Depression, anxiety, stress and adverse childhood experience among first-year university students

The purpose of this research was to examine the levels of Depression, Anxiety, Stress (DAS) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in first-year university students in Saudi Arabia.

A survey-based study was conducted utilizing an electronic survey distributed through the university's blackboard system. The survey was completed by 839 King Abdulaziz University first-year students between 17 and 25. The study is making use of the DASS-21 tool in its Arabic version to measure levels of psychological distress.

The study includes 839 first-year students and the results showed high levels of Stress (ST) (92.4%), Depression (DE) (70.3%), and Anxiety (AX) (70.1%) in our study population. A large proportion of the participants exhibited highly severe DE, ST, and moderate AX. Furthermore, a significant proportion of respondents experienced highly severe ST, regardless of their participation in sports. Additionally, 29% of the respondents were smokers and had severe DE. Among the participants, 30.3% achieved the highest ACE level of 10. Males reported higher number of ACEs than females, with a mean ACE score of 8.8 versus 6.5. The mean ACE score was also significantly associated with monthly household income. Overall, students with normal DAS reported significantly higher mean ACE scores.

The utilization of programs designed to identify students who have experienced adverse childhood events to take necessary precautions in their academic pursuits and to find those struggling with mental health issues and provide appropriate help and assistance is of utmost importance.