Family and College Environmental Exposures Mediate the Relationship between Parental Education and Depression among College Students

Depression is a major health concern for college students due to its substantial morbidity and mortality. Although low parental education has been identified as a factor in depression in college students, the mechanisms through which parental educational achievement affects students' depression...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2016-03, Vol.11 (3), p.e0151759-e0151759
Main Authors: Zhai, Hui, Chen, Lu, Yang, Yanjie, Sun, Hailian, Pan, Hui, He, Jincai, Zhu, Xiongzhao, Sui, Hong, Wang, Wenbo, Qiu, Xiaohui, Qiao, Zhengxue, Yang, Xiuxian, Yang, Jiarun, Yu, Yunmiao, Ban, Bo, He, Changzhi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
Adult
College students
Colleges & universities
Conflicts
Cross-Sectional Studies
Demographic aspects
Demographics
Depression (Mood disorder)
Depression - epidemiology
Economic conditions
Education
Educational Status
Employment
Environmental education
Environmental Exposure
Family Relations
Female
Health aspects
Humans
Male
Medicine and Health Sciences
Mental depression
Morbidity
Parents
People and Places
Psychological aspects
Risk factors
Social Sciences
Socioeconomic Factors
Students
Students - psychology
Teaching methods
Teenagers
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Summary:Depression is a major health concern for college students due to its substantial morbidity and mortality. Although low parental education has been identified as a factor in depression in college students, the mechanisms through which parental educational achievement affects students' depression are not well understood. We tested whether adverse family and college environments mediate the relationship between parental educational level and depression among Chinese college students. A total of 5180 respondents were selected using a cross-sectional survey. We examined the association of parental education, adverse family and college environments with depression in college students using the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist, Beck Depression Inventory and socio-demographic questionnaires. Lower parental educational level is significantly correlated with depression in college students in our sample. Additionally, low family economic status, paternal or maternal unemployment, long periods spent apart from family, family conflicts, having been scolded and beaten by parents, poor or dissatisfying test performance, conflict with friends, heavy course load and failure in selection processes are also associated with parental education. Low family economic status, paternal or maternal unemployment, long periods spent apart from family, family conflicts, poor or dissatisfying test performance, conflict with friends and heavy course load mediated the relationship between parental education and depression in college students. Adverse family and college environments could explain the influence of parental educational level on depression in college students.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0151759