Assessing psychological problems in university students in Pakistan: a psychometric study

ABSTRACT

Initially, a list of 69 problems reported by 80 referred university students [48 male and 32 female] was gathered and collated. After linguistic and contextual adjustments a list of 58 problems [Student Problems Checklist, SPCL- self report 4-point likert scale] was given to 803 university students along with General Health Questionnaire-28 [GHQ, Goldberg and Williams, 1991], the Eysenck Personality Inventory [EPI, Eysenck and Eysenck, 1976] and the Siddiqui-Shah Depression Scale [SSDS, Siddiqui and Shah, 1997]. Factor analysis of SPCL showed a four factor solution namely, Sense of being Dysfunctional Loss of Confidence, Lack of Self-Regulation, and Anxiety Proneness. The Cronbach Alpha was found to be 0.944 and one week test retest reliability was 0.811. The split half reliability of SPCL was 0.834.The SPCL was found to have significant correlation with GHQ-28, EPI, and SSDS [p<0.001]. Results are discussed in terms of factor structure in cultural context and its further use in assessing mental health issues of university students