Psychological distress among university female students and their need for mental health services.

Psychological distress among university students, especially young women, is of increasing concern. This study focuses on the prevalence of psychological distress among female university students and their need for mental health services. The analysis is based on two cross-sectional surveys, an internet survey among women students attending the University of Iceland in the spring of 2007, and a postal survey of Icelandic female adults conducted in the Fall of 2006. Psychological distress was measured with the Symptom Checklist-90 Depression and Anxiety subscales. The prevalence of above-threshold depression and anxiety among the university women students was 22.5% and 21.2% respectively. Results showed that the mean depression score was significantly lower among the students than among women of the same age in the general population. However, little less than one-third of students with elevated distress levels received any professional help. Only 1.4% of the distressed students received mental help care from nurses. The high proportion of distressed female students not receiving professional help is a challenge to the primary health-care system and the nursing profession. This also raises questions about the adequacy of the current system of health-care delivery and the potential advantages of on-campus health services, in closer proximity to the students.

Sociodemographic differences in patterns of sedentary and physically active behavior in older children and adolescents.

UNLABELLED: Numerous studies have found that involvement in moderate-intensity and strenuous activity has positive effects on health. This study considered the prevalence of different aspects of physical activity and sedentary behavior in 11-16-y-olds based on a representative national survey of 3270 Icelandic primary schoolchildren (91% response rate). All-day sedentary behavior was extremely rare (< 1%), and the vast majority (91%) were physically active (> or = 3 times per week) during school or leisure time, thanks largely to school physical education. Only 39% were physically active (> or = 3 times per week) during leisure time, and only 29% engaged in regular (> or = 3 times per week) leisure time strenuous exercise. Girls were more sedentary, less leisure time physically active, and less involved in leisure time strenuous exercise. Sedentary behavior increased and physically active behavior decreased with age, especially after early adolescence. However, there were no age differences in strenuous leisure time exercise. Upper-class students were less sedentary and more physically active during leisure time than working-class students. Finally, rural students were more sedentary during leisure time, and less physically active than students from urban areas. An interaction was found between age and residence when predicting leisure time physical activity, indicating that the inverse age-activity relationship in urban areas is partly reversed in rural areas. CONCLUSION: Compulsory school physical education frequently failed to translate into voluntary physical involvement. Sociodemographic differences in physical activity were greater during leisure time, than during school and leisure time combined.

Factors related to cigarette smoking and alcohol use among adolescents.

Based on a national survey of Icelandic adolescents, this study examined the various predictors of cigarette smoking and alcohol use. It was found that the use of tobacco and alcohol was related to a number of different factors: sex, residence, hours of paid work, physical activities, social network, educational performance and beliefs, and psychological distress. Further, smoking and drinking had most predictors in common. It was concluded that existing theoretical perspectives on juvenile deviance do not provide an adequate account of adolescent smoking and drinking. The need to integrate existing theories into a wider explanatory framework is discussed.