Self-Rated Health and Psychological Distress among Emerging Adults in Italy: A Comparison between Data on University Students, Young Workers and Working Students Collected through the 2005 and 2013 National Health Surveys

Abstract

Background. The present study aimed at comparing self-reported physical health and mental health among university students, workers, and working students aged between 19 years and 29 years. Method. Using data from National Health Surveys held in 2005 and 2013, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 18,612 Italian emerging adults grouped into three groups: university students, workers, and working students. The odds ratios of self-reported anxiety or depression, poor general health, and poor mental health and physical health (as assessed through SF-12) were estimated through logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders. Results. Compared with workers, students showed an increased risk of anxiety or depression and a lower risk of poor general health. Students and working students showed an increased risk of reporting weak mental health compared with that in workers, while students displayed a lower risk of poor physical health. Significant differences were not found between the 2005 and 2013 surveys. Conclusions. These results are of considerable importance for psychologists as well as educational and occupation-based institutions for planning prevention programs and clinical interventions.

Occupational physical activity, mortality and CHD events in the Italian Longitudinal Study

“…Appendix A shows the survey questions relating to physical activity in all domains for the 1999–2000 and 2004–2005 surveys, in English and Italian. These physical activity measures are not externally validated, but have been used in several national surveys and in different epidemiological studies (d’Errico et al 2019 ; Franzoi et al 2021 ; Gandini et al 2019 ; Piccinelli et al 2018 ). For OPA, in both surveys, employed participants were asked: ‘Is your work mostly characterised by physical activity?’.…”

Socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyles, social support quality and mental health in college students: a cross-sectional study

“…Mental health is affected by complex reasons, such as socio-demographic characteristics [13], lifestyles [14], occupational status [15], as well as self-rated health [16] and social networks [17,18]. Social support quality (SSQ) is considered as another critical influencing factor for mental health status [19], and dissatisfaction with insufficient or poor-quality social supports is closely associated with mental health problems [20].…”

Psychological Interventions for Higher Education Students in Europe: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Thus, there is a strong need for clinical psychology and psychotherapeutic interventions. Indeed, psychotherapeutic work can promote transformations that, in addition to increasing quality of life, can help students evolve toward healthier ways of relating on both the individual and interpersonal levels [15,148]. Nonetheless, only a few studies have focused on psychotherapy, and, most notably, long-term interventions [63,64,149].…”

“…Frequently, this transitional period takes place during the years of higher education, which implies further tasks and demands [7][8][9]. Several studies [10][11][12][13][14] have shown that university students report higher levels of anxiety and depression, as well as lower levels of perceived health, and are at greater risk for poor mental health than, for example, their working peers [15] and the general population [16,17]. Thus, it is of fundamental importance to design and provide comprehensive psychological interventions to support emerging adults through this complex transition, with a specific focus on those in higher education [18][19][20].…”