Running Head: Depression and Anxiety Prevalence of Depression and Anxiety amongst College Students Presented in partial fulfillment for Research Methods Florida Gulf Coast University College of Health Professions Prevalence of Depression and Anxiety amongst College Students College represents a form of higher learning. For many, it is also a time for personal growth as we transition into adulthood. This in itself is a stressful situation as one must make drastic adjustments to a new role, environment, and demands. Stress is a major contributor to the development of mental and emotional issues (Rodgers, L., Tennison, L. 2009). Research has been done to determine the impact of depression and anxiety on university students. It has been …show more content…
Like many of the questionnaires utilized for research in the articles used for this literature review, it was anonymous, and administered and collected during class. This form of data collection provided high turn in rates allowing researchers to have a wide study scale. According to Hicks, T., & Heastie, S., contrasting levels of stress and coping mechanisms were present in these students. It was noted that traditional college students experience more psychological stress than their nontraditional student counterparts. In addition, during the first year of college, the amount of stress experienced by students is the highest in comparison to stress in the remainder of the years. These results are especially important because it stresses the need for a strong health and wellness center within colleges and universities. In contrast to researching adjustment to college life for traditional and nontraditional students, the article by Shankland, R., Genolini, C., Riou França, L., Guelfi, J., & Ionescu, S., compared students from a traditional school system to that of an alternative school. In this article, it was noted that alternative schools differ from traditional schools in their teaching methods and philosophy. For this study, 130 students from both types of schools in similar regions were assessed during their final year in high school, the beginning of college, and finally at the end of their first year in college using the State- Trait Anxiety Inventory,
According to Lupien, McEwan, Gunnar, and Heim (2009), going off to college involves significant adjustments to their daily routines; sleeping and eating habits, time-management skills, and stress levels will be altered in one way or another. First-year students have to adjust to the new school environment, different social settings, and new schedules, all without the help and guidance from their parents, who have been there for them for eighteen years. Over 30% of college freshman report that they feel overwhelmed (Klainberg, Ewing, & Ryan, 2010), where some students even opt to work as they juggle their class and work schedules. Some students work at a job or study harder than others, but they are all trying to get degrees so maybe one day they will have meaningful and significant lives. It is a constant struggle for everyone who is trying desperately to make him or herself into a success. And every college student wants to be involved in society in a positive manner, allowing contribution of their ideals and values to others.
The stereotypical American college student goes out partying all the time and stays up all night finishing an assignment or studying for a test. This stereotype may be accurate, but it is detrimental to our higher education culture. Hearing kids around me say “I’m so stressed for college. I’m never going to get any sleep when I go,” is heartbreaking. The pursuit of knowledge is a long and tiring journey, but it would be much more enjoyable if it didn’t come with a side of extreme stress and constantly-lowering mental health.
A person can soon have a treatment for their depression disorder or anxiety disorder after talking it over with his or her health care provider. A person does not have very many options to choose from for either disorder, but the sooner you treat it, the better you will feel. [Stay in third person here… the sooner an individual treats it, the better he or she will feel] A person can take pills that are prescribed to them by his or her doctor and this pill is usually taken once a day. For I[i]nstance, Prozac is a well-known prescription drug to treat depression. Xanax is one used to treat anxiety, which is also well known by many individuals around America. We also have the option of taking a natural supplement; some people do not like prescription pills, for whatever reason, and rather be natural. There is a supplement called Saint John[‘]s Wart, and this helps a little bit
Below is a survey conducted by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America concerning college stress for students.
The article I read, The relation of depression and anxiety to life-stress and achievement in students, written by Bernice Andrews and John M. Wilding was a study conducted after there was an increase in students seeking mental services. The two decided to research if there was a correlation between an increase in depression and anxiety after starting college and how
In ages 13 through 18, an estimated 31.9% of children have had, or do have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety affects thousands of teens each year and that number only continues to increase. Drug abuse, stress, bullying, and depression are all linked to any anxiety disorder. But depression is one of the disorders associated with anxiety the most. Depression also affects 20% of all people ages 15-24 sometime in their lives. Although student anxiety and student depression are completely separate, the two disorders correspond with one another and are considered the fraternal twins of mood disorders (Tracy 1). The symptoms of these two mental disorders together are relentless and cause great damage. That is why dealing with these issues head on are
Psychological balance is necessary, not only for our well being, but also for the benefit of those we interact with. However, it is not always easy for college students to maintain that balance. Students face problems in their classes, such as procrastination or simply a difficult professor. Others might have to deal with large student loans and have to work multiple jobs while just barely getting by. For some, homesickness or depression might be a cause enormous stress in their lives. I have identified, in my own life, three ways to relieve college related stress and, in turn, work toward maintaining a psychological balance.
