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<w:t>2015, Vol. 1(1): 43-52</w:t>

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<w:instrText> HYPERLINK "http://rpics.ismt.pt/index.php/ISMT/article/view/10" </w:instrText>

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<w:t>PT</w:t>

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<w:t>University students’ psychopathology: correlates and the examiner’s potential bias effect </w:t>

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<w:t>Original Article</w:t>

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<w:t>Helena Espírito-Santo, PhD (</w:t>

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<w:t>1a</w:t>

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<w:t>), Joana Matreno, Psy M (</w:t>

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<w:t>1</w:t>

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<w:t>a</w:t>

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<w:t>)</w:t>

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<w:t>(1) </w:t>

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<w:t>Instituto Superior Miguel Torga, Coimbra, Portugal.</w:t>

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<w:t>(a</w:t>

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<w:t>) </w:t>

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<w:t>Elaboration of the work, collection and insertion of data, statistical analysis</w:t>

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<w:t>.</w:t>

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<w:t>Corresponding author</w:t>

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<w:t>: </w:t>

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<w:t>Helena Espírito-Santo; Largo de Celas, 1, 3000-132 Coimbra, Portugal; +351 910637946; helenum@gmail.com.</w:t>

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<w:t>http://dx.doi.org/10.7342/ismt.rpics.2015.1.1.8</w:t>

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<w:t>Received </w:t>

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<w:t>7 </w:t>

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<w:t>April</w:t>

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<w:t> 2014</w:t>

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<w:t>Accepted</w:t>

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<w:t>28 November 2014</w:t>

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<w:t>ABSTRACT</w:t>

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<w:t>Background: </w:t>

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<w:t>Psychopathological symptoms are very common among university students from different cultures, but the socio-demographic correlates that have been found are different depending on the studies. The correlates of such symptoms among Portuguese students have not been studied thoroughly, besides the methodological issues that arise in this type of studies, in the sense that has not been described who does the psychological evaluations.</w:t>

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<w:t>Aims: </w:t>

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<w:t>The main objective was to verify if there is a difference on psychopathological symptoms between two groups questioned by two different examiners, controlling for the potential role of social desirability, and other potential covariates. Additionally, we want to assess the level of psychopathology and its socio-demographic correlates.</w:t>

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<w:t>Results: </w:t>

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<w:t>The level of distress was lower in comparison with other investigations. Women had higher level of distress and more symptoms of somatization, anxiety, phobic anxiety, obsessive-compulsion, and depression. The students that live a higher distance from home had more anxiety and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The group assessed by the younger examiner scored higher in distress and in some BSI factors, and had lower levels on social desirability.</w:t>

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<w:t>Conclusions: </w:t>

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<w:t>Sex and distance from home seem important factors for university students’ mental health. However, the examiner does have an influence in the evaluation, probably because of social desirability, suggesting that the examiner’s characteristics should be given in investigations involving university students.</w:t>

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<w:t>Keywords</w:t>

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<w:t>:</w:t>

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<w:t> Dissociation; Examiner; Psychopathological symptoms; Students; Socio-demographic factors</w:t>

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<w:t>INTRODUCTION</w:t>

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<w:t>It is among young adults, particularly university students, that most psychopathological symptoms are found (Mackenzie et al., 2011; Mowbray et al., 2006), probably resulting from the transition from one social role to another major social role (Parker, Summerfeldt, Hogan, & Majeski, 2004; Taylor, Doane, & Eisenberg, 2013); to the potential changes in lifestyle, friends, responsibilities, and geographical residence involved in this transition (Taylor et al., 2013); to the greater number of university students of diverse origins, some with economic disadvantages (Almeida, Soares, & Ferreira, 2001; Kitzrow, 2003); and to the vulgarization of alcohol use behaviors among this population (Corbin, Iwamoto, & Fromme, 2011; Greenbaum, Del Boca, Darkes, Wang, & Goldman, 2005). </w:t>

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<w:t>Many students starting university appear to have personal and academic problems, which through the years has led to a significant body of research documenting psychopathological symptoms in this population (Allgöwer, Wardle, & Steptoe, 2001; Almeida et al., 2001; Gonçalves, 2010; Greenbaum et al., 2005; Hoyt & Yeater, 2010; Jensen, 2003; Kitzrow, 2003; J. D. Parker et al., 2004; Santos, Pereira, & Veiga, 2009; Schwartz, 2006; Vannucci & Mazzoni, 2006; Zawadzki, Graham, & Gerin, 2013; Zoroglu et al., 2003). These problems seem to be particularly critical in the first year of university (Cooke, Bewick, Barkham, Bradley, & Audin, 2006; Guo, Huang, Liu, & Wang, 2013; Read et al., 2012; Silveira, 2012), and amongst medical students (e.g., Roberto & Almeida, 2011; Silveira, 2012). </w:t>

