What is the impact of social support on self-rated health and depressive symptoms in university students: a survey study in two German universities

Background : Mental health problems have been shown to be prevalent among university students, with stress, depression and anxiety symptoms having a strikingly negative impact. Factors such as gender and social support have been considered important factors for mental and self-rated health. The present study aims to report on the mental and self-rated health of students at two universities within the Berlin-Potsdam metropolitan area (Germany) and to investigate potential associations between social support, self-rated health and depressive symptoms in these two samples. Methods : Students from two universities and different faculties participated in an online-survey reporting on their self-rated health, depressive symptoms and social support. To analyse differences between the two samples we conducted chi square tests for categorical variables, t-tests for continuous variables, and Mann-Whitney U tests for non-normally distributed continuous variables. We also used multivariate linear regression models for the two samples separately to investigate the association of the two health indicators with social support while accounting for relationship status, living situation (living alone yes/no) and gender. Results : 31% of students (27% to 36% in our two samples) reported depressive symptoms above the clinically relevant threshold. Increased depressive symptoms (β=-.317, p<.001; β=-.326, p<.001) and lower overall health (β=.222, p=.003; β=.176, p=.008) were associated with fewer social support in both samples. Female gender was associated with higher depressive symptoms (β=.207, p<.001) and lower overall health (β=-.231, p<.001) in one sample; gender did not have a significant effect in the other sample. Relationship status and living situation did not show a significant effect. Conclusions : With roughly a third of students reporting depressive symptoms at both study sites, our data supports the notion that mental health difficulties are a critically relevant topic for universities. We recommend that universities actively provide the infrastructure needed and anchor them in the core budget in order to promote studyability, social support and mental health amongst their students. We also recommend acknowledging gender sensitive aspects in mental health promotion.