The relationship between mental health and basic need fulfillment of university students

Abstract

Objectives: This study was carried out in order to determine the mental health status and the level of basic need fulfillment in university students and the relationship between these two parameters in terms of certain sociodemographic variables. Methods: Designed as a cross sectional study, this research study was conducted with 609 students studying at a foundation university in Istanbul. The data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the University Students Basic Needs Scale and the General Health Questionnaire(GHQ-12). Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman correlation analysis and hierarchical multiple regression were used for the data analysis. Results: The mean age of the students was 21.65±2.15, and 63.1% were female. The students’ mean GHQ-12 score was 1.77±2.48, with the results from this scale showing that 38.9% of the students had psychological symptoms. Students who had a GHQ-12 score of less than 2 had higher scores on the subscales of survival, power, fun, love and belonging need and freedom than those of students whose GHQ-12 score was greater than 2. The results of the regression analysis revealed that the fulfillment of freedom, survival, fun, power needs, as well as economic status and smoking significantly affected the mental health of the university students. Conclusion: The study found that students whose basic needs are fulfilled have better mental health. Keywords: Basic needs; general health questionnaire; mental health; university students.