Pages: 14-18

Abstract

Numerous studies have confirmed the effect of gender and age and demographic factors on mental health and several theoretical explanations have been presented to explain the effect of gender differences on the health level of people in the community. The objective of this study was to evaluate the mental health of young people in Ahwazi city and its relationship with variables of age, gender, and field of study. This study was performed on 149 young people of Ahwazi aged between 20 and 30 years using descriptive-analytical method. Census sampling method was used in this study. Data were collected using Personal Information Questionnaire and Goldberg's 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). They were analyzed by SPSS software using independent one-way ANOVA at a significant level of 0.05. Based on the results obtained from Goldberg's Questionnaire (GHQ-28), 89 (59.7%) of young people were healthy (score 24-38), 52 (34.2%) of them were vulnerable (score higher than 38) and 90 (1.6%) of them were unhealthy. Independent T-test and analysis of variance showed a significant relationship between mental health, gender, education, and economic status (p <0.05).