Stressful Life Events and Chronic Stressors as Predictors of Psychopathological Conditions in the WMH-ICS Initiative
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Introduction: Stressful life events (SLEs) and chronic stressors are established risk factors for psychopathology, yet their bidirectional associations with psychopathological conditions remain understudied among university students. Objective: To examine whether prior lifetime psychopathological conditions predict subsequent exposure to 12-month SLEs and current chronic stressors, andwhether these stressors predict 12-month onset and persistence of psychopathological conditions among incoming university students. Method: Data were from the World Mental Health International College Student Initiative. Web-based surveys at 77 universitiesin 18 countries assessed prior lifetime psychopathological conditions, SLEs, chronic stressors, mental disorders, non-suicidal self-injury, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors among first-year students (n=60,673).Poisson regression models estimated reciprocal associations of stressors with prior psychopathological conditions. Results: Exposure to recent stressors was highly prevalent: 72.9% reported one or more 12-month SLEs, and 46.1% reported one or more current chronic stressors. Relationships of psychopathological conditions with stressors were largely positive and reciprocal. Population-attributable risk proportions (PARPs)for stressors predicting lifetime first onsets of psychopathological conditions occurring in the 12 months before the survey were 17.0-35.8% across conditions for SLEs, 10.9-34.9% for chronic stressors, and 29.9-51.4% for either SLEs or chronic stressors. Comparable PARPs predicting 12-month persistence of psychopathological conditions were 3.8-30.0% across conditions for SLEs, 5.8-22.0% for chronic stressors, and 10.1-44.6% for eitherSLEs or chronic stressors. Discussion and Conclusion: These findings highlight the prevalence of stressors among university students and suggest that prevention and early intervention efforts should focus on reducing exposure to these stressors and/or their psychological effects.
Source: Salud Mental
Language: Spanish
Topic: Student Stress and Coping
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Funders: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, European Commission, South African Medical Research Council, Public Health Agency, ZonMw, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, King Saud University, Generalitat de Catalunya, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Vetenskapsrådet, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of British Columbia, Koning Boudewijnstichting, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Vlaamse regering, Lingnan University, Suicide Prevention Australia, Stan Perron Charitable Foundation, Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo, National Institutes of Health, Pfizer Foundation, Pan American Health Organization, Health Canada, Medical Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Division of Research Capacity Development, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Fogarty International Center
Awards: G1037158725, World Mental Health Consortium Annual Meeting 2003-07, G1226586044, G1550703150, G1661000482, G1805646547, G2237026874, Social Role Disability and Mental-Physical Co-Morbidity, Stress-in-Action: Advancing the Science of Stress by Moving the Lab to Daily Life, G2586284485, G2613077195, COMPAS-S: Checking on mental health - Providing alternatives to suicide for students, Predicting Internet-Based Treatment Response for Major Depressive Disorder, G3351693910, CROSS-NATIONAL STUDIES OF DRUG INVOLVEMENT: WMH2000, G3649151923, G3658001182, PROMHES-U: Promoción de la salud mental entre estudiantes universitarios: tecnologías E-health para la predicción personalizada y la prevención de la salud mental adversa., G4054495390, G4076321871, EFICACIA DE UNA APLICACION PARA TELEFONOS MOVILES PARA INTERVENCION TEMPRANA DE DEPRESION Y ANSIEDAD EN JOVENES UNIVERSITARIOS/AS, G4826352796, G5103078189, Risk Factors for Psychopathology in the WHO WMH Surveys, G578575042, G6081243323, G6629244973, G6667095330, G6917236101, G7284921876, G7433974870, G7711221855, National assessment and e-health interventions for mental health problems among university students: Swedish partnership in the WHO-World Mental Health International College Student (WHM-ICS) study, G8309976149, G832398967, G851565850, G8692663868, Lebanon-Epidemiology: The NCS Replication Study, G8808417261
OpenAlex ID: W7211905064