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Associations Between Social Capital and Depressive Symptoms Among College Students in 12 Countries: Results of a Cross-National Study

Backhaus I 1 , Varela AR 2 , Khoo S 3 , Siefken K 4 , Crozier A 4 , Begotaraj E 5 Show all authors , Fischer F 6 , Wiehn J 6 , Lanning BA 7 , Lin PH 8 , Jang SN 9 , Monteiro LZ 10 , Al-Shamli A 11 , La Torre G 1 , Kawachi I 12

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
  • 2 School of Medicine, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
  • 3 Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 4 Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Physical Activity, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
  • 5 Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
  • 6 School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
  • 7 Department of Public Health, Baylor University, Waco, TX, United States
  • 8 Graduate Institute of Sports, Leisure and Hospitality Management, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
  • 9 Red Cross College of Nursing, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea
  • 10 Departamento de Enfermagem, Centro Universitário do Distrito Federal (UDF), Brasília, Brazil
  • 11 Department of Physical Education, Sohar University, Sohar, Oman
  • 12 Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
Front Psychol, 2020;11:644.
PMID: 32411038 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00644

Abstract

Introduction: A mental health crisis has hit university campuses across the world. This study sought to determine the prevalence and social determinants of depressive symptoms among university students in twelve countries. Particular focus was placed on the association between social capital and depressive symptoms.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among students at their first year at university in Europe, Asia, the Western Pacific, and Latin and North America. Data were obtained through a self-administered questionnaire, including questions on sociodemographic characteristics, depressive symptoms, and social capital. The simplified Beck's Depression Inventory was used to measure the severity of depressive symptoms. Social capital was assessed using items drawn from the World Bank Integrated Questionnaire to Measure Social Capital. Multilevel analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between social capital and depressive symptoms, adjusting for individual covariates (e.g., perceived stress) and country-level characteristics (e.g., economic development).

Results: Among 4228 students, 48% presented clinically relevant depressive symptoms. Lower levels of cognitive (OR: 1.82, 95% CI: 1.44-2.29) and behavioral social capital (OR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.29-1.76) were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. The likelihood of having depressive symptoms was also significantly higher among those living in regions with lower levels of social capital.

Conclusion: The study demonstrates that lower levels of individual and macro-level social capital contribute to clinically relevant depressive symptoms among university students. Increasing social capital may mitigate depressive symptoms in college students.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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