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<w:t>Albeit some present a trend of decreasing rates of students’ illness (review of Kraft, 2006), the high incidence of mental health problems among university students is consistent across different cultures (e.g., Guo et al., 2013; Hozoori & Barahmand, 2013; Mackenzie et al., 2011; Nur, Cetinkaya, Sabanciogullari, Ozsahin, & Kavakci, 2008; Roberto & Almeida, 2011; Steptoe, Tsuda, Tanaka, & Wardle, 2007; Verger, Guagliardo, Gilbert, Rouillon, & Kovess-Masfety, 2009), pointing to developmental and analogous social aspects of psychopathology.</w:t>

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<w:t>Most of the studies reviewed above, when assessing mental health, usually disregard the dis/similarity between researcher/examiner and examinees. This is a question often present and took in consideration in other contexts, such as the forensic (e.g., Melton, Petrila, Poythress, & Slobogin, 2007), the counseling (Herring, 2002), or the testing context (Urbina, 2004). In fact, age, gender, socioeconomic status, race or ethnicity, temperament, expectations, proximity to the examinee and behavior during the evaluation, are characteristics of the examiners that seem to affect the results of testing (Ardila, 2005; Schafer, Papapolydorou, Rahman, & Parker, 2005). Additionally, self-report measures are commonly used in mental health research, but they present a potential downside, such as the personal defense acquiescence and the social desirability (deVries, 1992) making the type of the examiner more relevant.</w:t>

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<w:t>In fact, most of the research studies investigating psychopathology with university students, out of university counseling centers, did not indicate who the examiner was (or his personal characteristics) (e.g., Allgöwer et al., 2001; Greenbaum et al., 2005; Hoyt & Yeater, 2010; Hozoori & Barahmand, 2013; Nur et al., 2008; J. D. Parker et al., 2004; Santos et al., 2009; Schwartz, 2006; Taylor et al., 2013; Vannucci & Mazzoni, 2006; DC WatsonBiren, 1999; Zawadzki et al., 2013), including when validating psychopathological measures (L. S. Almeida et al., 2001; Cochran & Hale, 1985; Frazier & Kaler, 2006; Gutiérrez Wang, Cosden, & Bernal, 2011; Koffel & Watson, 2010; David Watson & Wu, 2005), with rare exceptions (Guo et al., 2013; Vickers et al., 2003). </w:t>

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<w:t>This research derives from the research of a senior investigator (Espirito-Santo, 2009), followed by the study of </w:t>

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<w:t> student (Matreno, 2010). Therefore, we aimed to verify if there was a difference in psychopathological symptoms in the two samples collected by the two different researchers, one older and with a higher academic status, and the other of the same age and academic status as the students. In addition, our secondary goals were to assess the level of psychopathology and its socio-demographic correlates among university students.</w:t>

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<w:t>METHODS</w:t>

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<w:t>Participants</w:t>

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<w:t>Our target population was the university students from two higher education institutions at Coimbra. The total sample had 185 students, of which 66 (35.7%) were male and 119 (64.3%) female. The average age of the students was 22.29 years (SD = 3.27; range: 18-40) and the average study years was 13.65 (SD = 2.02). These students were attending from 1</w:t>

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<w:t> year of university in Law or Humanities (20.4%), Health and Psychology (54.5%), Social sciences (13.2%), and Engineering areas (12.0%). </w:t>

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<w:t>The total sample was divided into two groups: one group was evaluated by a professor (Group A), and the other group was evaluated by a researcher of the same age of the examinees (Group B). </w:t>

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<w:t>The group A was one year older in average (Cohen’s </w:t>

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<w:t> = 0.53), ranging between 18-28 years (Median = 23; Group B: 10-40, Median = 21). There was also an association between the type of examiner and the civil status, with group A having had significantly fewer participants with a partner (boy/girlfriend or married). Finally, there was an association between the education area and the type of examiner (</w:t>

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<w:t> = 33.70;</w:t>

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<w:t>< 0.001), with Group A having had fewer Law, Humanities and Technology students, and Group B fewer students from Social sciences. The groups had similar numbers of medical students. There were no differences in the year of study between the two groups. Students’ demographic characteristics are displayed in Table 1. </w:t>

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