Factors Influencing the Mental Health of University Students in the Czech Republic

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7160/eriesj.2024.170406

Keywords:

EUROSTUDENT, Logistic regression, Mental health, University students

Abstract

The importance of mental health care has increased significantly in recent years. It is being used more by both the younger and older generations. This article focuses on the mental health of university students in the Czech Republic based on the annual reports data and data from the EUROSTUDENT 8 survey. The only official data source comes from the annual reports published by individual universities regarding students with special needs. Students with mental health problems belong to Group F, which includes Other Mental Health Problems. The number of registered students with specific needs grew by 16% on average every year between 2016 and 2022. For Group F, the numbers increased by 23% annually. More detailed data from the international EUROSTUDENT survey tracks university students' social and living conditions. The dataset contains over 10,000 observations. This paper uses binary logistic regression to look for factors that influence the mental health of university students. The results show that female students, students in humanities, students with financial difficulties, and students with some form of impairment have higher chances of mental health problems.

References

Bandura, A. (1986) Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Bøe, T., Hysing, M., Lønning, K. J. and Sivertsen, B. (2021) ‘Financial difficulties and student health: Results from a National Cross-Sectional Survey of Norwegian college and university students‘, Mental Health & Prevention, Vol. 21, 200195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2020.200196

Campbell, F., Blank, L., Cantrell, A., Baxter, S., Blackmore, Ch., Dixon, J. and Goyder, E. (2022) ‘Factors that influence mental health of university and college students in the UK: a systematic review’, BMC Public Health, Vol. 22, No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13943-x

Center for Higher Education Studies (2024) Notes about EUROSTUDENT 8 project. [Online], Available: https://www.csvs.cz/en/current-projects/eurostudent-viii/ [29 Aug 2024]

Chýlová, H. and Natovová, L. (2013) ‘Stress, Self-efficacy and Well-being of the University Students’, Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 190–202. https://doi.org/10.7160/eriesj.2013.060306

Cornaglia, F., Crivellaro, E. and McNally, S. (2015) ‘Mental health and education decisions’, Labour Economics, Vol. 33, pp. 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2015.01.005

Cuppen, J., Muja, A. and Geurts R. (2024) ‘Well-being and mental health among students in European higher education’, EUROSTUDENT 8 Topical module report. [Online], Available: https://www.eurostudent.eu/download_files/documents/E8TopicalModulereportWellbeingandmentalhealth.pdf [29 Aug 2024]

Eisenberg, D., Gollust, S. E., Golberstein, E. and Hefner J. L. (2007) ‘Prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, and suicidality among university students’, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, Vol. 77, No. 4, pp. 534–42. https://doi.org/10.1037/0002-9432.77.4.534

Field, A. P. (2009) Discovering Statistics using SPSS: (and sex and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll), Los Angeles: Sage.

Galderisi, S., Heinz, A., Kastrup, M., Beezhold, J. and Sartorius, N. (2015) ‘Toward a new definition of mental health’, World Psychiatry. Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 231–233. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20231

Grevenstein, D., Aguilar-Raab, C. and Bluemke, M. (2018) ‘Mindful and Resilient? Incremental Validity of Sense of Coherence Over Mindfulness and Big Five Personality Factors for Quality of Life Outcomes’, Journal of Happiness Studies, Vol. 19, No. 7, pp. 1883–1902. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-017-9901

Gutiérrez-Hernández, M. E., Fanjul, L. F., Díaz-Megolla, A., Reyes-Hurtado, P., Herrera-Rodríguez, J. F., Enjuto-Castellanos, M. D. P. and Peñate, W. (2021) ‘Covid-19 lockdown and mental health in a sample population in Spain: The role of self-compassion’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18042103

Hauschildt, K., Gwosć, Ch., Schirmer, H., Mandl, S. and Menz, C. (2024) ‘Social and Economic Conditions of Student Life in Europe’. EUROSTUDENT 8 Synopsis of Indicators 2021-2024. [Online], Available: https://www.eurostudent.eu/download_files/documents/EUROSTUDENT_8_Synopsis_of_Indicators.pdf [29 Aug 2024]

