Naslov
Depressive symptoms among undergraduate students

Autori
Živčić-Bećirević, Ivanka ; Smojver-Ažić, Sanja ; Martinac Dorčić, Tamara

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Poglavlja u knjigama, znanstveni

Knjiga
Global perspectives on university students

Urednik/ci
Esteves, Dulce ; Scarf, Damian ; Pinheiro, Paulo ; Arahanga-Doyle, Hitaua ; Hunter, John

Izdavač
Nova Science Publishers

Grad
New York (NY)

Godina
2019

Raspon stranica
47-80

ISBN
978-1-53615-745-1

Ključne riječi
depression, college students, personal agency beliefs, negative automatic thoughts, academic achievement, social support

Sažetak
The prevalence of depression among university students is high and appears to have increased in recent years. Depression can affect many key aspects of a college student’s life and may lead to negative academic outcomes. This chapter presents some results from a broad 3- year longitudinal research project. The goal of the present study was to test the effects of depression on students’ academic achievement (GPA, academic credits, retention) during three years at college. We also investigated which factors are related to the initial level of depression among freshmen, and which factors predict within-person change in the level of depression over three years. The representative sample of 492 undergraduate students (60% females) from various study programmes completed several questionnairies that measure different aspects of students' psychological adjustment. Among all students 23% had an increased level of depressive symptoms, and only 50% of them finished their undergraduate study on time. The level of depressive symptoms did not correlate with GPA, but was negatively correlated with the number of achieved academic credits after 3 years, indicating students' poor efficiency. A higher percentage of students with an increased level of depressive symptoms dropped- out of college compared to students with a lower level of depression. Lower personal beliefs about abilities and more negative automatic thoughts related to fear of disappointing parents were significant predictors of a higher initial level of depression, while stronger personal control beliefs and strong social support were significant predictors of a decrease in depressive symptoms after three years at university. We can conclude that students with a higher level of depressive symptoms are more prone to poor academic efficiency and higher drop-out rates. Our data stresses that cognitive- behavioral interventions focused on restructuring negative beliefs about control and abilities, as well as fear of disappointing parents might be particularly useful, in addition to providing social support in their adjustment to college.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Psihologija

POVEZANOST RADA