Self-esteem and university students: Findings from a multi-center study

Abstract Introduction Self-esteem refers to the degree to which a person esteem himself or herself. Accordingly, low self-esteem has a remarkable impact on mental health that may influence successful development and life outcomes, especially for young people. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors predisposing to low self-esteem among university students (US) in Southern Tunisia. Methods A cross-sectional study performing a stratified randomized sample of 8 universities was conducted in Sfax, Southern Tunisia, on April 2021. A structured an anonymous self-administered questionnaire including the 10-item Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale was applied for a total of 1071 US. Results Among 1071 US, 759 cases (71%) were females, giving a male to female ratio of 0.4. Their mean age was 22.2 ±2.5 years. There were 1035 single US (96.5%), 246 smokers (23%) and 140 alcohol consumers (13.1%). Students with low self-esteem were identified at a prevalence of 29.5%. Living in a urban region (OR = 1.7; p = 0.004), studying in a private university (OR = 2.5; p = 0.013), having a low monthly income (<2 minimum wage) (OR = 1.6; p = 0.014) and a chronic disease (OR = 2.1; p < 0.001) were major risk factors of low self-esteem. Moreover, daily TV time >4 hours (OR = 5.9; p = 0.009) and absence of leisure activities (OR = 1.8; p = 0.006) were significantly associated with higher prevalence of low self-esteem. Otherwise, practicing physical activity 3 times/week (OR = 0.6; p = 0.04) and high academic performance (OR = 0.8; p = 0.004) were identified as protective factors of low self-esteem. Conclusions The findings from the current study highlighted that low self-esteem was ranking at an alarming rate among US. These results therefore suggested the need for a school-based or web-based provision aiming at proactively increasing students' self-esteem and skills for dealing with their academic career and self-confidence. Key messages Low self-esteem and its associated factors. University students.