Thesis: The unfamiliar transition into college life makes freshmen second guess their academic abilities, increase their stress and anxiety, and lead them towards depression. Freshmen face innumerable variables that play role in the human psych. Conflicting and battling with stress, anxiety, self-worth and the ultimatum of depression due to the ever changing and unpredictable new world. This paper was written to convey a small portion of these factors and the signs that contribute to them.
Women surpass the number of males with mental illness, especially in amidst anxiety and depression. Gender itself is not an element in depression triggers, nonetheless more women than men, no matter the occupation, have more depression (Fischer et al. 5). Meaning while being male or female does not change how someone’s depression is on set, a grand majority of those with depression are women. Additionally, across all occupations, women have higher diagnosed depression even though women are often outnumbered in the workplace (Fischer et al. 6). Being a minority in society as well as in the workplace puts pressure and discrimination on women, therefore they have higher depression even as a minority. Females are more commonly found in occupations
Topic: “Anxiety and depression are often linked, experts say, as dealing with long-term anxiety can lead to depression, or one may feel anxious about their battle with depression.”
Stress is no new phenomenon. It’s been around as long as man and has captivated scholars and physicians alike. With the growing demand for degrees in the professional world comes the growth of the number of college students. The relationship between stress and college students has become the subject of on-going research. Several studies show that stress in college students is increasing with time and the authors of those studies are attributing this to an increased number of students. Other research seems to indicate that it isn’t necessarily the stress that is increasing but the awareness of it. Increased awareness of stress, and its unique toll on individuals, allows colleges and students to recognize
Mechanisms that explain why students perform badly under stress include “hypervigilance” (excessive alertness to a stressful situation resulting in panic-for example, overstudying for an exam) and “premature closure” (quickly choosing a solution to end a stressful situation-for example, rushing through an exam). (Falk,1995). Students react to college in a variety of ways. For some students, college is stressful because it is an abrupt change from high school. For others, separation from home is a source of stress. Although some stress is necessary for personal growth to occur, the amount of stress can overwhelm students and affect the ability to cope. Since World War II, changes in American higher education includes growth has been a loss of personal attention to students. One measure of excessive stress, or distress, in college students is the use of mental health services. Symptoms commonly report by campus psychiatrists portray a general picture of school related stress, for example, the inability to do school work and the fear of academic failure. One way for teachers to promote more of a healthy learning environment is to reduce stress among students. Studies of teachings that produces the most learning suggest that “effective” teachers use an analytical and synthetic approach to the subject matter, organize the material well to make it clear, and establish rapport with their students. Most
Nontraditional student numbers continue to rise on college campuses and few institutions meet the mental health needs for this special group of students (Carney-Crompton & Tan, 2002). It is the purpose of this study to examine both the stressors (i.e. triggers of the stress response) and perceived stress levels between traditional and nontraditional students.
The impact of stress among college students may have a negative impact on the student’s psychological health. Research indicates that depression rates in college students have been increasingly rising over the years. In 2012, a study was conducted by the National Survey of Counseling Centers which resulted in 91% of the researchers found an increase in students with psychological needs. To resolve college students’ stressors, Surgeon General and additional research studies propose that students who are more active exhibit a decrease in stress, anxiety, and depression. In order to improve and retain a healthy lifestyle, physical activity
The obstacles I faced as a child was anxiety and depression. My past experiences dealing with my anxiety played a major role on my overall health physically and mentally. Physically dealing with my anxiety caused my body to react strangely in certain situations. For example my heart would beat faster than normal whenever I was nervous, and my palms would sweat heavily when in afraid. Anxiety messed with my mind mentally because every thought that came to my mind felt as if my thoughts wandered about one hundred miles per hour. This feeling was like the intense feeling a person get when they get too excited and their overwhelming emotions are too hard to tame. This bizarre feeling of anxiety was like trying to breathe underwater and the more you stay under the more you start to fade away and ultimately stop breathing. This was how I felt on the inside during my battle with anxiety and depression.