Prevalence, types, distribution and associations of psychosocial problems among university students in Uganda
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Date
2014
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Journal of Research Studies in Psychology
Abstract
The prevalence of psychosocial problems and their associations among University students in
Uganda has received very little research attention. Yet, this information is important to provide
data to assist in mental health policy formulation for counseling intervention among the
vulnerable university students populations in Uganda. The study objective was to investigate
the prevalence, types, distribution and associations of psychosocial problems among university
students in Uganda. It was part of a larger PhD study that validated an instrument for assessing
university students’ psychosocial problems in Uganda. This study employed a descriptive cross
sectional survey technique. Five universities participated in a survey conducted during the
2012/13 academic year. Out of 1101 approached students, 976 (88.6%) completed the survey
which included a socio-demographic questionnaire, study program characteristics, medical
health questionnaire and the University Students Evaluation of Psychosocial Problems (USEPP)
instrument which was used to evaluate the psychosocial problems. The prevalence, types and
distribution of psychosocial problems among the students was established using descriptive
statistics and regression analysis established the relationship between psychosocial problems
and the correlates of interest. The estimated prevalence of psychosocial problems among the
university students was 36.5%. Students living in off- campus hostels, having chronic medical
conditions, and those with a previous history of mental health problems and who perceived
their health as poor/fair were at a higher risk of psychosocial problems. These findings
highlight to the need to initiate policies to address the students’ psychosocial problems.
Description
Keywords
Prevalence, Psychosocial problems, University students, Social demographics, Counselling intervention
Citation
Nsereko, N. D., Musisi, S., Nakigudde, J., & Holtzman, S. (2014). Prevalence, types, distribution and associations of psychosocial problems among university students in Uganda. International Journal of Research Studies in Psychology, 3(3). DOI: 10.5861/ijrsp.2014.695