Characteristics of students receiving mental health services at the university of Cape Town
Master Thesis
2000
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Abstract
The objective of the study is to describe students presenting at the UCT-SHS-MHS; (li) to compare students presenting at the UCT-SHS-MHS with students presenting at the UCT-SHS who do NOT present at the UCT-SHS-MHS (controls); (iii) to compare students presenting at the UCT-SHS-MHS with all other students attending the University of Cape Town, and (iv) to examine the association between the number of consultations at the UCT -SHS-MHS. They are described in terms of selected demographic, academic, residential (home address), financial assistance and, where appropriate, clinical (diagnostic) variables: The study, which utilised official University of Cape Town student records, was descriptive in nature for Objective 1 and analytic in nature for Objective 2 (case-control study), Objective 3 (cross-sectional study) and Objective 4. 932 patients, 1 924 matched controls and 23 158 registered students. (i) Objective 1 (attendees) - minority groups such as Blacks (Africans, Coloureds and Indians), non-traditionally aged students, non-English first language speaking students, outof-town students and socio-economically disadvantaged students form a sizeable proportion of UCT-SHS-MHS attendees; (li) Objective 2 (patients versus controls) - non-minority groups such as English first language speaking students (rather than the minority groups reported in Objective I) utilise the UCT -SHS-MHS significantly more than the UCT -SHS; (iii) Objective 3 (patients versus the total student community) - minority groups such as Blacks (Africans, Coloureds and Indians), non-English first language speaking students, outof-town students and socio-economically disadvantaged students are significantly overrepresented amongst UCT-SHS-MHS attendees, and (iv) Objective 4 (number of consultations) - non-minority groups such as White students (rather than the minority groups reported in Objective 3) are responsible for the highest mean number of consultations at the UCT -SHS-MHS. (i) Objective 1 (attendees) - these results are largely related to the composition of the total student community although notable exceptions include female students, first year students and students whose home address is outside metropolitan Cape Town; (ii) Objective 2 (patients versus controls) - male students, non-English first language speaking students, nonArts, Music and Social Science and Humanities faculty students and students residing outside metropolitan Cape Town are either particularly unaware or extremely unsure of the potential benefits to be derived from the psychotherapeutic process; (iii) Objective 3 (patients versus the total student community) - the usage/utilisation rate is largely related to either background cultural and socio-e.conomic factors or academic-related concerns that affect students (e.g. race/population group, language and financial assistance can be closely interlinked and may relate to the set of adverse family and financial circumstances that could promote the development of mental disorders), and (iv) Objective 4 (number of consultations) - these results are largely related to the initial severity of the psychopathology, the level of resistance encountered by the student to the psychotherapeutic process employed, the need of the student for positive reinforcement from the therapist, and the range ofdependency issues affecting the student.
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Bibliography: leaves 689-729.
Reference:
De Beer, J. 2000. Characteristics of students receiving mental health services at the university of Cape Town. University of Cape Town.