Prevalence of Depression and Suicidal Thoughts amongst University Students in Poznan, Poland, Preliminary Report

doi:10.4236/psych.2012.32020

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Psychology

2012. Vol.3, No.2, 132-135

Published Online February 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/psych) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/psych.2012.32020

132

Prevalence of Depression and Suicidal Thoughts amongst

University Students in Poznan, Poland, Preliminary Report

Ewa Mojs, Katarzyna Warchol-Biederman, Wlodzimierz Samborski

Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland

Email: [email protected]

Received July 3rd, 2011; revised September 18th, 2011; accepted October 19th, 2011

Objective: The goal of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of depression and suicidal thoughts in

first year university students in Poznan, Poland and to assess whether they were connected with demo-

graphic factors such as age, having brothers or sisters, a specific social background or living arrangements,

one’s major and the mode of the study program. Method: 210 freshmen, who were 18 - 28 years old (M =

19.81; SD = 1.18) anonymously answered a questionnaire on their perception of the risk of depression

(KADS) and another demographics survey, including questions about age, having brothers/sisters, back-

ground, place of residence, living arrangements and their major (curriculum focus). Results: The analysis

has shown that as many as 36 subjects (17.1%) were at risk of depression and 18 of them (8.6%) had sui-

cidal thoughts. Among analyzed factors such as age, having brothers or sisters, social background, living

arrangements, curriculum major and the mode of study, only the financial status was found to have a sta-

tistically significant influence on both susceptibility to depression and suicidal thoughts. Conclusion: It

may be suggested that financial status most frequently influences depression in first year students but oth-

er agents leading to depression in students have not been clearly figured out or taken into account in

screening tools for depression. So, further research is necessary to find out factors, which perhaps sin-

gle-handedly or in connection with others, lead to or correlate with depression in college students.

Keywords: Depression; Suicide; Suicidal Thoughts; Student

Introduction

Suicide is the third leading cause of death in adolescence and

young adulthood. Due to the fact that suicide rates in young

people have continuously been increasing, its prevention re-

mains one of the most important challenges for mental health

research. Until now, several papers on youth suicide have been

published. Literature shows that many psychological, epidemi-

ological, socio-economic and psychiatric factors or processes

may lead to suicide [1-5].

From psychological point of view, the influence of family

life is essential because problems such as living amidst unre-

solved conflicts, loss of a parent, poor communication with

parents or poor parental mental health status may mean a great-

er risk of suicide or suicide behavior. Additionally, reports

indicate the impact of educational and economic disadvantage,

perceived life’s hardships, individual resilience to stress or

interplay of these agents can also be significant. Recent find-

ings point to the fact that self-inflicted death may be triggered

by internet or media, which disseminate pro-suicide materials

or websites (1-5).

Many reports indicate that depression is a significant agent

leading to suicide. Based on literature, Cash et al. said that up

to 60% of adolescent suicide victims had depression at the time

of death. Furthermore, between 40% - 80% of adolescents were

clinically depressed at the time of suicide attempt [2]. Depres-

sion has also been linked with suicidal thoughts or suicidal

ideation and tests such as Kutcher’s KADS and M-BDI were

used as screening tools to evaluate susceptibility to depression

and suicidal thoughts in young people [6-8]. Because of an

increase in suicide rates in Poland, the evaluation of prevalence

of depression and factors influencing its onset in young people

living in our country is becoming more and more important, not

only from theoretical, but also from practical point of view

[2,8,14].

For many reasons particular interest should be paid to de-

pression in first year university students. To begin with, first

year at a university is a time of transition, a sudden change in

the mode and organization of study. Additionally, starting col-

lege is often connected with leaving home, starting to live on

one’s own and new adult responsibilities. It may also mean

attenuated connections with a family of origin, losing touch

with one’s network of social support and adaptation to a new

social environment [14-18]. Until now, there have not been any

studies devoted to this area of interest in Poland. Here, however,

one should mention the study carried out by Mikolajczyk et al.

