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These updated psychosocial problems are crucial to explore due to their potentially significant impact on students\u2019 academic performance, personal development, and future prospects. Therefore, this study aims to explore the current psychosocial issues faced by adolescent students at Arba Minch University and identify the factors associated with them. To accomplish this objective, a survey questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 300 university students through a cross-sectional study. The survey questionnaire was designed to provide a thorough understanding of the various types of psychosocial problems experienced by the students. The findings revealed that the most prevalent psychosocial problems among higher education adolescent students were emotional problems (6.7% high\/severe, 46.3% moderate), antisocial behavior (5% high\/severe, 54.7% moderate), trauma experiences (7% high\/severe, 23% moderate), and academic problems (8.3% high\/severe, 23% moderate). The prevalence of no\/low psychosocial problems was 47%, 40.3%, 69.3%, and 68.7%, respectively. Additionally, statistically significant (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009&lt;\u20090.05) associated factors to these psychosocial problems were identified: gender for academic problems, religion affiliation for antisocial behavior, trauma experiences, marital status for trauma experiences, living situation during holidays for emotional problems, age for emotional problems and antisocial behavior, and educational sponsorship for antisocial behavior. The study found that students who lacked a support system, such as family or friends, were more likely to experience psychosocial problems. In conclusion, psychosocial problems among adolescent students in higher education are a pressing issue that requires immediate attention. By understanding the challenges faced by these students, universities can implement effective interventions to support their mental well-being.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-024-20262-w","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,11]],"date-time":"2024-10-11T14:01:38Z","timestamp":1728655298000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Insights into psychosocial problems and associated factors among higher education students in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"24","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5748-3192","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hailay Tesfay","family":"Gebremariam","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Million Desalegn","family":"Tassew","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Frehiwot Sahle","family":"Woldemaryam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,11]]},"reference":[{"issue":"3","key":"20262_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"46","DOI":"10.3126\/jcmc.v6i3.16699","volume":"6","author":"P Koirala","year":"2017","unstructured":"Koirala P, Subba R, Lopchan M. 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The patients\/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study. The study\u2019s ethical progress was also reviewed by two senior professors and approved by Department Graduate Committee (DGC), Department of Psychology at Wolaita Sodo University Ethic committee (Ref. No.: PSD\/25\/16).","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"Not Applicable.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"The authors declare no competing interests.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"2784"}}