Impact of Precarity on the Emergence of Psychiatric Disorders and the Use of Care Among Students

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in depression, particularly among young people. The French health barometer, conducted every 4-5 years by Santé Publique France (SPF), found that the prevalence of major depressive episodes (MDE) among 18-25 year olds doubled (from 11.7% to 20.8%) between 2017 and 2021. There has also been an increase in suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts. Among students, data from the 2016 Student Life Observatory (OVE) found a higher prevalence of CDE and suicidal thoughts among students than in the general population of the same age. Among the factors associated with the risk of EDC, experiencing significant financial difficulties was the main one[4]. Among medical students, a national study conducted in 2021 found that the prevalence of depression and suicidal thoughts was much higher than in the general population of the same age. Financial difficulties were also the main factor associated with the risk of depression. Indeed, students are a population that is particularly vulnerable to precariousness due to several factors. Economically, they often have limited incomes, depending on parental support, insufficient grants or precarious jobs. This exposes them to difficulties in meeting their basic needs such as housing, food and healthcare. Socially, isolation can exacerbate their situation, especially when they are far from their family network or under pressure from their studies. In addition, high academic demands, combined with unstable living conditions, impact their mental health and can contribute to the development of psychiatric disorders, which often go untreated due to a lack of affordable and accessible resources. International students are even more vulnerable due to language and administrative barriers and limited access to local support services. This multidimensional precariousness highlights the need for comprehensive support for this population, even though students are unlikely to seek professional help. In the 2021 survey, only 32% of medical students suffering from depression received adequate care. If we want to improve the health of medical students, we must not only treat disorders, but also prevent them from occurring by helping students strive for a state of well-being. In terms of prevention, the Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) distinguishes between three levels: primary prevention, which acts upstream of the disease (on risk factors); secondary prevention, which acts at an early stage of its development (screening); and tertiary prevention, which acts on complications and the risk of recurrence.

The objectives of the study are to identify and quantify the modifiable predictive and moderating factors explaining students' psychological distress that could give rise to (primary) prevention actions by studying the various components of precariousness (housing, transport, study conditions, social isolation, grants, etc.). It also aims to study the impact of the various components of precariousness on the use and non-use of healthcare (screening and treatment, secondary and tertiary prevention).

The data will be entered directly by participants on the SKEZIA platform (https://skezi.eu/) (a solution developed by SKEZI) co-founded by AP-HP and Paris-Cité University, and will be hosted on HDS-approved servers.

Main objective:

The objective is to explore the impact of precariousness on the risk of characterised depressive episodes and the use of healthcare among PSL students (17,000 students) and UPC health faculty students (28,000 students).