What kinds of factors affect the academic outcomes of university students with mental disorders? A retrospective study based on medical records.
AIMS
University students that suffer from mental disorders seem to have difficulty graduating. Therefore, we investigated risk and protective factors of dropping out with the aim of improving such students' academic outcomes.


METHODS
First, we statistically compared the academic outcomes of 203 undergraduate students who received treatment in the Department of Psychiatry of the Tsukuba University Health Center to those of matched controls. Second, clinical factors of 370 mentally ill students were statistically compared between the dropout and graduate groups.


RESULTS
Mentally ill students experienced significantly greater difficulties graduating. Furthermore, the ratio of females and the year of study at initial consultation were significantly lower in the dropout group. However, duration of illness, social withdrawal, temporary leaves of absence, percentage of diagnosis of F2, history of truancy, CGI-S/GI score, number of suicide attempts, visits to us, family consultations with us and grade repeating were longer or greater in the dropout group. Ultimately, the number of suicide attempts, CGI-S score, social withdrawal and leaves of absence were significantly associated with dropping out. Moreover, duration of social withdrawal and leaves of absence were significantly correlated with CGI-GI score.


CONCLUSION
We found that the number of suicide attempts, CGI-S score, social withdrawal and extended enrollment were risk factors for dropping out, while the therapeutic effect seemed to be a protective factor. As risk factors involved states of social maladjustment, it is necessary not only to treat mental disorders, but also to provide assistance such as educational and individual support for daily living.
['Ishii|Terumi|T|', 'Tachikawa|Hirokazu|H|', 'Shiratori|Yuki|Y|', 'Hori|Takafumi|T|', 'Aiba|Miyuki|M|', 'Kuga|Keisuke|K|', 'Arai|Tetsuaki|T|']
D000076363:Academic Success D000328:Adult D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007564:Japan D008297:Male D008499:Medical Records D001523:Mental Disorders D012189:Retrospective Studies D012307:Risk Factors D013332:Student Dropouts D013334:Students D013406:Suicide, Attempted D014495:Universities D055815:Young Adult
Academic outcome Mental disorder Medical record Social withdrawal Grade repeating/temporary leave of absence