IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2023i6p4749-d1090748.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An Assessment of Austrian School Students’ Mental Health and Their Wish for Support: A Mixed Methods Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Katja Haider

    (Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria)

  • Elke Humer

    (Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria)

  • Magdalena Weber

    (Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria
    Department of Organizational Psychology, Private University of Schloss Seeburg, 5201 Seekirchen am Wallersee, Austria)

  • Christoph Pieh

    (Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria)

  • Tiam Ghorab

    (Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria)

  • Rachel Dale

    (Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria)

  • Carina Dinhof

    (Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria)

  • Afsaneh Gächter

    (Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria)

  • Thomas Probst

    (Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria)

  • Andrea Jesser

    (Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria)

Abstract

The mental health of school students has been severely impacted by the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study used a mixed methods approach to assess students’ mental health and examine their wishes for support to improve their psychological well-being. We further investigated gender and age group differences in the amount of clinically relevant mental health problems and the roles that mental health and gender had on desired support. Between April and May 2022, a total of 616 Austrian students aged between 14 and 20 participated in a cross-sectional online survey (77.4% female; 19.8% male; 2.8% non-binary) assessing wishes for support regarding mental well-being and mental health indicators (depression: PHQ-9; anxiety: GAD-7; insomnia: ISI; stress: PSS-10; eating disorders: SCOFF; alcohol abuse: CAGE). A wish for support was expressed by 46.6% of the students. Qualitative content analysis revealed that the two most important categories of desired support types were “professional help” and “someone to talk to”. The group of students with a wish for support in general significantly more often showed clinically relevant depression, anxiety, insomnia, eating disorders, or high stress symptoms. Students that wished for professional help significantly more often exceeded the cut-off for clinically relevant depression, anxiety, and high stress. Those who wished for someone to talk to significantly more often exceeded the cut-off for clinically relevant eating disorders. The results indicate a great need for support for young people’s mental health problems and that this need is even more urgent for students.

