCIVALLI, Ana Paula

AU - REBAGLIATO, Marisa

AU - ROCA, Miquel

AU - SALEMINK, Elske

AU - VAN DER HEIJDE, Claudia

PY - 2025/3

Y1 - 2025/3

N2 - Background The college years are a developmentally sensitive period for mental disorder onset. Reliable epidemiological data are critical for informing public health responses. This study aimed to estimate prevalence and socio-demographic distributions of common DSM-5 mental disorders among first-year university students from 77 universities across 18 countries. Methods Data were collected 2017-2023 in the World Mental Health International College Student Initiative with n=72,288 university students. Online surveys assessed alcohol use, attention-deficit/hyperactivity, bipolar, drug use, generalized anxiety, major depression, panic, and post-traumatic stress disorders with validated screening scales. Socio-demographics included student age, sex at birth, gender modality, sexual orientation, and parent education. Results The weighted mean response rate was 20.8%. Data were calibrated for differential response rates by sex at birth and age. 65.2% of respondents screened positive for lifetime mental disorders and 57.4% for 12-month mental disorders. Females had higher prevalence of internalizing disorders and males of substance and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders. Older age was associated with lower prevalence of most 12-month but not lifetime mental disorders. Non-heterosexual sexual orientation and identifying as transgender were associated with highest prevalence of most mental disorders. Parent education was for the most part uncorrelated with prevalence. Conclusions Although prevalence might have been overestimated due to the low response rate and possible screening scale miscalibration, results nonetheless suggest that mental disorders are highly prevalent among first-year university students worldwide and are widely distributed with respect to socio-demographic characteristics. These findings highlight the need to implement effective interventions to better support first-year university student mental health.

AB - Background The college years are a developmentally sensitive period for mental disorder onset. Reliable epidemiological data are critical for informing public health responses. This study aimed to estimate prevalence and socio-demographic distributions of common DSM-5 mental disorders among first-year university students from 77 universities across 18 countries. Methods Data were collected 2017-2023 in the World Mental Health International College Student Initiative with n=72,288 university students. Online surveys assessed alcohol use, attention-deficit/hyperactivity, bipolar, drug use, generalized anxiety, major depression, panic, and post-traumatic stress disorders with validated screening scales. Socio-demographics included student age, sex at birth, gender modality, sexual orientation, and parent education. Results The weighted mean response rate was 20.8%. Data were calibrated for differential response rates by sex at birth and age. 65.2% of respondents screened positive for lifetime mental disorders and 57.4% for 12-month mental disorders. Females had higher prevalence of internalizing disorders and males of substance and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders. Older age was associated with lower prevalence of most 12-month but not lifetime mental disorders. Non-heterosexual sexual orientation and identifying as transgender were associated with highest prevalence of most mental disorders. Parent education was for the most part uncorrelated with prevalence. Conclusions Although prevalence might have been overestimated due to the low response rate and possible screening scale miscalibration, results nonetheless suggest that mental disorders are highly prevalent among first-year university students worldwide and are widely distributed with respect to socio-demographic characteristics. These findings highlight the need to implement effective interventions to better support first-year university student mental health.

KW - College students

KW - Mental disorders

KW - WMH-ICS

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85219009006

U2 - 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.02.016

DO - 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.02.016

M3 - Journal Article (refereed)

C2 - 40010072

SN - 0022-3956

VL - 183

SP - 225

EP - 236

JO - Journal of Psychiatric Research

JF - Journal of Psychiatric Research

ER -

WHO WMH-ICS Collaborators, MASON A, RAPSEY C, SAMPSON N, LEE S, ALBOR Y et al. Prevalence, age-of-onset, and course of mental disorders among 72,288 first-year university students from 18 countries in the World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative. Journal of Psychiatric Research. 2025 Mar;183:225-236. Epub 2025 Feb 18. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.02.016

Prevalence, age-of-onset, and course of mental disorders among 72,288 first-year university students from 18 countries in the World Mental Health International College Student (WMH-ICS) initiative

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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