Variations in mental health across different altitudes and coastal areas in West Bengal

Abstract

This study examined regional differences in positive mental health among male young adults residing in hilly, plain, and coastal areas of West Bengal, India. A cross-sectional survey design was employed, with a sample of 420 male college students aged 17–23 years selected through stratified random sampling from 21 colleges. Positive mental health was measured using the Positive Mental Health Inventory developed by Agashe and Helode (2008), which comprises 36 dichotomous items requiring yes or no responses. Data were analysed using one-way analysis of variance, followed by appropriate post hoc tests to identify specific group differences. The findings revealed a statistically significant variation in overall positive mental health across physiographic regions (p=0.001). Students from hilly regions demonstrated higher levels of self-acceptance (8.75±1.61), ego-strength (8.48±1.83), and philosophy of life (6.86±1.85) compared with their counterparts from coastal and plain areas. Significant differences were observed for self-acceptance (p=0.045), ego-strength (p=0.004), and philosophy of life (p=0.036), with both coastal and plain groups scoring significantly lower than the hilly group. Participants from plain regions consistently showed the lowest psychological strengths, whereas those from coastal regions exhibited moderate levels. These results indicate that physiographic and environmental context is closely associated with positive mental health among young adults and underscore the need to consider regional factors when designing mental health promotion strategies for college populations.