Self-reported depression in first-year nursing students in relation to socio-demographic and educational factors: a nationwide cross-sectional study in Sweden

Background Higher education has been associated with distress and depression in students, and concerns that the proportion students afflicted is increasing have been raised. Findings on student depression have often been based on age-homogeneous samples leaving the results vulnerable to a confounding of student experience, transition from adolescence to adulthood and age on depression. We investigated self-reported depression and its associations with sociodemographic and educational factors in a demographically diverse student population of first-year nursing students in Sweden. Methods A base-line survey in a nation-wide cohort of 1,700 first-year nursing students was conducted in the fall of 2002. The participants answered a mailed questionnaire containing questions on sociodemography, educational factors, and health. Depression was measured by the Major Depression Inventory and associations to sociodemographic and educational factors were tested in logistic regressions. Results The overall response rate was 72.9%, and 10.2% (5.7% men, 10.7% women) reported depression. Younger age (\30), female gender, immigration from outside of Europe, high workload, dissatisfaction with education, low self-efficacy, and conflicts between personal and college demands were associated with high prevalence of depression. Prior work experience, less need for financial support, and work for pay during term time were related to low prevalence of depression. Older students and those who were parents reported home-college conflicts more often. Conclusions Nursing students as a group show high levels of self-reported depression but the prevalence is affected by age with a higher proportion depressed among younger students. Even though older students and those who were parents show less depression, they were more vulnerable to home–college conflicts. As older students and parents constitute a large proportion of nursing students, it is of importance to find ways to lessen the effects of the obstacles they encounter in the education.