Depressive symptomatology among university students in Denizli, Turkey: prevalence and sociodemographic correlates

To determine overall and subgroup prevalence of depressive symptomatology among university students in Denizli, Turkey during the 1999-2000 academic year, and to investigate whether sociodemographic factors were associated with depressive symptoms in university students.

A stratified probability sample of 504 Turkish university students (296 male, 208 female) was used in a cross-sectional study. Data were obtained by self-administered questionnaire, including questions on sociodemographic characteristics and problem areas. The revised Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used to determine depressive symptoms of the participants. BDI scores 17 or higher were categorized as depressive for logistic regression analysis. Student t-test and linear regression were used for continuous data analysis.

Out of all participants, 26.2% had a BDI score 17 or higher. The prevalence of depressive symptoms increased to 32.1% among older students, 34.7% among students with low socioeconomic status, 31.2% among seniors, and 62.9% among students with poor school performance. The odds ratio of depressive symptoms was 1.84 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-3.28) in students with low socioeconomic status and 7.34 (95% CI, 3.36-16.1) in students with poor school performance in the multivariate logistic model. The participants identified several problem areas: lack of social activities and shortage of facilities on the campus (69.0%), poor quality of the educational system (54.8%), economic problems (49.3%), disappointment with the university (43.2%), and friendship problems (25.9%).

Considering the high frequency of depressive symptoms among Turkish university students, a student counseling service offering mental health assistance is necessary. This service should especially find the way to reach out to poor students and students with poor school performance.