Hu, B., Wang, Y., Zhou, H. T., Li, M. and Zheng, L. (2024) ‘A study on the impact of mental health problems on the academic buoyancy of medical students and the mechanisms’, Frontiers in Public Health, Vol. 11, 1229343. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1229343

Kitzrow, M. A. (2003) ‘The mental health needs of today’s college students: Challenges and recommendations’, Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 167–181. https://doi.org/10.2202/1949-6605.5037

Kotera, Y., Conway, E. and Van Gordon, W. (2019) ‘Mental health of UK university business students: Relationship with shame, motivation and self-compassion’, Journal of Education for Business, Vol. 94, No. 1, pp. 11–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2018.1496898

Koubová, A.and Kimhi, S. (2024) ‘Prediction of individual, community and societal resilience in the Czech Republic compared to Slovakia during the war in Ukraine’. BMC Public Health, Vol. 24, No. 583. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18075-y

Krejčová, K., Rymešová, P. and Chýlová, H. (2023) ‘Self-compassion as a Newly Observed Dimension of the Student’s Personality’, Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 140–148. http://doi.org/10.7160/eriesj.2023.160205

Lee, J., Jeong, H. J. and Kim, S. (2021) ‘Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Among Undergraduate Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic and their Use of Mental Health Services’, Innovative Higher Education, Vol. 46, No. 5, pp. 519–538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-021-09552-y

Mahdavi, P., Valibeygi, A., Moradi, M. and Sadeghi, S. (2021) ‘Relationship Between Achievement Motivation, Mental Health and Academic Success in University Students’, International Quarterly of Community Health Education, Vol. 43, No. 3, pp. 311–317. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272684x211025932

Marsh, I. C., Chan, S. W. Y. and MacBeth, A. (2018) ‘Self-compassion and Psychological Distress in Adolescents—a Meta-analysis’, Mindfulness, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 1011–1027. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0850-7

Martin, A. J., and Marsh, H. W. (2020) ‘Investigating the reciprocal relations between academic buoyancy and academic adversity: Evidence for the protective role of academic buoyancy in reducing academic adversity over time’, International Journal of Behavioral Development, Vol. 44, No. 4, pp. 301–312. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025419885027

Masaryk University (2024) Strategic Plan Implementation Plan. [Online], Available: https://www.muni.cz/media/3620910/plan_realizace_sz_mu_na_rok_2024_final_msmt.pdf [15 Nov 2024]

Medisauskaite, A., Silkens, M. E. W. M. and Rich, A. (2023) ‘A national longitudinal cohort study of factors contributing to UK medical students’ mental ill-health symptoms’, General Psychiatry, Vol. 36, No. 2, e101004. https://doi.org/10.1136/gpsych-2022-101004

Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (2020) Strategic Plan of the Ministry for Higher Education for the Period from 2021. [Online], Available: https://msmt.gov.cz/uploads/odbor_30/DH/SZ/strategic_plan_2021_.pdf [15 Nov 2024]

Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (2024a) Implementation Plan for the Strategic Intent for Higher Education 2024. [Online], Available: https://msmt.gov.cz/uploads/odbor_30/DH/SZ/Plan_realizace_SZ_pro_rok_2025.pdf / [15 Nov 2024]

Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (2024b) Rules for the Provision of Contributions and Subsidies to Public Universities. [Online], Available: https://msmt.gov.cz/file/61991/ [25 Aug 2024]

Münich D. and Kořínek, O. (2021) Financial support for students in higher education in the Czech Republic: A system overhaul is required. [Online], Available: https://idea.cerge-ei.cz/files/IDEA_Studie_8_2021_Financni_podpora_studia/IDEA_Studie_8_2021_Financni_podpora_studia.pdf / [15 Nov 2024]

Neff, K. (2015) ‘The Self-Compassion Scale is a Valid and Theoretically Coherent Measure of Self-Compassion’, Mindfulness, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 264–274. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-015-0479-3

