A Comparison of Mental Health Status between Students of Two Faculties of Alzahra University: Physical Education vs. Educational Sciences and Psychology

This study aimed to compare mental health status between students of two faculties of Alzahra University: physical education vs. educational sciences and psychology. This cross-sectional study was conducted in physical educations and educational sciences and psychology faculties. A total number of 242 and 265 students were surveyed in these faculties respectively by GHQ-28 general health questionnaire. Data were extracted and analyzed using SPSS-17. Results indicated that among 265 students, 135 participants (55.78%) in physical education faculty and 170 participants in educational sciences and psychology faculty (60.28%) were suspected to suffer from mental disorders. Results showed that prevalence of mental disorders in physical education faculty and faculty of educational sciences and psychology was 9.4% and 30.2% respectively (p<0.001). Mean score of mental health among the students of physical education faculty was 15.99±8.04 and 23.94±11.02 for the students of educational sciences and psychology faculty (p<0.0001). In sub scales, students of physical education scored lower too. The results demonstrated that students of physical education faculty significantly scored lower than students of educational sciences and psychology faculty in all four scales of mental health. They had fewer problems in terms of anxiety, depression, physical disorders and social function. Generally, they had better mental health status.