A Scoping Review: General Mental Health Among Post-Secondary Students in Bangladesh

Abstract

Globally, post-secondary students can be seen to struggle with their mental health and this is no different for post-secondary students living in Bangladesh which is a lower-middle-income country. Mental health research in Bangladesh is limited and, thus, the purpose of this study is to capture all the existing literature pertaining to the general mental health of post-secondary students in Bangladesh through a scoping review. This study is guided by the scoping review model outlined by Arksey and O’Malley (2005). This study has searched and screened the following 4 online databases: PsycINFO (Proquest), Social Work Abstracts (Ovid), ERIC (OCUL), and Web of Science with yielding the selection of 19 studies. The key findings indicate that prevalent mental health challenges amongst post-secondary students in Bangladesh includes suicide, suicidal behaviours, depression, anxiety, stress, and struggles with overall mental health. Common mental health factors include being a female, financial and economic condition, academic year of study, history of mental health both personal and familial, substance addiction, family, social media and screen time, academic performance, past negative experience, and romantic relationships. In conclusion, this scoping review has found that the general mental health of post-secondary students in Bangladesh is poor and connected to multiple factors.