Intersectionality and mental health in university students: a jeopardy index approach.
Juliana Dias de Lima, Jessica Pl��cido, Beatriz Andrade, Let��cia Dalcero Abend, Aline Josiane Waclawovsky, Daniel Alves Pires, Danilo Rodrigues Pereira da Silva, Fabianna Resende de Jesus-Moraleida, Helena Ferreira Moura, Nicole Leite Galv��o Coelho, Renato Sobral Monteiro-Junior, Thiago Sousa Matias, Felipe Barreto Schuch, Andrea Camaz Deslandes
Author Information
Juliana Dias de Lima: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Psiquiatria. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. ORCID
Jessica Pl��cido: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Psiquiatria. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. ORCID
Beatriz Andrade: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Psiquiatria. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. ORCID
Let��cia Dalcero Abend: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Psiquiatria. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. ORCID
Aline Josiane Waclawovsky: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Psiquiatria. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. ORCID
Daniel Alves Pires: Universidade Federal do Par��. Programa de P��s-Gradua����o em Ci��ncias do Movimento Humano. Castanhal, PA, Brasil. ORCID
Danilo Rodrigues Pereira da Silva: Universidade Federal de Sergipe. Departamento de Educa����o F��sica. S��o Crist��v��o, SE, Brasil. ORCID
Fabianna Resende de Jesus-Moraleida: Universidade Federal do Cear��. Departamento de Fisioterapia. Programa de P��s-Gradua����o em Fisioterapia e Funcionalidade. Fortaleza, CE, Brasil. ORCID
Helena Ferreira Moura: Universidade de Bras��lia. Faculdade de Medicina. Bras��lia, DF, Brasil. ORCID
Nicole Leite Galv��o Coelho: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. Departamento de Fisiologia e Comportamento. Natal, RN, Brasil. ORCID
Renato Sobral Monteiro-Junior: Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros. Departamento de Educa����o F��sica. Montes Claros, MG, Brasil. ORCID
Thiago Sousa Matias: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Departamento de Educa����o F��sica. Florian��polis, SC, Brasil. ORCID
Felipe Barreto Schuch: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Psiquiatria. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. ORCID
Andrea Camaz Deslandes: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Psiquiatria. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. ORCID
To explore the associations between current mental health symptoms and social disparities in university students. We recruited participants from nine public universities in Brazil, from August to November 2022, using online advertisements and in-person lectures. All participants completed an online survey containing social (sex, race/color, gender identity, sexual orientation, and income) and mental health assessments. The Jeopardy index was composed of social variables. The index considered zero points for subjects with less oppressive experienced characteristics (men, White, cisgender, heterosexual, higher income) and one point for the opposite characteristics. We defined six clusters according to Jeopardy Index results: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 points, with the greatest number of points representing the most disadvantaged group. The mental health symptoms were assessed on two levels. First by the "DSM-5 Self-Rated Level 1 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure - Adult," and second by the "Patient Health Questionnaire-9," and the "Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-7." Adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) analyses was performed for age and educational level. 748 participants were allocated into the six Jeopardy clusters: 0 (n = 46; 6.1%), 1 (n = 112; 15.0%), 2 (n = 163; 21.8%), 3 (n = 218; 29.1%), 4 (n = 171; 22.9%), and 5 (n = 38; 5.1%). It was observed a high prevalence of anxiety (42.5%) and depression (51.0%), however, the less privileged group (5) had a higher risk of having severe symptoms of anxiety (OR = 6.21; 1.51-25.58; p < 0.01) and depression (OR = 8.60; 2.15-34.43; p < 0.01), compared against the most privileged group. Although anxiety and depressive symptoms were highly prevalent for all participants, these disorders are not equally distributed in this population and the intersectionality between social factors plays an important role in contributing to these differences.