[8], who assessed prevalence of depression in samples of first

semester Polish, Danish, German and Bulgarian students. The

study showed that female gender and perceived income insuffi-

ciency were associated with higher levels of depressive symp-

toms. Nevertheless, one should note that Polish students in this

study were represented by participants from the Catholic Uni-

versity of Lublin, which is located in Eastern Poland. The

province of Lublin differs economically, culturally and socially

from most Polish provinces so the results of the study cannot be

generalized to the entire population of Polish students.

Taking into account the importance and consequences of de-

pression, especially in this age group, as well as current unsat-

isfactory state of knowledge concerning depression in freshmen

students the aim of our study was to estimate susceptibility to

E. MOJS ET AL.

depression and suicidal thoughts in freshmen students attending

universities in Poznan, Wielkopolska. We selected the Mid-

western Polish region of Wielkopolska because it is typical for

most parts of Poland and similar to Western Europe. We also

wanted to estimate whether the risk of depression and suicidal

thoughts in first year students was connected with demographic

factors such as age, having brothers or sisters, background,

living arrangements, one’s major and the mode of study.

Material and M ethods

Study participants were 210 freshmen studying psychology

(n = 135; 64.3%), midwifery (n = 52; 24.8%), physiotherapy (n

= 21; 10.0%), computer science (n = 1; .5%) and philosophy (n

= 1; .5%), who voluntarily and anonymously answered a ques-

tionnaire on the risk of depression (KADS) and a demographics

survey including questions about participant’s age, having

brothers/sisters, background, place of residence, living ar-

rangements and their major study area. They were 18 - 28 years

old (M = 19.81; SD = 1.18). The study was carried out in two

major universities: University of Medical Sciences and Adam

Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland.

KADS (The Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale), which is

an extensively used self-report scale and a screening tool, de-

signed for use in institutional settings to identify young people

at risk of depression, consists of six statements on sadness,

hopelessness, tiredness, difficulties of life, worry and suicidal

thoughts. Subjects selected the most suitable answer on the 0 -

3 scale [0—hardly ever, 1—much of the time, 2—most of the

time, 3—all of the time].

They were examined individually in conditions ensuring that

their privacy and confidentiality were duly protected.

The test assumes anyone who scores six points and above is

at a risk of depression. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s α)

was = 84 whereas the correlations between test items ranged

from = .35 to = .66 (Pearson-r). Factor analysis has confirmed

univariate solution of equation. The questionnaire explains

56.88% variances of severity of depression.

Participants of the Study

Questionnaires and demographic surveys from 210 freshmen,

who were 18 - 28 years old (M = 19.81; SD = 1.18) were col-

lected. The analysis of demographics has shown that 81% of

the subjects were internal students (n = 170) while 19% of them

studied externally (n = 40). To add, 48.6% respondents had

either a sister or a brother (n = 102) while 24.8% of them had

two siblings (n = 52). 19 subjects (9%) had three or more sib-

lings while 37 of them (17.6%) were the only children.

The data on participants’ perceived financial status are pre-

sented on Table 1. They could describe their financial status

using the descriptors such as poor, average, good and very good.

Also, information on subjects’ background and current living

arrangements is presented on Table 2, Table 3 and Table 4

respectively.

Procedure for Analysis of Results

The data were examined in three ways. Firstly, the frequency

distribution for the risk of depression was determined, both for

each questionnaire item and for the total score (see Table 1).

Secondly, the participants were divided into two subgroups in

respect to the six points score as an indicator differentiating

Table 1.

Relationships between individual KADS items (Pearson-r).

1 2 3 4 5

1. Sadness -

2. Hopelessness .66** -

3. Tiredness .47** .44** -

4. Difficulties of life .50** .53** .51** -

5. Worry .46** .50** .40** .54** -

6. Suicidal thoughts .47** 47** .35** .48** .43**

Table 2.

Financial status.

