Relations between general health and identity base on undergraduate students of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Due to the occurrence of identity crisis, numerous theorists have asserted that adolescence is the most important stage life-long. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between general health and identity base and status on students of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.

Methods and Materials:

 This descriptive-correlation study was done on 240 undergraduated students (120 males and 120 females) of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2009 to investigate the relations between general health and identity base and status. Two hundred and forty students from 4 schools (Psychology, Theology, Basic Sciences and Literature Sciences) were selected as the final subjects according to the power analysis with software G*power version 3.1. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and identity situation questionnaire were given to them. Data were analyzed regarding the variables such as gender, course of study, marital status, native or non-native and birth order by correlation and regression analysis using SPSS software.

Regression analysis suggested that status of achievement and diffusion significantly predicted 14% of depression variation, 7% of anxiety and 12% of social function from subscales of general health.

It can be concluded that identity status have important role for supporting sources in improving mental health among university students, and mental health of university students reflected the location of individuals on a continuum from identity achievement (interpersonal and ideological bases) to identity diffusion.