Suggested Citation

  • Katja Haider & Elke Humer & Magdalena Weber & Christoph Pieh & Tiam Ghorab & Rachel Dale & Carina Dinhof & Afsaneh Gächter & Thomas Probst & Andrea Jesser, 2023. "An Assessment of Austrian School Students’ Mental Health and Their Wish for Support: A Mixed Methods Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-18, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:6:p:4749-:d:1090748
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/6/4749/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/6/4749/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mendolia, Silvia & Suziedelyte, Agne & Zhu, Anna, 2022. "Have girls been left behind during the COVID-19 pandemic? Gender differences in pandemic effects on children’s mental wellbeing," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    2. Marie-Pierre Tavolacci & Pierre Déchelotte & Joel Ladner, 2020. "Eating Disorders among College Students in France: Characteristics, Help-and Care-Seeking," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-11, August.
    3. Rachel Dale & Teresa O’Rourke & Elke Humer & Andrea Jesser & Paul L. Plener & Christoph Pieh, 2021. "Mental Health of Apprentices during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Austria and the Effect of Gender, Migration Background, and Work Situation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-11, August.
    4. Stefan Kaltschik & Christoph Pieh & Rachel Dale & Thomas Probst & Barbara Pammer & Elke Humer, 2022. "Assessment of the Long-Term Mental Health Effects on Austrian Students after COVID-19 Restrictions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-13, October.
    5. Maria Rosaria Gualano & Giuseppina Lo Moro & Gianluca Voglino & Fabrizio Bert & Roberta Siliquini, 2020. "Effects of Covid-19 Lockdown on Mental Health and Sleep Disturbances in Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-13, July.
    6. Rachel Dale & Sanja Budimir & Thomas Probst & Peter Stippl & Christoph Pieh, 2021. "Mental Health during the COVID-19 Lockdown over the Christmas Period in Austria and the Effects of Sociodemographic and Lifestyle Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-15, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rachel Dale & Teresa O’Rourke & Elke Humer & Andrea Jesser & Paul L. Plener & Christoph Pieh, 2021. "Mental Health of Apprentices during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Austria and the Effect of Gender, Migration Background, and Work Situation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-11, August.
    2. Felix Beierle & Johannes Schobel & Carsten Vogel & Johannes Allgaier & Lena Mulansky & Fabian Haug & Julian Haug & Winfried Schlee & Marc Holfelder & Michael Stach & Marc Schickler & Harald Baumeister, 2021. "Corona Health—A Study- and Sensor-Based Mobile App Platform Exploring Aspects of the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-19, July.
    3. Francesca Gallè & Elita Anna Sabella & Lavinia Bianco & Mario Maninchedda & Benedetta Barchielli & Fabrizio Liguori & Giovanna Da Molin & Giorgio Liguori & Giovanni Battista Orsi & Stefano Ferracuti &, 2022. "How the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Impacted Daily Life? Assessing the Use of Web Resources for Recreational Activities in the Italian Adult Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-13, November.
    4. Mohd Fadhli Mohd Fauzi & Hanizah Mohd Yusoff & Rosnawati Muhamad Robat & Nur Adibah Mat Saruan & Khairil Idham Ismail & Ahmad Firdaus Mohd Haris, 2020. "Doctors’ Mental Health in the Midst of COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Work Demands and Recovery Experiences," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-16, October.
    5. Lígia Passos & Filipe Prazeres & Andreia Teixeira & Carlos Martins, 2020. "Impact on Mental Health Due to COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study in Portugal and Brazil," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-13, September.
    6. Filomena Pietrantonio & Francesco Rosiello & Elena Alessi & Matteo Pascucci & Marianna Rainone & Enrica Cipriano & Alessandra Di Berardino & Antonio Vinci & Matteo Ruggeri & Serafino Ricci, 2021. "Burden of COVID-19 on Italian Internal Medicine Wards: Delphi, SWOT, and Performance Analysis after Two Pandemic Waves in the Local Health Authority “Roma 6” Hospital Structures," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-11, June.
    7. Mateusz Ciski & Krzysztof Rząsa, 2023. "Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression in the Investigation of Local COVID-19 Anomalies Based on Population Age Structure in Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(10), pages 1-23, May.
    8. Daniela Marchetti & Roberta Maiella & Rocco Palumbo & Melissa D’Ettorre & Irene Ceccato & Marco Colasanti & Adolfo Di Crosta & Pasquale La Malva & Emanuela Bartolini & Daniela Biasone & Nicola Mammare, 2023. "Self-Reported Mental Health and Psychosocial Correlates during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Data from the General Population in Italy," Data, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-7, June.
    9. Daniele Giansanti & Mariacristina Siotto & Laura Parisi & Irene Aprile, 2022. "Pet Presence Can Reduce Anxiety in the Elderly: The Italian Experience during COVID-19 Lockdown Assessed by an Electronic Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-12, May.
    10. Royce Anders & Florian Lecuelle & Clément Perrin & Swann Ruyter & Patricia Franco & Stéphanie Huguelet & Benjamin Putois, 2021. "The Interaction between Lockdown-Specific Conditions and Family-Specific Variables Explains the Presence of Child Insomnia during COVID-19: A Key Response to the Current Debate," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-19, November.
    11. Katharina Werner & Ludger Woessmann, 2021. "The Legacy of Covid-19 in Education," CESifo Working Paper Series 9358, CESifo.
    12. Micaela Di Consiglio & Sheila Merola & Tiziana Pascucci & Cristiano Violani & Alessandro Couyoumdjian, 2021. "The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Italian University Students’ Mental Health: Changes across the Waves," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-13, September.
    13. Zisis Papazisis & Pantelis T. Nikolaidis & Georgia Trakada, 2021. "Sleep, Physical Activity, and Diet of Adults during the Second Lockdown of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Greece," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-11, July.
    14. Le Shi & Zheng-An Lu & Jian-Yu Que & Xiao-Lin Huang & Qing-Dong Lu & Lin Liu & Yong-Bo Zheng & Wei-Jian Liu & Mao-Sheng Ran & Kai Yuan & Wei Yan & Yan-Kun Sun & Si-Wei Sun & Jie Shi & Thomas Kosten & , 2021. "Long-Term Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health among the General Public: A Nationwide Longitudinal Study in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-18, August.
    15. Sabrina Demarie & Christel Galvani & Veronique Louise Billat, 2020. "Horse-Riding Competitions Pre and Post COVID-19: Effect of Anxiety, sRPE and HR on Performance in Eventing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-10, November.
    16. Anna Vila-Martí & Iñaki Elío & Sandra Sumalla-Cano, 2021. "Eating Behavior during First-Year College Students, including Eating Disorders—RUVIC-RUNEAT-TCA Project. Protocol of an Observational Multicentric Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-11, September.
    17. Patricia Concepción García-Suárez & Ermilo Canton-Martínez & Iván Rentería & Barbara Moura Antunes & Juan Pablo Machado-Parra & Jorge Alberto Aburto-Corona & Luis Mario Gómez-Miranda & Alberto Jiménez, 2022. "Remote, Whole-Body Interval Training Improves Muscular Endurance and Cardiac Autonomic Control in Young Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-12, October.
    18. Elke Humer & Christoph Pieh & Ida-Maria Kisler & Wolfgang Schimböck & Petra Schadenhofer, 2022. "A Longitudinal Study on Mental Well-Being, Perceived Stress Level and Job-Related Meaningfulness of Austrian Telephone Emergency Service Counselors during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-9, March.
    19. Stefanie Winter & Andrea Jesser & Thomas Probst & Yvonne Schaffler & Ida-Maria Kisler & Barbara Haid & Christoph Pieh & Elke Humer, 2023. "How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affects the Provision of Psychotherapy: Results from Three Online Surveys on Austrian Psychotherapists," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-15, January.
    20. Murilo Ricardo Zibetti & Fernanda Barcellos Serralta & Chris Evans, 2021. "Longitudinal Distress among Brazilian University Workers during Pandemics," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-11, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:6:p:4749-:d:1090748. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.