Mental Distress and Associated Factors Among Undergraduate Engineering Students of Hawassa University, Ethiopia

Figures & data

Table 1 Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Sociodemographic and Economic Characteristics of Hawassa University Engineering Students, Ethiopia, April 2018

Variable	Specific Variable	Frequency	%
Sex	Male	222	65.1%
	Female	119	34.9%
Age	≤21	172	50.4%
	>21	169	49.6%
Relation-ship status	Single	277	81.2%
	In relationship	54	15.9%
	Married	10	2.9%
Place of residence	Urban	278	81.5%
	Rural	63	18.5%
Distance of the university from the student’s homeland	Near	69	20.2%
	Not that far	115	33.7%
	Far	89	26.1%
	Very far	68	20.0%
Religion	Orthodox Christian	226	66.3%
	Protestant	76	22.3%
	Muslim	28	8.2%
	Others*	11	3.2%
Attending religious practice	Yes	282	82.7%
	No	59	17.3%
Frequency of attending religious practice	Every day	84	24.6%
	Weekly	106	31.1%
	Occasionally	92	27.0%
	Not at all	59	17.3%
Frequency of family visit	4 times a year	101	29.6%
	3 times a year	65	19.1%
	2 times a year	86	25.2%
	Once a year	71	20.8%
Family history of mental illness	Yes	17	5%
	No	324	95%
Monthly pocket money	Low <400	44	12.9%
	Moderate 400–700	89	26.1%
	High > 700	101	29.6%
	Non response	107	31.4%
Facing financial problem	Yes	127	37.2%
	No	214	62.8%

Note: *Adventist, Catholic & Apostolic.

Table 2 Description of Academic, Social Support and Substance Use Characteristics of Hawassa University Engineering Students, Ethiopia, April 2018

Variable	Specific Variable	Frequency	%
Academic year	1st year	94	27.6%
	2nd year	104	30.5%
	3rd year	75	22.0%
	4th year	18	5.3%
	5th year	50	14.6%
Field of study	Civil	100	29.3%
	Electrical	36	10.6%
	Chemical	64	18.8%
	Electromechanical	32	9.4%
	Mechanical	30	8.8%
	Construction Management	24	7.0%
	Hydraulics	45	13.2%
	Others*	10	2.9%
Joining field by choice	Yes	280	82.1%
	No	61	17.9%
Interest in the field of study	Yes	293	85.9%
	No	48	14.1%
Cumulative grade point	<2.00	8	2.3%
	2.00–2.5	45	13.2%
	2.51–3.00	88	25.8%
	3.01–3.50	72	21.1%
	>3.50	30	8.8%
	No reported	98	28.8%
Social support	Good	173	50.7%
	Poor	168	49.3%
Unresolved conflict with roommate	Yes	135	39.7%
	No	204	60.3%
Current substance use	Yes	61	17.9%
	No	280	82.1%
Substance used	Single substance only	37	60.7%
	Polysubstance use	24	39.3%

Note: *Water supply and Environmental, Bio-system and water resource, and irrigation.

Table 3 Bivariate and Multiple Logistic Regression Analysis Showing Significant Predictors of Mental Distress Among Hawassa University Engineering Students, Ethiopia, April 2018

Variable (N=341)		Mental Distress		OR with 95% CI
		Yes	No	Crude	Adjusted
Sex	Male	54	168	1
	Female	44	75	1.82* (1.12,2.96)	2.90* (1.52,5.50)
Age of the students	≤ 21	55	117	1.38 (0.86, 2.21)	1.26 (0.70,2.27)
	>21	43	126	1	1
Attending religious practice	Yes	76	206	1	1
	No	22	37	1.61 (0.89,2.90)	1.30 (0.65, 2.64)
Distance of the university from the student’s homeland	Near	12	57	1	1
	Not that far	35	80	2.08 (0.99,4.34)	1.77 (0.78, 4.03)
	Far	30	59	2.41* (1.12,5.18)	2.24 (0.96, 5.22)
	Very Far	21	47	2.12 (0.95, 4.76)	1.96 (0.79,4.84)
Facing financial Problem	Yes	48	79	2.03* (1.26,3.29)	2.20* (1.25,3.85)
	No	49	164	1	1
Family history of mental illness	Yes	8	9	2.31 (0.87,6.18)	1.53 (0.53,4.43)
	No	90	234	1	1
Joining field by choice	Yes	76	204	1	1
	No	22	39	1.51*(0.84,2.72)	0.83 (0.41,1.67)
Interest in the field of study	Yes	74	219	1	1
	No	24	24	2.96*(1.59,5.52)	2.57* (1.23,5.38)
Social support	Good	33	140	1	1
	Poor	65	103	2.67** (1.64,4.37)	2.58** (1.51,4.42)
Unresolved conflict with roommate	Yes	52	84	2.14* (1.33, 3.45)	2.29* (1.32,3.99)
	No	46	159	1	1
Current substance use	Yes	23	38	1.65 (0.92,2.96)	1.81 (0.91,3.60)
	No	75	205	1	1

Notes: *p < 0.05; **P<0.01; 1= Reference.

Abbreviation: OR, odds ratio.