Prevalence and correlates of common mental disorders among dental students in Brazil

Abstract

This study aimed to estimate prevalence of common mental disorders (CMD) and associated factors among dental students. In this cross-sectional study, 230 students answered a questionnaire and instruments to assess CMD (Self Reporting Questionnaire-20), hazardous alcohol consumption (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test), social support (Social Support Scale), perceptions of academic life (Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure), coping (Ways of Coping Inventory) and resilience (Resilience Scale). Bivariate analysis was conducted using the Chi-Square and Mann-Whitney tests. Logistic regression included all explanatory variableswith p<0.20 in the bivariate analysis, besides sex and academic year. The explanatory variables were analyzed in five successive blocks (backward-stepwise), until all variables presented statistical significance in the final model (p<0.05). The prevalence of CMD was 45.2% (95%CI: 38.7–51.6), with no significant differences between sexes. Students with no extracurricular activities, who had negatively self- assessed their health status and their academic performance, were about four times more likely to present CMD, followed by receiving psychological or psychiatric treatment during university (AOR: 2.65; 95%CI: 1.1–6.1) and those with high scores for confrontive coping (AOR: 1.20; 95%CI: 1.0–1.4). Resilience was a protective factor for CMD among dental students (AOR: 0.93; 95%CI: 0.9–1.0). Aspects related to academic performance, health status and confrontive coping strategies were risk factors to students’ mental health. Individuals with high levels of resilience showed lower prevalence of CMD. Further prospective studies could contribute to understanding the role of resilience among this population.

An analysis of resilience in dental students using the Resilience Scale for Adults

“…Understanding the factors that are detrimental to, or protective of, students’ mental health can help educators combat issues and create a dental school environment where students can thrive academically and socially. This study's finding of resilience as a protective factor provides further context for the importance of better understanding resilience in dental students . A study of the impact of learning environment disruption on dental student learning experiences, found that a high value on people facilitated a greater resilience .…”

“…It has been previously documented that resilient individuals were more achievement‐oriented, pursued more education, and almost all held full‐time jobs in their adult life . Their adult career success, despite social adversities, was related to their strong ability to plan and organize, denoted as “planfulness.”…”

“…Dental hygiene students in Japan were found to have an innate resilience that was a significant predictor of self‐rated health . A study of Brazilian dental students found that high scores of resilience showed a lower prevalence for common mental disorders and moreover showed resilience as a protector factor for common mental disorders . Understanding the factors that are detrimental to, or protective of, students’ mental health can help educators combat issues and create a dental school environment where students can thrive academically and socially.…”

Prevalence of Common Mental Disorder and Its Association with Khat Chewing among Ethiopian College Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…About 13 articles were further excluded due to the differences in the study population and study settings. Among these, six were conducted in Saudi Arabia [21,22], Pakistan [23], Brazil [24], Egypt [25], and Somalia [26]. The other six studies were excluded because of their different study population (conducted other than college/university students) [27][28][29][30][31][32].…”

COVID-19 and Dental and Dental Hygiene Students’ Career Plans

“…Students who reported a change in their career plans also had lower resilience scores compared to those who did not report a change in their plans, corroborating prior evidence that resilience is a key psychological resource that could make career shocks more manageable ( Akkermans et al 2020 ). Resilient individuals show career success, despite adversities, due to their strong ability to plan and organize, often denoted as “planfulness” ( Graner et al 2018 ). Given these findings, academic dental institutions need to prioritize the creation of responsive academic environments that not only best prepare students for their future careers but also address concerns related to their well-being.…”