Novotný, J. S., Gonzalez-Rivas, J. P., Kunzová, Š., Skladaná, M., Pospíšilová, A., Polcrová, A., Medina-Inojosa, J. R., Lopez-Jimenez, F., Geda, Y. E. and Stokin, G. B. (2020) ‘Risk Factors Underlying COVID-19 Lockdown-Induced Mental Distress’, Frontiers in Psychiatry, Vol. 11, 603014. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.603014

Ochnik, D., Rogowska, A. M., Kuśnierz, C., Jakubiak, M., Schütz, A., Held, M. J., Arzenšek, A., Benatov, J., Berger, R., Korchagina, E. V., Pavlova, I., Blažková, I., Aslan, I., Çınar, O. and Cuero-Acosta, Y. A. (2021) ‘Mental health prevalence and predictors among university students in nine countries during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-national study’, Scientific Reports, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-97697-3

Pajares, F. (1996) ‘Self-efficacy beliefs in academic settings’, Review of Educational Research, Vol. 66, No. 4, pp. 543–578. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543066004543

Pereira, S., Early, N., Outar, L., Dimitrova, L., Walker, L. and Dzikiti, Ch. (2020) University Student Mental Health Survey 2020: A large scale study into the prevalence of student mental illness within UK universities. [Online], Available: https://assets.website-files.com/602d05d13b303dec233e5ce3/60305923a557c3641f1a7808_Mental%20Health%20Report%202019%20(2020).pdf [1 Sept 2024]

Putwain, D., Daumiller, M., Hussain, T. and Pekrun, R. (2024) ‘Revisiting the Relation Between Academic Buoyancy and Coping: A Network Analysis’, Contemporary Educational Psychology, Vol. 78, 102283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2024.102283

Ramluggun, P., Kozlowska, O., Mansbridge, S., Rioga, M. and Anjoyeb, M. (2022) ‘Mental Health in Higher Education; Faculty staff survey on supporting students with mental health needs’, Health Education, Vol. 122, No. 6, pp. 601–616. https://doi.org/10.1108/HE-02-2022-0011

Rubáš, D., Matějček, T. and Kroufek, R. (2022) ‘The impact of reduced time spent outdoors during the Covid-19 lockdown on the health and well-being of young people in Czechia’, AUC Geographica, Vol. 57, No. 2, pp. 109–121. https://doi.org/10.14712/23361980.2022.9

De Sousa, G. M., Tavares, V. D. O., de Meiroz Grilo, M. L. P., Coelho, M. L. G., de Lima-Araújo, G. L., Schuch, F. B. and Galvão-Coelho, N. L. (2021) ‘Mental Health in COVID-19 Pandemic: A Meta-Review of Prevalence Meta-Analyses’, Frontiers in Psychology, Vol. 12, 703838. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.703838

Tan, G. X. D., Xun, C. S., Hartanto, A., Goh, A. Y. H. and Majeed, N. M. (2023) ‘Prevalence of anxiety in college and university students: An umbrella review’, Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, Vol. 14, 100658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadr.2023.100658

Tang, L. and Zhu, X. (2024) ‘Academic self-efficacy, grit, and teacher support as predictors of psychological well-being of Chinese EFL students’, Frontiers in Psychology, Vol. 14, 1332909. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1332909

Winkler, P., Formánek, T., Mladá, K. and Evans-Lacko, S. (2021) ‘Development of public stigma toward people with mental health problems in Czechia 2013–2019’, European Psychiatry, Vol. 64, No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.2226

WHO (2020) World Health Organization Constitution. [Online], Available: https://www.who.int/about/governance/constitution [1 Sept 2024]

WHO (2004) Promoting mental health: concepts, emerging evidence, practice (Summary Report). Geneva: World Health Organization. [Online], Available: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9241562943 [1 Sept 2024]

Additional Files

Published

2024-12-31

How to Cite

Vltavska, K., Krejčová, K. and Šulc, Z. (2024) ’Factors Influencing the Mental Health of University Students in the Czech Republic’, Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 338–348. https://doi.org/10.7160/eriesj.2024.170406

Issue

Section

Research Paper

Most read articles by the same author(s)