title: [Mental health problems among students of a regional Chilean university].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The increase in university population in Chile has also increased the number of students presenting mental health disorders.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the frequency of mental health problems and its association with other relevant variables among students of a regional university in Chile.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 484 students aged 18 to 28 years (45% males) were assessed once using a battery of tests designed to detect mental health problems. The instruments used were Derogates SCL-90-R, Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21) and a social-demographic questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifteen percent of the sample presented high levels of mental health symptoms, determined according to the cut-off points of Beck inventories. This symptomatic group, which also showed high levels of stress, was composed mostly of freshmen and women. There was a significant association between symptoms and socio-demographic variables such as living in rural areas, ethnicity and socioeconomic status, a higher need for psychological and psychiatric care and a lower number of extracurricular activities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The knowledge of mental health problems among university students will allow to generate strategies for mental health prevention, promotion and treatment.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Salud Universitario, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile. zayraantunez@ uach.cl
authors.forename: Zayra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Antúnez
authors.forename: Eugenia V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Vinet
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult