Affiliations: Karolinska Institutet, Department of Public Health
Sciences, Division of Social Medicine, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Marjan Vaez, Karolinska Institutet,
Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Social Medicine, Norrbacka,
SE-171 76, Sweden. Tel.: + 46 8 517 793 57; Fax: + 46 8 33 46 93; E-mail:
[email protected]
Abstract: This study surveys university students' physical and psychological
health status and socio-demographic determinants of their self-rated health
(SRH). The study population consists of all first-year students enrolled on the
three programs offered at a Swedish university in the autumn of 1998 (3,229
students). In the spring of 1999, a self-administered questionnaire (44
forced-response questions) dealing with health status, life-style and living
conditions was sent to the students at their home address (response rate 70%)
overall health and its physical and psychological components were measured, and
ANOVAs were conducted to establish the variation in physical, psychological and
overall SRH explained by a series of socio-demographic variables. Most students
rated their psychological and physical health as good or very good, and
restrictions on life activities -- when experienced -- were found to be
considerably more common for physical than for psychological problems. Symptoms
related to psychological problems were more frequent among female than male
students. Country of birth of student was the strongest predictor of self-rated
physical health, and the second strongest predictor of psychological and
overall health (following sex of student). Parental educational attainment was
a weak but significant predictor of psychological and physical SRH among
students, but not of their overall SRH. Overall, physical and psychological
SRH, though strongly inter-correlated, are not necessarily redundant measures
of one and the same thing. The variation in self-ratings cannot be explained
simply with reference to one set of socio-demographic variables.
