Major Mental Health Problems of Undergraduate Students in a Private University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Mental health is a highly stigmatized topic in Bangladesh. University students are one of the susceptible groups who are experiencing mental health problems. Different studies conducted among undergraduate student in different part of South Asia revealed that they are suffering from psychological morbidity. This study aims to identify the major mental health problems that students face due to academic factors. To determine the proportion of undergraduate students who are facing mental health problems and to identify factors related to academic life that are associated with mental health problems. The study was conducted among newly admitted students who have completed one semester using cross sectional design. Simple random sampling was used to select sample. Sample size was 150. Data were collected through face to face interview using self-administered semi-structured questionnaire. Result of the study revealed that most of the university students commonly experienced anxiety due to academic reason. Among the respondents, 24% of the students experienced both anxiety and depressive episodes. 60% students experienced anxiety, depression and panic episodes, 12% students experienced only anxiety episodes and 4% don't have any mental episodes. The most frequently reported pressurizing academic factors were assignment & exam workload and the obligation of getting good grade. Undergraduate university students experienced different mental episodes at different point of time due to academic pressure.