Influencing factors, prediction and prevention of depression in college students: A literature review

Table 1 Factors related to depression in college students

Category	Specific variable	Factor positively correlated with high levels of depression
Biological factors	Sex	Inconclusive
	Nationality	Ethnic minorities[18], international student[14,19]
	Family	Low family socioeconomic status[14,18,26,27]
		Non-only child[19], too many siblings[6]
		Parents divorced or having mental problems[29,30], family dysfunction[11]
		Adverse childhood experiences such as injury, physical violence, psychological abuse and lack of family care[30,31]
		Insufficient social support especially family support[11,14,36,39]
Personality and psychological state		Neuroticism[20]
		Presence of psychological illness[21,22]
		High level of psychological stress (including value, aspiration, deprivation, or coping)[23]
		Low self-efficacy[14,24]
		Solitude[25]
College experience	Year of study	Inconclusive
	Academic performance	Poor academic performance[21,30]
	Financial support	Lack of financial resources and support[21]
	Living arrangement	Do not have own room[6,26]
	College satisfaction	Low satisfaction with teachers and low satisfaction with college major[26], low satisfaction with university facilities[22]
Lifestyle	Physical exercise	Lack of physical exercise[11,14,20]
	Substance abuse	Smoking and drinking[6,12,21] (especially alcohol intake[32,33])
	Sleep	Daytime drowsiness[20,34], poor sleep quality[21], sleep too short[35] or too long[10]
	Diet	Unhealthy food intake[30], gluttony[14], skipping breakfast[10], malnutrition[36]
	Network usage	Social networking sites, online game addiction[37,38]

Table 2 General intervention measures

General intervention	Specific measures
High level of family support	Emotional support from family
Interventions by colleges and universities	Mental health services from the faculty, peers, and psychological counseling centers
Cultivation of healthy lifestyles	Proper physical exercise, healthy sleep and diet, and regular sun exposure
Resilience therapy	Self-healing for positive emotional and cognitive outcomes, and increasing life satisfaction and resilience[88-90]