Frequency Percentage Valid

percentage

Accumulated

percentage

Bad 3 1.4 1.4 1.4

Medium 69 32.9 32.9 34.3

Good 95 45.2 45.2 79.5

Very good43 20.5 20.5 100.0

Valid

Total 210 100.0 100.0

Table 3.

Social background.

Frequency Percentage Valid

percentage

Accumulated

percentage

Village 45 21.4 21.4 21.4

City

(population

up to 30,000)

44 21.0 21.0 42.4

City (population of

30,000 - 100,000) 39 18.6 18.6 61.0

City (population

of 100,000 -

300,000)

32 15.2 15.2 76.2

City (population

of over 300,000

dwellers)

50 23.8 23.8 100.0

Valid

Total 210 100.0 100.0

Table 4.

Living arrangements.

Frequency Percentage Valid

percentage

Accumulated

percentage

At parent’s

home 55 26.2 26.2 26.2

With

sister/brother 8 3.8 3.8 30.0

Dormitory 24 11.4 11.4 41.4

Share a flat

with a

roommate

106 50.5 50.5 91.9

Independent

rent 8 3.8 3.8 95.7

With family 3 1.4 1.4 97.1

Rented room

at somebody’s

flat

1 .5 .5 97.6

Own flat 5 2.4 2.4 100.0

Valid

Total 210 100.0 100.0

E. MOJS ET AL.

between subjects at risk (n = 36; 17.1%) from those not at risk

of depression (n = 174; 82.9%). Additionally, socio-demo-

graphic data of the two groups were compared by chi-square

test. Next, subjects were separated into subgroups with (n = 18;

8.6%) and without suicidal thoughts (n = 192; 91.4%) and then,

similarly as before, their socio-demographic data were analyzed

by chi-square test.

Results

Description of the Analyzed Group—Severity of

Depression

The average test score equaled X = 3.20 (SD = 3.30; min = .00;

max = 18.00). The most frequent symptoms of depression in-

cluded worry (n = 115; 54.8%) and tiredness (n = 113; 53.8%)

whereas suicidal thoughts remained the least frequent symptom

whatsoever (n = 18; 8.6%) (Table 5).

The data obtained from respondents were examined in the

following way. 1. The participants were divided into two

subgroups with respect to the six points score as an indicator

differentiating subjects at risk (n = 36; 17.1%) from those not

at risk of depression (n = 174; 82.9%). Then, socio-demo-

graphic data of the two obtained subgroups were compared by

chi-square test. The analysis has not indicated any statistical

differences in the investigated demographic parameters (age,

gender, background, living arrangements, having brothers or

sisters, participant’s major and the mode of study) between

subjects with and without a risk of depression. In contrast, the

study showed statistically significant differences between

analyzed subgroups in the perceived financial status. The

analysis indicated that students who perceived their financial

status as either good or very good were less susceptible to

depression than respondents who believed they were poor or

participants who thought their financial status was average

(2(1) = 8.724; p < .01).

2. The subjects were separated into subgroups with (n = 18;

8.6%) and without suicidal thoughts (n = 192; 91.4%) and then,

as previously, their socio-demographic data were analyzed by

chi-square test. As before, out of all investigated determinants

only the factor of perceived financial status significantly sepa-

rated the two groups in question (2(1) = 3.953; p = .047). Dif-

ferences were found between subjects who perceived their fi-

nancial status as good or very good and respondents who be-

lieved they were poor or considered their financial status as

average.

Table 5.

Frequency of answers to individual KADS items.

