P-54 Mental Health Awareness: Exploring the Factors Related to Depression among College Students at a Religious University

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While young adulthood is often a time of learning and growth, many college students face the challenge of dealing with mental health concerns. There are many theories as to why this happens, from societal to biological, yet multi-factor explanations provide the most comprehensive understandings. The current study sampled religious college students and assessed their mental health stigma, religiosity and sense of belonging, and explored how these related to their mental health. We found that gender and different patterns of religiosity were related to different levels of depressive symptomatology. Implications for how students, parents, faculty, and mental health practitioners can utilize these findings will be discussed.