Table 1.
Depressive symptoms and prevalence of depression (CESD ≥ 16) among college students in Shaanxi, China by socio-demographic characteristics.
| Socio-Demographic Characteristics | n | Depressive Symptoms (Mean ± SD) | p-Value across Groups a | Depression Prevalence n (%) | p-Value across Groups b |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 8150 | 17.6 ± 10.3 | <0.001 | 3364 (41.3) | <0.001 |
| Female | 10,955 | 15.7 ± 9.4 | 3466 (31.6) | ||
| Grade | |||||
| Freshman | 6823 | 16.0 ± 9.7 | <0.001 | 2291 (33.6) | <0.001 |
| Sophomore | 5489 | 16.7 ± 9.7 | 1986 (36.2) | ||
| Junior | 3153 | 17.2 ± 10.0 | 1235 (39.2) | ||
| Senior | 2358 | 17.3 ± 10.1 | 954 (40.5) | ||
| Post-graduate | 1282 | 14.6 ± 10.1 | 364 (28.4) | ||
| Academic stress | |||||
| No/relatively low | 3458 | 16.5 ± 10.6 | <0.001 | 1248 (36.1) | <0.001 |
| Average/general | 11,221 | 15.7 ± 9.5 | 3667 (32.7) | ||
| Relatively high/extremely heavy | 4426 | 18.5 ± 9.8 | 1915 (43.3) | ||
| Smoking in past month | |||||
| Yes | 3243 | 20.9 ± 10.9 | <0.001 | 1757 (54.2) | <0.001 |
| No | 15,862 | 15.6 ± 9.4 | 5073 (32.0) | ||
| Primary method used to access social media | |||||
| Computer | 1000 | 19.0 ± 10.8 | <0.001 | 466 (46.6) | <0.001 |
| Tablet computer | 605 | 24.9 ± 9.9 | 449 (74.2) | ||
| Smartphone | 17,435 | 16.0 ± 9.6 | 5871 (33.7) | ||
| Others | 65 | 24.8 ± 11.3 | 44 (67.7) | ||
| Parental relationship satisfaction | |||||
| Dissatisfied | 356 | 23.8 ± 10.6 | <0.001 | 227 (63.8) | <0.001 |
| A little dissatisfied | 2120 | 20.8 ± 9.9 | 1132 (53.4) | ||
| Quite satisfied | 8925 | 17.1 ± 9.5 | 3375 (37.8) | ||
| Very satisfied | 7704 | 14.3 ± 9.5 | 2096 (27.2) | ||
| Household income | |||||
| CNY 0~40,000 | 11,413 | 16.4 ± 9.5 | 0.252 | 4025 (35.3) | 0.335 |
| CNY 40,001~80,000 | 3962 | 16.8 ± 10.1 | 1455 (36.7) | ||
| CNY 80,001~13,000 | 1983 | 16.5 ± 10.3 | 710 (35.8) | ||
| CNY >13,000 | 1747 | 16.3 ± 10.6 | 640 (36.6) | ||
| Highest paternal education | |||||
| ≤Junior middle school | 9750 | 16.6 ± 9.5 | 0.106 | 3479 (35.7) | 0.941 |
| Senior middle school/vocational schools | 6194 | 16.4 ± 9.9 | 2225 (35.9) | ||
| ≥College | 3161 | 16.2 ± 10.6 | 1126 (35.6) | ||
| Highest maternal education | |||||
| ≤Junior middle school | 11,167 | 16.5 ± 9.5 | 0.664 | 3921 (35.1) | 0.029 |
| Senior middle school/vocational schools | 5399 | 16.4 ± 10.0 | 1948 (36.1) | ||
| ≥College | 2539 | 16.6 ± 10.9 | 961 (37.8) |
a: Mann–Whitney U tests were used to examine the difference of depressive symptoms across sex, smoking in the past month, and parental relationship satisfaction; Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to examine the difference of depressive symptoms across grade, academic stress, primary method used to access social media, household income, highest paternal education, and highest maternal education. b: Chi-square tests were used to examine the difference of prevalence of depression across sex, grade, academic stress, smoking in the past month, primary method used to access social media, parental relationship satisfaction, household income, highest paternal education, and highest maternal education. Numbers in bold indicate statistically significance.