Synopsis
This prospective cohort sutdy of Australian university students assesses the relation between social stress, adolescence and mental health. First-year students experience primarily the stress of social transition from school to university, augmented by problems of the late phase of adolescence. This stress is associated with impaired mental health. In Second Year, the sources of social stress, and those most associated with impaired mental health, shift from the social transition area towards more personal concerns over self-view, sexual attitudes, philosophical and social values. These latter concerns typify the identity achievement tasks of late adolescence. Female students appear more susceptible man males to the occurrence and effects of social stress on mental health.