Effect of Socio-Cultural Factors on Mental Health of Young Adults

Abstract

Mental health problems among young adults have become a growing public health concern, with socio-cultural factors playing a significant role in psychological well-being. This study examined the influence of educational qualification and ethnicity on anxiety and depression among young adults in Pakistan. A quantitative cross-sectional research design was employed. Data were collected from 300 participants aged 18–35 years using a self-constructed questionnaire administered in both English and Urdu. Participants represented both rural and urban populations with equal proportions of males and females. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SPSS to examine the effects of qualification, ethnicity, and their interaction on anxiety and depression. The findings indicated that educational qualification had a statistically significant effect on anxiety (F(3,288) = 2.93, p = .034, η² = .03) and depression (F(3,288) = 3.99, p = .008, η² = .04). However, ethnicity and the interaction between qualification and ethnicity did not show significant effects on either outcome. Participants with master's level education and above demonstrated comparatively higher mean scores for both anxiety and depression. Overall, the observed effect sizes were small. The study concludes that educational qualification is associated with variations in anxiety and depression, whereas ethnicity does not significantly influence these mental health outcomes among young adults. The findings suggest that other socio-cultural determinants, including poverty, gender discrimination, media influence, family relationships, and social environment, should be explored in future research to better understand the underlying causes of mental health problems in Pakistani young adults.