Perceived campus safety as a mediator of the link between gender and mental health in a national US college sample

Men and women tend to have different mental health outcomes. The purpose of this study is to examine the reason for gender differences in college students' mental health. We examined perceived campus safety as an explanation for the relationship between gender and mental health in college students. According to the social structure and psychological distress paradigm, women are objectively disadvantaged, which creates a sense of powerlessness and causes distress. We hypothesized that perceived campus safety would mediate the relationships between gender and psychological distress as well as gender and sleep disturbances. To test these hypotheses, we examined data from the Spring 2010 American College Health Association National College Health Assessment II (ACHA-NCHA II) survey (N = 95,712) using multilevel structural equation modeling. Results confirmed that perceived campus safety partially mediated the relationship between gender and psychological distress as well as gender and sleep disturbances when controlling for victimization and general health. Women reported that they felt less safe than men on campus and experienced more psychological distress and sleep disturbances. The results of this study suggest that campus administrators could promote student well-being by addressing women's safety concerns.