Mental Health Literacy (MHL) might play an important role in preventing depression. This study assessed the MHL level for depression of university students and its association with intentions towar...

(1) Background: Cigarette smoking, risky alcohol consumption, and marijuana smoking are the most common behaviors related to legal and illicit drug use worldwide, including among university students. To plan effective evidence-based programs to prevent the risky consumption of these substances among university students, the present study aimed to identify potential sociodemographic and study-related risk groups and predictors of consumption. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional online health survey with approximately 270 health-related items was conducted among students at the University of Mainz, Germany. Cigarette smoking, risky alcohol consumption (AUDIT-C score: female ≥ 4, male ≥ 5), and marijuana smoking were chosen as dependent variables. Of the 270 health-related items, 56 were chosen as independent variables and collated into five groups (sociodemographic, psychological, study-related psychosocial, general psychosocial and health behavior). The prevalence of cigarette smoking, risky alcohol consumption, and marijuana smoking was assessed using established and validated instruments. Pearson’s chi-square test was used to analyze the differences in prevalence between the sociodemographic and study-related groups, and binary logistic regression was used for analyses with stepwise inclusion of the five variable groups. (3) Results: Of the 3991 university students who entered the analyses, 14.9% reported smoking cigarettes, 38.6% reported risky alcohol consumption, and 10.9% reported smoking marijuana. The prevalence of these differed between genders, fields of study, and aspired degree level, among other factors. Binary logistic regression analyses revealed nine significant predictors (p ≤ 0.05) of cigarette smoking (Nagelkerke R² = 0.314), 18 significant predictors of risky alcohol consumption (Nagelkerke R² = 0.270), and 16 significant predictors of marijuana smoking (Nagelkerke R² = 0.239). (4) Conclusions: This study showed cigarette smoking, risky alcohol consumption, and marijuana smoking among university students in Germany to be associated with multiple factors, especially health behaviors. Furthermore, each of the substances was highly associated with each of the two other substances we examined. Other variable groups, such as psychological or psychosocial variables, seemed to play a rather minor role. Therefore, our recommendation for future prevention programs is that substance use among university students should be addressed as a whole, not just in terms of specific substances.

Background: Universities represent an important setting of everyday life for health promotion. The aim of the present study was to assess whether university students of specific disciplines might have an increased risk for having a study-related work accident and to analyze what types of study-related work accidents occur most frequently. Furthermore, knowledge regarding study-related commuting accidents will be provided by identifying places where study-related commuting accidents might occur most frequently and on potential types of commuting (walking vs. biking) which might be associated with an increased risk for having a study-related commuting accident. Methods: Retrospective analyses of a dataset provided by the Accident Insurance Fund of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, including all accidents that happened at the University of Mainz (JGU) between December 2012 and December 2018 were performed. Binominal tests were computed to reveal whether the frequency of study-related work accidents in students affiliated with a specific faculty or institution differs significantly from the expected frequency of all reported study-related work accidents. Results: Overall, 1285 study-related accidents were analyzed—of which, 71.8% were work and 28.2% commuting accidents. Students of ‘Faculty—Medicine’ (80.5%; p = 0.003), ‘Faculty—Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Geography and Geosciences’ (90.7%; p < 0.001), and students that participated in study-related sports activities (97.4%; p ≤ 0.001) had a significantly increased risk for the occurrence of a study-related work accident. Needlestick and sharps injuries (NSIs) as well as lab accidents play a pivotal role. Furthermore, above 40% of the study-related commuting accidents were cycling accidents. Conclusions: There is a call for prevention in order to decrease the number of NSIs among medical students, lab accidents as well as sport-related accidents. Concrete implications for prevention are discussed in the present paper. In addition, given that students are among the most likely to bicycle, and given that most bicycle-related accidents involve fatal injuries, cycling safety campaigns need to be initiated on campus.

University students worldwide are facing increasing mental health challenges. Traditional stress models, like the Job/Study Demand-Resources Model, link stressors directly to strain. Yet, recent studies suggest the influence of strain on stressors may be even stronger. Our research explored these reciprocal dynamics among university students, considering social support and mindfulness as potential moderators. We conducted a two-wave panel study with 264 university students. We ran separate cross-lagged panel structural equation analyses for three key health outcomes—emotional exhaustion, depression, and well-being—each paired with perceived study stressors, specifically workload and work complexity. Findings revealed significant stressor and strain effects, with social support notably moderating the impact of emotional exhaustion on workload. These insights challenge traditional stress theories and underscore the importance of mental health support and effective stress management strategies for students, emphasizing the need for proactive mental health initiatives in academic environments.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a shutdown of universities in Germany. In a longitudinal design, we compared mental health (depression, anxiety, somatic complaints) of university students in Germany before (June to August 2019) and in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic (June 2020) with two online surveys. Additionally, we determined the impact of lockdown stress and loneliness on students’ mental health. Among 443 participants (mean age 22.8 years), there were 77% female, and 10.4% medical students. Elevated levels of depression were reported more often during than before the pandemic (38.5% vs. 27.7%). Likewise, symptoms of anxiety (35.8% vs. 29.8%) and somatic complaints (32.3% vs. 27.5%) were more present in the course of the pandemic. A small increase of depression mean scores was observed, no significant changes of anxiety and somatic complaints became evident. Current loneliness and pre-pandemic distress represented the strongest associations with mental health during the pandemic. Pandemic-related psychosocial stress contributed indirectly to mental health through loneliness.The results imply increased levels of loneliness as the most substantial consequence of the pandemic. Given their high levels of pre-pandemic distress and pandemic-specific stress, university students represent a risk group for social and economic long-term ramifications of the pandemic.