Mood disorders in higher education in Flanders during the 2nd and 3rd COVID-19 wave: Prevalence and help-seeking: Findings from the Flemish College Surveys (FLeCS).
J Psychiatr Res
; 159: 33-41, 2023 03.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2239294
ABSTRACT
To examine the prevalence of 12-month mood disorders and receipt of mental health treatment among a volunteer sample of higher education students during the 2nd and 3rd COVID-19 wave in the Flanders region. Web-based self-report surveys were obtained from 9101 students in higher education in the Flemish College Surveys (FLeCS) in Flanders, Belgium. As part of the World Health Organization's World Mental Health-International College Student Initiative, we screened for 12-month mood disorders (major depressive episode (MDE), mania/hypomania), and service use. We used poststratification weights to generate population-representative data on key socio-demographic characteristics. 50.6% of the respondents screened positive for 12-month mood disorders (46.8% MDE, of which 22.9% with very severe impact). Use of services was very low, with estimates of 35.4% for MDE, 31.7% for mania, and 25.5% for hypomania. Even among students with very severe disorders, treatment rates were never higher than 48.3%. Most common barriers for not using services were the preference to handle the problem alone (83.4%) and not knowing where to seek professional help (79.8%). We found a high unmet need for mood problems among college students; though caution is needed in interpreting these findings given the volunteer nature of the sample. A reallocation of treatment resources for higher education students should be considered, particulary services that focus on innovative, low-threshold, and scalable interventions.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Depressive Disorder, Major
/
COVID-19
/
Mental Disorders
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Psychiatr Res
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
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