Abstract:
Poor mental health is common among university students every where,
including in Bangladesh. Since information about mental health well-being
(MHWB) of private university students are still scarce, this study aims to
estimate the prevalence of poor mental health and associated determinants,
using cross-sectional data (N=670) collected from undergraduate students
of East West University. The WHO Well-Being Index, composed of five
Likert Scale questions with possible answers from 0 (not at all) to 5 (all the
time), was used to measure the state of MHWB using a cut-off 13 for the
total score. The overall prevalence of poor mental health was 34.6%, and
was significantly higher among female (38.9%) than among male (30.5%)
students. Its prevalence was also significantly higher among students who
had no close friends for sharing problems, and among students with low
level of satisfaction about their current residences in Dhaka, academic
performance at EWU, and relationship with faculty members. Since a large
proportion of students suffer from poor MHWB, EWU administration
should consider this as a serious issue and apply feasible prevention
strategies in a comprehensive manner.