Hardly

ever Much of

the time Most of

the time All of

the time

1. Sadness 110 (52.4%) 69 (32.9%) 26 (12.4%)5 (2.4%)

2. Hopelessness 128 (61.0%) 62 (29.5%) 14 (6.7%)6 (2.9%)

3. Tiredness 97 (46.2%) 78 (37.1%) 30 (14.3%)5 (2.4%)

4. Difficulties of life 140 (66.7%) 51 (24.3%) 14 (6.7%)5 (2.4%)

5. Worry 95 (45.2%) 85 (40.5%) 21 (10.0%)9 (4.3%)

6. Suicidal thoughts 192 (91.4%) 12 (5.7%) 2 (1.0%) 4 (1.9%)

Discussion

The goal of our study was to evaluate prevalence of depres-

sion and suicidal thoughts in first year university students in

Poznań, Poland, who came from the province of Great Poland

(Wielkopolska) in Midwestern Poland. We also evaluated

whether depression and suicidal thoughts were associated with

demographic factors such as age or living arrangements. The

analysis has shown that as many as 17.1% of participants were

at risk of depression and 8.6% of them had suicidal thoughts. In

the present study, among analyzed factors such as age, having

brothers or sisters, background, living arrangements, partici-

pant’s major and the mode of study, only perceived financial

status was significantly associated with susceptibility to de-

pression. Also, we found a similar effect of perceived financial

status on suicidal thoughts. This observation confirmed a well-

described relation between depression and suicidal thoughts [2].

Our results, however, differ from the outcomes of international

investigation by Mikolajczyk and colleagues [8], who also in-

dicated an association between income perceived as insufficient

and higher levels of depressive symptoms but observed much

higher incidence of depressive symptoms ( 40% of Polish stu-

dents in Mikolajczyk’s the study met the criteria for depression).

The Mikolajczyk’s group also investigated prevalence of de-

pressive symptoms in students living in Poland (the Lublin

province), Denmark, Bulgaria and Germany and compared their

results to an earlier study of college students living in the same

countries [19,20]. With the use of modified version of Beck

Depression Inventory (M-BDI) they could observe that suscep-

tibility to depression was higher among students living in for-

mer Eastern bloc countries (i.e. 45.5% and 27.3% for Polish as

compared to 24.9% and 12.1% for Danish female and male

students respectively). Additionally, they demonstrated that

neither political and economic changes in Eastern European

countries nor perceived income sufficiency clearly affected

differences in the prevalence of depressive symptoms across

countries. They concluded that difference in prevalence of de-

pressive symptoms in Eastern (Bulgarian and Polish) and

Western European (Danish and German) university students

persisted 15 years after political changes had taken place and

could not be explained by differences in perceived sufficiency

of income [8]. The aforementioned differences between Miko-

lajczyk’s study on depression in students residing in Lublin

(40% after calculation) and the results of our study of students

attending universities in Poznan (17.1%) are so huge that they

might not be explained by different tools used in the study

(M-BDI versus KADS) or time difference. Also, in the light of

Mikolajczyk’s study, they should not be attributed to subject’s

perceived financial status. Yet, it would be valuable to consider

the influence of environmental factors, culture, tradition and

socio-economic status [17]. Great Poland is significantly weal-

thier and much better economically developed then the region

of Lublin, where the Mikolajczyk’s study was carried out. Lub-

lin is located in an unprivileged area of Poland which is in need

of special European funds to help it grow. It is often called

second-class Poland (Poland B). Nevertheless, this argument

becomes doubtful in view of a study of Turkish students in

Denizli. Despite cultural, social and religious differences, their

results were similar to ours [9].

The analysis of agents influencing depression should take

into consideration other determinants such as the fact that stu-

dents are a specific group of people who want to climb up on a

134

E. MOJS ET AL.

social ladder. To be accepted to university they have to pass

necessary examinations and compete with their peers. The

process of admission to the university not only entails prepara-

tion and continuous effort to maintain one’s student status but

is also very stressful. Also, there may be local differences in

student’s aspiration to complete university education. Perhaps

for young people in Lublin the ambition to become a student is

more stressful than for youth living in the Wielkopolska region,

who have a wider access to education at university level. The

effect of one’s aspiration to complete university education

could to some extent be supported by publications devoted to

medical students, in whom depressive symptoms were linked to

stress accompanying becoming a medical doctor (e.g. increas-

ing workload, level of academic pressure, inadequate social life

and resulting low perceived interpersonal social support)

[21,24,25]. However, further research of the presented sugges-

tion is necessary.

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